ATLANTA — In one week, Atlanta voters will head to the polls for a second time this month to elect the city's next mayor.
A new exclusive 11Alive SurveyUSA Poll indicates Felicia Moore, city council president, and Andre Dickens, an at-large councilman, are in a "fierce fight" with both candidates having a possible path to victory. Both mayor hopefuls advanced to the Nov. 30 runoff after none of the 14 candidates running for the position were able to gain the 50% plus one vote needed for a win.
The poll results indicate Moore has an ever-so-slight advantage among all likely voters, 46% to 40%. Among the 59% who said they are certain to vote on or before Nov 30, Moore's lead is just 5 points.
However, another 13% said they will probably vote, and among those voters, Dickens has the nominal lead, 35% to 30%. The poll indicates If Dickens can motivate enough "probable" voters to become "certain" voters, he may emerge as Atlanta's 61st mayor. If not, Moore's advantage in banked votes and among those more certain to vote may make the difference.
So, the poll results show that either candidate could land on top.
The news of a runoff didn't come as a surprise because many political analysts indicated early on that this highly-anticipated race would likely go to a runoff. However, many Georgians were shocked to see that the city's former leader, Kasim Reed, didn't make the cut. 11Alive's poll shows that many who voted for Reed earlier in the month prefer Dickens to Moore by 19 points.
The 11Alive Survey USA was conducted between Nov. 17 and Nov. 22 and included 750 adults from Atlanta. Of the adults, 655 were identified as registered voters. Of the the registered voters, 561 were determined by SurveyUSA to be likely to vote in the upcoming runoff or had already cast their ballots during early voting period.
Below is a list of the questions and their answers.
Are you registered to vote in the state of Georgia?
87% Yes
12% No
1% Not Sure
Atlanta will hold a runoff election for mayor on November 30. Not everyone makes the time to vote in every election. Which best describes you? Have you already voted? Are you certain to vote? Will you probably vote? Are the chances you will vote about 50/50? Or will you probably not vote?
24% Already Voted
51% Certain To Vote
11% Will Probably Vote
7% 50/50 Chance
5% Probably Will Not Vote
2% Not Sure
If you were filling out your ballot for Atlanta Mayor today, who would you vote for? Andre Dickens? Or Felicia Moore?
40% Andre Dickens
46% Felicia Moore
14% Undecided
Which one issue is most important in deciding how you vote in the runoff for Atlanta Mayor? Crime? Affordable housing? Education? Homelessness? Economic development? Job opportunities? Or something else?
39% Crime
19% Affordable Housing
7% Education
7% Homelessness
16% Economic Development
5% Job Opportunities
5% Other
2% Not Sure
On Tuesday, 11Alive talked to both candidates about the city's affordable housing shortage. Moore said the most frustrating part about the issue is knowing that there are people who want to live in Atlanta that can't because it's not affordable.
Dickens said inequity in the city is an issue that keeps him up at night.
"When I become mayor, I'm gong to rapidly build new housing at all of the Atlanta Housing Authority sites," he said. "These places have land and now with the infrastructure bill that's coming out, we will also be able to do some of the sewers and the other work that is below ground that we don't have funding from HUD for."
Will the amount of crime in Atlanta be a major factor in your vote? A minor factor? Or not a factor at all?
71% Major Factor
22% Minor Factor
4% Not a Factor
3% Not Sure
Since crime is a major factor for many Atlanta voters, 11Alive asked Dickens and Moore about how they plan to tackle the issue. Dickens said he believes a lot of the violent crime is related to the pandemic, but he hopes this is not the new normal.
"Making safety a reality is what I've done before in 2017 by establishing walk-and-talks, it's what I called them. It's now called community-based policing," he said.
He said he wants the community to point out problems and be able to relay information faster. "We want safety," he said.
"We want to make sure the violent crime wave goes down," he added.
Moore said if she is elected, she would look into shaking up the leadership at the police department in her first 100 days. She also wants to see more officers on the streets
"I will be getting in the first 100 days the equivalent of 200 more officers on our streets," Moore said. She said "equivalent" because she plans to take officers who are behind desks, "with guns and have them to spend at least eight hours of their 40-hour work week on the street backing up our patrol officers."
In the runoff election for City Council President, if you were filling out your ballot today, who would you vote for? Doug Shipman? Or Natalyn Archibong?
36% Doug Shipman
34% Natalyn Archibong
30% Undecided
Which of these locations is the biggest area of concern with crime in Atlanta? Gas stations? Buckhead? Clubs and lounges? Shopping centers? Neighborhoods? Or something else?
17% Gas Stations
16% Buckhead
9% Clubs And Lounges
10% Shopping Centers
37% Neighborhoods
4% Other
6% Not Sure
Which of the following do you think would do the most to decrease violent crime in Atlanta? More community centers and mentorship programs? More police and higher pay for police officers? Better police training? New police leadership? New elected leadership? Or something else?
24% Community Centers / Mentorship Programs
23% More Police / Higher Pay
21% Better Police Training
10% New Police Leadership
12% New Elected Leadership
6% Other
5% Not Sure
Have you or anyone in your household been the victim of a violent crime in the past two years?
12% Yes
86% No
2% Not Sure
If you didn't live in Atlanta and were looking to move to the area, would you still consider moving into the city of Atlanta? Or not?
68% Would Still Consider Moving
23% Would Not
9% Not Sure
Should the Buckhead area of Atlanta remain part of the city of Atlanta? Or should Buckhead become a separate city?
73% Remain Part Of Atlanta
16% Become a Separate City
11% Not Sure