Council Candidate, Amos, Fueled by Developers, Airport Dollars
Photograph of Byron Amos from Amos’s Facebook page, pursuant to fair use doctrine.
(APN) ATLANTA — Candidate for Atlanta City Council, Byron Amos–who said at a recent forum that he accepted money from developer Steve Brock–appears to be have been fueled by developer interests and airport concessionaires throughout his political career.
A review by Atlanta Progressive News of Amos’s disclosures dating back to his last run for Board of Education, in 2017, show thousands of dollars in donations from developer and airport concession interests.
On March 04, 2019, candidates for Atlanta City Council District 3 were to have filed a campaign contribution disclosure with the City of Atlanta.
However, Byron Amos did not complete a March 04 disclosure, to date. Only four out of nine candidates in the District 3 Special Election have filed timely disclosures, according to www.gaeasyfile.org
Those who have not filed are Byron Amos, Antonio Brown, Greg Clay, Mesha Mainor, and Shalise Young.
While Amos has not yet filed a March 04, 2019 disclosure as required by law, it is reasonable to infer that Mr. Amos has continued to receive support from airport concessionaires and developers for the current City Council race.
In 2017, Amos was forced into a December Run-off Election for his then-APS Board seat with candidate Keisha Carey. Carey, who was largely unknown, created a stir of surprise, when she got into a Run-off with Amos.
Developers and concessionaires–the for-profit interests who have historically helped Mayors Kasim Reed and Keisha Lance Bottoms–came through to help Amos get reelected.
Greg Hawthorne. Amos received three donations from Hawthorne in September and November 2017, totaling 650 dollars. Hawthorne is a land investor.
Wassim and Carol Hojejj. This husband and wife couple are behind Hojejj Branded Foods, a major concessionaire at Atlanta’s airport. They both gave 2,500 dollars on October 06, 2017, for a total of five thousand dollars.
Steve Brock. Brock is a major developer in District 3. Brock relied on developer-friendly incumbent Ivory Lee Young, Jr., who, prior to his tragic death, supported major development projects like the Westside Yards project. Brock gave one thousand dollars to Amos on October 17, 2017.
As previously reported by Atlanta Progressive News, Mr. Brock’s Westside Yards development, caused a great deal of community concern and opposition because of its great potential for fueling gentrification and displacement, lack of community benefits, and lack of community input.
Scott Taylor. Taylor is another major developer in Atlanta. He gave Amos one thousand dollars on October 11, 2017.
Egbert Perry. Egbert Perry runs the Integral Group, and has been involved in both for-profit and nonprofit development. He gave 250 dollars to Amos on September 17, 2017.
Eric Pinckney. Pinckney, Vice President of Integral, gave Amos 150 dollars on September 08, 2017.
Michael Russell. Russell, CEO of H.J. Russell & Company, a real estate and development firm, gave five hundred dollars to Amos on September 25, 2017.
Chuck Taylor. Taylor, the CEO of HT Group, a developer and owner of commercial property, gave 250 dollars to Amos on September 29, 2017.
(END / Copyright Atlanta Progressive News / 2019)
In order to have an honest person in city council district 3 the obvious solution is to vote for candidate Cardinale. The city council needs smart leadership as shown by the unanimous vote of the city council March 4 to adopt a clean energy program for the city by 2035. This program means all power of the city will come from solar energy. Cheap natural gas will be replaced by expensive solar energy electricity. This cost is at least ten times as much. Candidate Cardinale has math abilities exceeding that of first grader which is highest level of math attainment by the present city council. VOTE CONCIL DISTRICT 3 MARCH 29.
It is sad that some persons elected to office do not have the interest of the public that elected them. Atlanta has a chance to get rid of the ones that are of no value to the common man. I hope they will take advantage and boot them out with their VOTE.