Moore, Dickens Advance into Run-off, as Reed Falls Short
(APN) ATLANTA — Atlanta City Council President Felicia A. Moore and Atlanta City Councilman Andre Dickens (Post 3-at-large) have advanced into a Run-off Election for Mayor of Atlanta that will be held on November 30, 2021.
In addition, several Atlanta City Council races were settled, while others have also advanced into Run-offs; and the Council President race also will go into a Run-off.
Stay tuned for Part Two that will review those races.
MAYOR OF ATLANTA
Council President Moore received some 40.8 percent support, with heavy support from Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhoods.
Councilman Dickens, in second place, received 23 percent of the votes for Mayor.
Former Mayor Kasim Reed, who was angling for an extraordinary third term as Mayor, had 22.4 percent of the vote.
Sharon Gay received 6.8 percent of the vote.
And voters rejected Councilman Antonio Brown, a newcomer to Council currently facing an upcoming federal criminal trial; he received 4.7 percent of the vote.
Nine additional candidates for Mayor received marginal support.
The current political machine that has produced both Mayor Reed and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms had apparently coalesced around Reed rather than Bottoms, causing Bottoms to announce she would not run for reelection.
This after a stunning rise to national prominence for Bottoms as a potential Vice Presidential candidate alongside now-President Joe Biden and the possibility of a Cabinet-level nomination.
The Reed Administration had been plagued by numerous criminal convictions, although there was never any evidence showing that Mr. Reed had been involved or was aware of the illegal activities.
With either Moore or Dickens as Mayor, it will be at least somewhat a new day for Atlanta, as it will be a break from the last twelve years of leadership.
However, make no mistake: As a protege and special project of former Mayor Shirley Franklin, Mr. Dickens is still a machine candidate. He is just a new iteration from an earlier branch of the same tree from which Franklin begot Reed: Reed was Franklin’s campaign manager and was supported by the same airport and developer interests.
That political machine, which has governed Atlanta since the first election of Maynard Jackson in 1974, is essentially the marriage of Atlanta’s Black political leadership and Atlanta’s business community.
For all her strengths and weaknesses, Council President Moore, formerly the District 9 Councilwoman, is independent. She most certainly is not part of the machine; and represents the potential for a complete break therefrom.
In that respect, and also because of her Buckhead pivot, Moore is generally the Mary Norwood of 2021.
According to sources familiar with the matter, look for prominent 2017 Bottoms and 2021 Reed supporters, such as incumbent Councilmembers who have supported the Reed and Bottoms agendas, to now coalesce around Dickens.
State Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta), one of the central figures who helped bring Reed to power in 2009, already announced his support of Dickens prior to Tuesday’s General Municipal Election, as previously reported by Atlanta Progressive News.
(END / Copyright Atlanta Progressive News / 2021)