Atlanta Progressive News

(APN) ATLANTA — Atlanta Progressive News has updated its comprehensive Atlanta City Council Scorecard on today, December 17, 2017.

 

SCORECARD:

http://bit.ly/2ixKV6s

 

In this update, we added seven new legislative items to the Scorecard, which now scores a total of 69 votes on passage of legislation, other motions related to legislation, or other actions that are legislative in nature, dating back to 2003.

 

Of the seven new items, Atlanta Councilmembers were scored on whether they supported the vote to decriminalize cannabis; all fifteen did.  APN’s position was in support.

 

Councilmembers were scored on whether they supported the City of Atlanta banking services contract with Wells Fargo, which Councilmembers Natalyn Archibong (District 5) and Felicia Moore (District 9) voted no.  APN’s position was opposed, as Wells Fargo has a record of harming Atlanta families through vicious foreclosure practices, while financing such harmful projects as the Dakota Access Pipeline.

 

Councilmembers were scored on whether they co-sponsored and whether they voted for passage of the Surplus Property Affordable Housing ordinance.  The ordinance was co-sponsored by nearly two-thirds of Council and passed unanimously.  APN’s position was in support.

 

Councilmembers were scored on whether they supported the right to make at least one minute of public comment per person in Committee Work Sessions.  The ordinance passed unanimously.  APN’s position was in support.

 

Councilmembers were scored on whether they supported the People TV contract with D. Jones, a for-profit sole proprietor, to run the City’s public access channel.  Felicia Moore voted no.  APN’s position was opposed.

 

Councilmembers were scored on whether they supported the consolidation of the three city pension boards.  Howard Shook (District 7), Yolanda Adrean (District 8), Mary Norwood (Post 2-at-large), and Andre Dickens (Post 3-at-large) were opposed.  [Moore was not present.]  APN’s position was opposed.

 

This particular edition of the Scorecard is noteworthy because seven out of the current fifteen sitting Councilmembers on the Atlanta City Council will not be returning as voting Councilmembers in 2018.

 

Therefore, this Scorecard contains the final scores for seven Councilmembers.

 

The non-curved scores, which are on a scale from 0 to 100, are as follows:

 

Natalyn Archibong (District 5) 79.6

 

Felicia Moore (District 9) 79.1

 

Andre Dickens (Post 3-at-large) 66.7

 

Michael Julian Bond (Post 1-at-large) 65.3

 

Kwanza Hall (District 2) 58.5

 

Mary Norwood (Post 2-at-large) 56.5

 

C.T. Martin (District 10) 56.1

 

Alex Wan (District 6) 48.3

 

Yolanda Adrean (District 8) 47.4

 

Howard Shook (District 7) 45.3

 

Ivory Lee Young (District 3) 43.5

 

Cleta Winslow (District 4) 43.4

 

Carla Smith (District 1) 40.3

 

Joyce Sheperd (District 12) 36.2

 

Keisha Lance Bottoms (District 11) 34.6

 

Of note, Councilwoman Mary Norwood’s score improved significantly, by about ten points.  This is, in part, because her score did not contain as many votes as her colleagues because of the four years she was not on Council from 2010 to 2013; and also, because she had missed several important votes.

 

In terms of their final grades, Norwood notably had a more progressive score, 56.5, than Councilman Martin, 56.1.

 

For all the rallying around Councilwoman Bottoms that we saw from the Democratic Party of Georgia and others during the 2017 Mayoral Run-off Election, merely because she was a self-identified Democrat – Bottoms ended her eight year tenure on Council with the lowest score, of 34.6.

 

With Bottoms no longer serving in the District 11 seat starting in 2018, Councilwoman Sheperd will have the distinction of being the new least progressive member of the Atlanta City Council, with her score of 36.2.

 

Also, with C.T. Martin retiring in District 10, the new most-senior member of the Atlanta City Council will become Councilwoman Cleta Winslow of District 4, who has served 24 years.

 

After Winslow, the next-most senior Councilmembers will be Smith, Young, Archibong, and Shook, who have each served sixteen years.

 

The seven new members of the Council will receive their first scores some time in 2018, and, in the beginning, their scores will fluctuate more easily, as there are fewer scored votes in the denominators of their grades.  As time goes by, their grades will solidify and become more difficult to change.

 

Taking off the list the seven exiting Councilmembers, here are the scores of the remaining eight Council incumbents, in descending order:

 

Natalyn Archibong (District 5) 79.6

 

Andre Dickens (Post 3-at-large) 66.7

 

Michael Julian Bond (Post 1-at-large) 65.3

 

Howard Shook (District 7) 45.3

 

Ivory Lee Young (District 3) 43.5

 

Cleta Winslow (District 4) 43.4

 

Carla Smith (District 1) 40.3

 

Joyce Sheperd (District 12) 36.2

 

(END / Copyright Atlanta Progressive News / 2017)