Winslow on the Ropes as Council Races Head to Run-offs
(APN) ATLANTA — For the second time, the now-longest serving Atlanta City Councilmember, Cleta Winslow has been forced into a Run-off in the District 4 Council race, as seven Atlanta City Council races head into the Nov. 30, 2021 Municipal Run-off Election.
The Council races in Run-offs are Council President; Districts 1, 3, 4, 5, and 12; and Post 3-at large.
In Part One, we reviewed the Mayoral Run-off.
In Part Two, we reviewed the City Council President Run-off, the Post 3-at-large Run-off, and the Post 1 and 2-at-large results.
This article reviews Districts 1 through 6. Part Four will review Districts 7 through 12.
DISTRICT 1
Jason Winston, who received 29.4 percent of the vote, is in a Run-off with Nathan Clubb, who received 27.5 percent.
Both participated in APN’s Questionnaires.
Winston supported all of the proposals in APN’s progressive policy platform
Clubb supported the vast majority but had some reservations, including his concern that allowing too much public commenting at Committee Meetings could make it difficult for some members of the public to attend.
Clubb also said he was not sure whether to offer seniors additional time to make public comment, which was proposed on the basis of studies showing generally slower cognitive processing with age.
Russell Hopson received 15.3 percent of the vote. Kelly Jeanne-Lee received 10.5 percent of the vote. And Clarence Blalock received 10.1 percent.
Hopson, Jeanne-Lee, and Blalock have endorsed Winston.
DISTRICT 2
Amir Farokhi was reelected without opposition.
DISTRICT 3
Former APS BOE Member Byron Amos (District 2), who received 32.9 percent of the vote, is in a Run-off with Erica Estrada, who received 25.4 percent of the vote.
Estrada’s support mainly came from the northern part of District 3: that is, the Home Park, Atlantic Station, and Knight Park / Howell Station neighborhoods.
Amos’s support came from the remainder of the District.
“I’m ready to continue to fight for the people and to ensure we send qualified and experienced leadership to City Council next year,” Amos told Atlanta Progressive News.
“I’m honored that the voters made me one of the parties to be in the Run-off,” Amos said.
“I am very excited obviously having made the Run-off. I’m looking forward to talking to more neighbors in District 3 that I didn’t talk to before so they can see I’m the best candidate,” Estrada said.
Estrada is being supported by incumbent Antonio Brown (District 3), who won in the 2019 Special Election and who just ran, unsuccessfully, for Mayor of Atlanta.
Both Amos and Estrada indicated their strong support for progressive public policies contained in the APN questionnaire.
Both have committed to introduce several specific pieces of progressive legislation, including an ordinance to stop arresting homeless teenagers for breaking curfew laws.
Estrada recently made the commitments to introduce the legislation, if elected, in a phone interview.
https://atlantaprogressivenews.com/2021/07/21/apn-candidate-questionnaire-erika-estrada-district-3/
In the 2019 Special Election for District 3, nine candidates ran following the passing of then-Councilman Ivory Lee Young, Jr.
Amos and Brown advanced into the 2019 Run-off. Estrada, who ran in the 2019 Special Election, came in ninth in that election, which included several strong candidates such as Shalise Steele-Young and former Councilman Jabari Simama. [APN’s News Editor, who ran, came in seventh.]
In the 2021 General Municipal Election, Keona Jones received 17.3 percent, Elijah Porter received 10.2 percent, Brandon Graham received 10.1, and Ken Wainwright received 4.2 percent.
DISTRICT 4
For the second time, in a repeat of 2017, Cleta Winslow is in danger: a Run-off with Jason Dozier.
This time, she is down approximately ten percent from her support four years ago based on the General Election results.
Winslow received 31.4 percent of the vote; Dozier received 29.3 percent; Kim Scott received 13.6 percent; Rogelio Arcila received 11.2 percent; Sister DeBorah Williams received 9.2 percent; and Larry Carter, II received 5.2 percent.
Dozier supported the vast majority of APN’s progressive policy proposals.
https://atlantaprogressivenews.com/2021/08/11/apn-candidate-questionnaire-jason-dozier-district-4/
Winslow has a way with words. She recently told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper that District 4 is like a girlfriend who was “fat and ugly” [but now District 4 is pretty and everybody wants her] and that the Run-off has her wearing “gasoline drawers”.
She has also compared Atlantans who make public comments at Council Meetings to “the asylum being run by the people who are ill”; said that homeless people shouldn’t be roaming around; and said on a hot microphone that she had better things to do than listen to a public commenter.
“I think we are in a much better position than we were just a few years ago,” Dozier told APN.
“And it speaks to how well we’ve been able to get our message out to voters of District 4 and it speaks to people’s desire for change in District 4,” he said.
“People are ready for change, and they’re tired of leadership or lack of leadership that has left our community behind for too long,” he said.
“There are, kind of, two camps. One camp who was dissatisfied with the way City services are run in general, with yard trimmings not being picked up.”
“Our legacy residents who had been in the neighborhoods for years or decades knew that Cleta Winslow was not responsive,” he said.
“Honestly, the ethics [Winslow’s ethics violations] has not come up much going door to door. What comes up is absenteeism… and she only shows up during an election year,” he said.
“New residents do research and see the articles, and find that sort of stuff alarming,” he said.
DISTRICT 5
Two progressive, non-machine candidates are headed for a Run-off in District 5.
Liliana Bakhtiari, an activist who almost defeated incumbent Natalyn Archibong in 2017, received 49.5 percent of the vote.
Amanda “Mandy” Mahoney, an environmentalist, received 18.3 percent.
Archibong is currently running for City Council President.
Both Bakhtiari and Majoney participated in APN’s questionnaires.
Mahoney supported all of the policy proposals, while Bakhtiari supported the vast majority and had reservations about a few.
https://atlantaprogressivenews.com/2021/09/18/apn-candidate-questionnaire-mandy-mahoney-district-5/
Samuel Bacote received 17.9 percent of the vote; Katrina Kissel received 8.2 percent; and Doug Williams received 6.2 percent.
DISTRICT 6
Alex Wan was reelected to the Atlanta City Council District 6 seat.
Wan was first elected to District 6 in 2009; and served from 2010 to 2018, running unsuccessfully in 2017 for City Council President.
Current incumbent Jennifer Ide (District 6), who was elected in 2017 and has served since 2018, did not run for reelection.
Wan received 79.1 percent of the vote. Kathryn Voelpel received 10.9 percent, while Courtney Jenee DeDi received ten percent.
(END / Copyright Atlanta Progressive News / 2021)