Most Atlanta election watchers Tuesday were expecting a runoff and indeed, City Council President Felicia Moore will be on the ballot on November 30th. Moore cruised easily to the runoff with 40 percent of the vote, while City Councilman Andre Dickens as this is written holds a 600 vote lead over former Mayor Kasim Reed. Results were unofficial as of 1:30 am.
As usual, the race broke down – at least somewhat – along the north/south geography of Atlanta, with Moore winning nearly all the precincts north of downtown and Reed winning most on the Southside.
For the past 30 or so years, the sitting mayor has handpicked their successor (though Shirley Franklin may regret her involvement in the promotion of Kasim Reed), but the declining-to-run-again Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms stayed out of the race and was silent on her successor.
City council presidents have historically had a difficult time in mayoral elections but Moore was able to capitalize on her years working for transparency during the Reed administration. She made a name for herself at the time asking for more openness from a mayoral regime that considered a document dump of millions of printed pages as “transparent.” Moore was vindicated in the eyes of her supporters as several members of the Reed administration found themselves on the wrong side of the bars in local jail cells.
For his part, Reed points out that he himself was never on the other side of those bars and that he is completely innocent and his lawyers say he is not currently under investigation. He notes that Atlanta saw major growth during his two previous terms as mayor and that crime was under control.
Dickens emerged as a third choice, a “fresh face,” later in the campaign season.
No one expected high turnout but for comparison, 2020 election turnout in Georgia was more than 50 percent, the Atlanta mayor race had turnout of just over 18 percent.
The next few weeks will be filled with mailers and turnout drives as just hundreds of votes could make a difference. The winner will have to contend with continuing to restore normal city services after Covid, getting crime under control and managing growth that continues at a quick clip.
In non-Atlanta news, folks in Chattahoochee Hills will now be able to pick up a beverage on their way home from church as they overwhelmingly approved Sunday alcohol sales, John Bradberry won the Johns Creek mayor’s race easily, challenger Kurt Wilson beat incumbent Roswell Mayor Lori Henry (follow-up coming on that one) and Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul cruised to reelection. Fulton County voters approved their TSPLOST and ESPLOST again, rarely are those overturned.
Stay tuned over the next few hectic weeks in the Atlanta mayoral contest…
