We are still in the early days of Mayor Andre Dickens’ term as mayor of Atlanta. Four months into a four year term, there is still plenty of time for Dickens to make a difference in Atlanta. There were some immediate items Dickens wanted done in the first 100 days – like battling the Buckhead City movement and announcing a “nightlife division” in the mayor’s office to deal with establishments that have a history of high crime – but there is plenty more to go and Dickens tasked a number of individuals with laying out the path for the rest of his term.
The 40-member Transition Committee Dickens convened focused on four issues: education and youth; ethics and procurement integrity (the city still reeling as the scandal from Kasim Reed’s administration continues to make waves); neighborhood empowerment; and, safe streets.
“When I took office as Atlanta’s 61st Mayor, I asked a group of our esteemed citizens to sit on a Transition Committee and help me as I developed our agenda,” said Mayor Dickens. “I am humbled to have such a talented team of people band together to provide unique insights and key recommendations on how we can continue to make the City of Atlanta the best it can be.”
Overall, the committee heard from 238 community leaders and spent more than 10,000 hours meeting and consulting with experts and city employees. Dickens has already accomplished some of the recommendations from the committee, such as hiring an additional 250 police officers, funding childhood education and strengthening transparency in government contracting.
“We were very intentional about involving a diverse collection of people, processes, and perspectives to draft this report,” said Transition Committee Co-Chair Howard Franklin. “Ultimately, the group was driven by the one thing we all have in common, and that’s a sincere desire to move Atlanta forward.”
Many of the recommendations from the committees involve creating citizen-led groups to address long-term issues, like uplifting Atlanta youth and elevating neighborhood voices, or reevaluating existing programs like the interaction between residents and city services.
As a product of Atlanta schools and an Atlanta native – and as a parent, Dickens seems to take particular interest in addressing youth issues. The committee recommended that 2023 be declared the “Year of Atlanta’s Youth” to focus on strategic priorities and emphasize the focus on youth improvement.
Each strategic area has a methodology for determining recommendations and within each area, they are further broken down into main priorities. The recommendations are laid out very methodically in terms of time, from recommendations in the short term of Year 1, to medium term of Years 2-4 and long term of Year 4+ (presumably a plus means a possible Dickens second term, something very common for Atlanta mayors until Keisha Lance Bottoms broke tradition).
To read – or browse – the full report from the Transition Committee (it’s worth a look for those that care about Atlanta and may have an interest in its future):
