ATLANTA — After pulling off something of an upset victory to win Atlanta's mayoral race, Andre Dickens credited it to his energetic ground game.
“My work ethic is bar none unequivocal." Dickens said. "My energy, my capacity to knock on more doors, make more phone calls, go to every meeting and also be at every debate stage and perform is based on my love of Atlanta and my preparedness and my energy.”
But maybe it just boiled down to his mom.
Dickens' mother, you see, is named Sylvia. Atlanta's outgoing mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, also has a mom named Sylvia. And so does Kasim Reed, who was mayor before Bottoms.
Now, obviously, it didn't actually have anything to do with Dickens' mayoral victory (though he did thank his mom in his victory speech for "keeping me in school and keeping me disciplined and keeping me focused"). But it sure is a funny trend.
The unusual connection between the two mayors and one mayor-to-be was first highlighted this week by Skip Mason, who runs the Facebook group Skip Mason's Vanishing Black Atlanta History.
"If your mother’s name is not Sylvia, you can’t be Mayor of Atlanta," Skip wrote.
Mayor Bottoms herself highlighted that post on Twitter, writing: "#Facts."
We tried combing through the history of Atlanta mayors to see if there were any other mayoral mothers named Sylvia through the years, but unfortunately couldn't pin one down.
However, two of the city's most historic mayors - Ivan Allen Jr. and Maynard Jackson - did both have mothers named Irene.
So, if you're thinking about leading the city someday, it just might help to have been born to a Sylvia or an Irene.