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Just a few days after Donald Trump was named the next president of the United States, state Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta,
stood in a southwest Atlanta strip mall that had seen better days and announced he was running for mayor. Several days later, approximately 60 people filled a small church in Underwood Hills to hear two candidates, Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell and Peter Aman, a wonkish business consultant and former city chief operating officer, pitch their platforms. The following day, Fort and Cathy Woolard, a former Council president and mayoral candidate,
criticized Mayor Kasim Reed’s decision to fork over more than $140 million for a Philips Arena renovation. Reed, through a spokeswoman, fired back, signaling the term-limited incumbent won’t tolerate being used as a campaign-trail pinata. Yes, the race for Atlanta mayor has begun. From now until next November, Atlanta voters will be bombarded with mailers and robocalls aimed at helping them decide the most powerful elected office in the city. The mayor drafts an approximately $607 million budget, outlines the city’s long-term vision, and decides issues that touch the daily lives of roughly 500,000 residents. “The executive leadership for the next eight years is going to be critical,” says Harvey Newman, a professor emeritus at Georgia State University. “We have had by and large good leadership in the mayor’s office and keeping that momentum going is very important … To me, this is the Super Bowl of my political life, getting ready for the mayor’s election and the excitement that process generates. It’s a big thrill for me.”So long as mayors don’t get embroiled in scandal during their first four years in office — or indicted — it’s likely they will breeze through to a second term, without competition. That’s partly why when the main office in City Hall opens up, everyone throws their hat in the ring. Thus far, more than 10 candidates have filed paperwork to start raising campaign money. In addition to Fort, Woolard, Aman, and Mitchell, Atlanta City Councilwoman Keisha Lance Bottoms, who represents the outer reaches of southwest Atlanta, is running. Atlanta City Councilwoman Mary Norwood, who narrowly lost to Reed in a 2009 runoff, wants the job. So does Michael Sterling, a former Reed adviser and one-time head of Atlanta’s jobs training agency. Ditto several other lesser-known and perennial candidates. Mitchell and Aman thus far lead the pack in fundraising, reporting nearly $570,000 and roughly $290,000, respectively.Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall said earlier this year he would run but has not filed. Former Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts is a rumored candidate, as is former Mayor Shirley Franklin.The election will also mean new faces on the 16-member Atlanta City Council, as members give up their seats on the council dais for a chance to sit behind the mayor’s desk. Over the next several months, the candidates will try to boost name recognition and educate voters about their policy plans. The issues candidates will choose to discuss, and those on which voters will press them, are many and deep. They will discuss how they should spend $2.5 billion voters approved on Election Day to fund an expansion of MARTA bus and rail inside the city limits, plus the approximately $400 million in cash approved to build out streetscapes and the Atlanta Beltline. In addition to the traditional topic of public safety, candidates will be expected to delve into the racial disparities in policing and how they plan to address them, whether by revisiting ordinances, municipal court fines, or diversion programs. The city leader hopefuls will be asked how they will include neighborhoods’ concerns about development, services, and special events and festivals.In addition to explaining how they would use the power of the office to reduce income inequality, they will be confronted with concerns about rents and property taxes rising in intown neighborhoods and displacement. “We’re not New York or San Francisco, but the idea that there are places in Atlanta where you can be paying $2,000 for a one- or two-bedroom apartment is becoming an issue,” says Andra Gillespie, an Emory University professor who’s well-versed in municipal elections.Gillespie says candidates will need to compete to lock down the various bases that they think will be most beneficial come November and help them to an all-but-guaranteed runoff several weeks later. A game of chess will begin as candidates try to build support across racial, geographic, and political lines, forming blocs of support that could deliver votes on Election Day. Fort, who’s arguing for decriminalizing marijuana and fighting displacement, and Woolard, an early Atlanta Beltline supporter and urbanism advocate, will likely try to win over the progressive base. Norwood, a community-focused policymaker, and Aman, a former partner for Bain and Co., could compete for northside votes. Though the black vote remains strong in Atlanta, Gillespie says, the city is becoming more diverse. More than likely, candidates will try to find support among multiple groups. “The progressive flank, the Buckhead business flank, and then you have the establishment black flank,” Gillespie says, rattling off some of the city’s constituencies. “Who can appeal to the primary constituency and who can transcend beyond that in the first ballot and the runoff? ... Once we get down to three or four candidates who have clear constituencies, then it becomes a question of who then can reach out beyond their natural constituency and put together a multicultural coalition.”Candidates have until Nov. 7, 2017, to nail it down. Let the fun begin.