ATLANTA — Atlanta will have a new mayor Monday when Mayor-Elect Andre Dickens is sworn in after winning the runoff election.
Having a government that works for everybody is one of Dickens' priorities as he gets ready for his 1 p.m. inauguration.
“We’re making sure we start this year off in community service taking care of the members of our community all across Atlanta," Dickens (D) said.
Dickens spent part of the weekend serving in a Community Day of Service. His goals include convincing Buckhead not to split off from Atlanta, as well as hiring more police officers and mental health counselors to respond to non-crime 911 calls.
11Alive political analyst Andra Gillespie said Dickens will need to put his plans into action to be a man of the people.
“He is definitely concerned about issues related to economic development and affordable housing, and I expect that he is going to hit on some of those issues and his inaugural address as well," Gillespie said. "I think in general, he's going to present himself as a public servant and as a problem solver who seeks to look for solutions that will benefit all residents of the city.”
Dickens also wants to focus on crime, public safety, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Atlanta's outgoing Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms endorsed Dickens, and Gillespie said that consistency will be combined with progress.
“This transition has been a pretty amicable transition. Outgoing Mayor Bottoms endorsed incoming Mayor Dickens, and so there's certainly been a lot of cooperation," Gillespie said. "The tone of Dickens transition has been tried to try to reach out to his constituency.”
That outreach begins in full on Monday.