Inside City Hall: Candidates qualify for open Atlanta Council seat

While the presidential debate held in Atlanta Thursday drew national headlines, another race for one of Atlanta’s elected positions kicked off. Candidates interested in running for the vacant Post 3 at-large council seat made their way to City Hall to file paperwork to officially launch their bids.

The consequential citywide seat has been open since March when former Council member Keisha Sean Waites stepped down. When voters take to the polls on Nov. 5 to vote for the new member, the seat will have been empty for eight months.

According to the clerk’s office, five candidates qualified. They are: Devin Barrington-Ward, Eshé Collins, Amber Connor, Nicole Evans Jones and Duvwon Robinson. The winner will serve the remainder of the term through Dec. 31, 2025.

The contest will share the general election ballot with the highly-watched rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump — likely quadrupling the turnout for a municipal race.

We previously reported that Atlanta’s politicos suspect the increased turnout at the ballot box will likely benefit both well-known candidates and newcomers to the race. But, if there’s a runoff — which would be held Dec. 3 — the finalists will have to work to get their supporters to the polls again.

The AJC is planning to catch up with all the candidates in the coming weeks so keep an eye out for continued coverage of the Post 3 at-large race.

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Credit: AP

Speaking of the presidential debate, Atlanta Democrats are standing strong in their support of Biden’s reelection bid despite criticism that the president should bow out after a shaky debate performance on CNN’s stage last week.

On Sunday, the AJC’s senior leadership published an editorial joining other major media outlets calling for Biden step aside and pass the torch to another member of the party for this election against Donald J. Trump.

But Atlanta’s top Democrats and close allies to the president criticized the idea, and are standing steadfast behind the candidate.

Mayor Andre Dickens, a top surrogate for Biden, released a statement Sunday drawing attention to Trump’s actions as president.

“There are plenty of reasons a person shouldn’t be President,” he said and pointed to Trump’s 34 felony convictions, his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and the part his Supreme Court appointments played in overturning Roe v. Wade. “But having a tough debate night with a serial liar isn’t one of them.”

Former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms — who was recently appointed to serve as a senior adviser for the Democrat’s campaign — also came to Biden’s aid.

“I can think of a lot of reasons to call on a candidate to dropout, including violently trying to overthrow an election, demanding 11k more votes from the Secretary of State, felony convictions, sexual assault, and indictments in Fulton County,” she said on social media, as she slammed the newspaper’s editorial.

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Credit: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC

The drama over MARTA’s plans to close the Five Points station for pedestrian and buses continues.

Our colleague, David Wickert, reports that Dickens met with MARTA officials Friday to discuss his concerns over the agency’s decision to shutdown street access beginning next month.

The closure — which will last for years — is due to plans to replace the massive canopy over Five Points and redesign the station plaza, although rail transfers will not be affected.

But MARTA’s decision has prompted a backlash from community groups and city officials, including Dickens . Among other things, they say the closure will make life harder for thousands of MARTA customers. But the transit agency has said the closure is needed to ensure the safety of passengers during construction.

After Friday’s meeting, Dickens said both sides expressed their views. They plan to meet again this week. “It was a very positive meeting, one that is moving in the right direction,” the mayor said.

On Tuesday, dozens of Atlanta community leaders gathered at the station to protest the closure.

“We need to think about Atlantans today who are using this system, who rely on this system to get to work, to get to school, to get to the store, to get their kids to day care,” City Councilman Jason Dozier said.

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Got tips, tricks or just want to say hello? Email me at riley.bunch@ajc.com .

Credit: Miguel Martinez

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