Atlanta Progressive News

(APN) ATLANTA — Atlanta City Councilwoman Felicia Moore (District 9) is holding a fundraising and birthday event next Saturday, April 13, 2013, in preparation for a possible challenger for the District 9 seat in this year’s Municipal Elections.

“During my terms in office, I have consistently been a stewart [sic] of our city dollars, advocated for oversight and transparency, demanded openess [sic] and fairness in contracting and developed policies to deal with some of the City’s most pressing issues. While most would see these as accomplishments, others view them as threats,” Moore wrote on a Facebook event page announcing the event at Westside Pizza from 11am to 2pm.

“To that end, while I have not had opposition in the past, this term may be different. There is an effort underway to recruit a candidate to run against me in this year’s election,” Moore wrote.

“Those who are responsible are also expected to heavily fund the candidate and provide ‘on the ground’ campaign support. No challenge should be taken lightly, so it is important that I replenish my coffers. Your support will be vital! Thank you,” Moore wrote.

APN has previously reported that, according to sources, Mayor Kasim Reed and the business community have been looking for someone to unseat Councilwoman Moore for at least the past two years.

In 2011, APN reported that Pastor Stanley Calloway would run for the District 9 seat, although there was no indication he had been recruited by the Mayor or business community. Since then, APN has learned Calloway no longer intends to run.

In 2009, Moore ran without opposition. Incidentally, someone named Darryl Moore [no relation] had filed an intent to run, but did not qualify.

Moore has the second-most progressive voting record out of the current fifteen Councilmembers, according to the APN Atlanta City Council Scorecard 2013, with a score of 74.36 out of 100, based on 39 different votes or actions.

Actually, 74.36 is a good score for this Council; only three Councilmembers–Natalyn Archibong (District 5), Moore, and Michael Julian Bond (Post 1-at-large)–have scores higher than an F.

In addition, Moore is the most outspoken of the progressive Councilmembers.

In 2008, Moore led a call for more Council oversight of the demolitions of family communities and senior highrises by the Atlanta Housing Authority. Moore passed one piece of legislation giving the Council time to review demolition applications, and another accepting voluntary measures by AHA, including quarterly presentations to the Council’s Community Development/Human Resources Cmte. The first piece of legislation overcame a Mayoral veto by then-Mayor Shirley Franklin.

In 2011, Moore took the lead on pension reform, not only blocking a harmful proposal, but offering an alternative in consultation with the unions, and working with Councilmembers to create a compromise.

In 2012, Moore took the lead in raising questions and opposing the award of concessions contracts at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

In 2012, Moore took the lead for animal rights, when she proposed legislation to ban the use of bullhooks on elephants in Atlanta, including, for example, by the Ringling Bros. circus.

So far this year, she has led, again, the oversight, questioning, and opposition to the pending new Falcons stadium.

Previously, in a 2011 article, APN had raised concerns about Moore’s record on issues of transparency for the public. However, in retrospect, Moore has actually taken the lead on addressing issues of concern involving transparency raised by APN and others.

For example, in the 2011 article, APN raised a concern about Moore–who was then Chairwoman of the Cmte on Council–defending of the practice of holding closed-door Cmte Briefings.

However, in 2012, Moore–then Chairwoman of Finance/Executive Cmte–became the first Chairperson to open up their Cmte Briefings to the public. Archibong followed shortly thereafter, and in 2013, all Cmte Briefings were opened to the public.

In the 2011 article, APN raised concerns about Moore’s role in conducting, and later defending, the secret vote of 2010. APN’s News Editor–the present writer–won a Supreme Court of Georgia decision in 2012, finding unrecorded votes to be illegal under Georgia law.

The issue has since been resolved, with the Council in 2012 amending the minutes to disclose the votes, and later taking other measures. It should be noted that Moore does not bear sole responsibility for the secret vote, and the defense thereof, however; it is a responsibility that she shares with many other actors, including at least some other Council Members, the Office of the Municipal Clerk, the Council President, and the Law Department.

Also in the 2011 article, senior advocate Ben Howard criticized Moore for not following through on a promise to produce a Rules of Council document to be available to the citizens.

Since then, Moore has produced the document, which cites and organizes all Atlanta code and charter references to rules affecting the conduct of business of the City Council, including those affecting the public. This document is separate from the “Rules of Council”–a subset of rules that have the title Rules of Council–which are referenced in the code and are available from the Municipal Clerk. APN has found Moore’s document to be a useful resource.

(END/2013)