ATLANTA — Atlanta voters took to the polls to decide who they want to be the city's next leader after Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said months ago she would not seek re-election.
Fast forward to Nov. 2, 2021, more than a dozen candidates are vying for the position on Election Day.
Late Tuesday night, the Associated Press announced Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore has advanced to a Nov. 30 runoff in the city’s mayoral race. It’s unclear which candidate will grab the second runoff spot. Former mayor Kasim Reed is seeking a third term and three other major candidates are also jostling for election. The race has focused on fears of crime, with Moore saying she would seek an immediate boost in the number of police. Moore also has focused on transparency, drawing a contrast with corruption allegations against Reed’s administration.
Reed and five other mayor hopefuls participated in an 11Alive debate last month to discuss crime, COVID-19, and other hot button issues.
Each candidate participating qualified by receiving 5% support in a poll 11Alive conducted in October. Reed, Antonio Brown, Andre Dickens, Sharon Gay, Rebecca King, and Felicia Moore received one hour to get their points across to viewers.
In Atlanta, polls closed at 8 p.m. For other parts of the state, polling places were open until 7 p.m. Tuesday. Below, you can find results for Atlanta's mayor's race.
ELECTION RESULTS | View results from races across metro Atlanta
Who's running for Atlanta mayor?
There are 14 candidates running for Atlanta mayor. Below is the list.
- Antonio Brown
- Brown, a 36-year-old millennial who would be the city's second-youngest ever mayor, has largely aligned himself with activist causes that gained ascendance during 2020's racial justice protests. Brown has served on the City Council, representing much of the heart of the city in Midtown and Downtown since his election in 2019. He boasts a campaign platform that touches on topics like affordable housing, the availability of fresh foods in underserved neighborhoods, and Atlanta's stark inequalities.
- Andre Dickens
- Dickens is a member of the City Council who, as an at-large councilman, has won two citywide races since 2013. Dickens has run a campaign built on the foundation of his community advocacy. He helped Atlanta establish a $15 minimum wage in 2017, and his campaign website touts his record as a leader on transportation and development issues.
- Kirsten Dunn
- An Atlanta real estate investor, Kristen Dunn is a lesser-known candidate. Her campaign site describes her as a candidate who wants to "unify the community" through policies rooted in small business development and generating initiatives for resident homeownership.
- Nolan English
- Sharon Gay
- Gay, an Inman Park resident, is a private attorney with a long history in Atlanta city politics, though she has never held public office. She's long been a behind-the-scenes power player in Atlanta's development. Her profile on her employer's website indicates she had a role in financing significant city developments in the last decade-plus: Ponce City Market, Glenwood Place, and Krog Street Market among others.
- Mark Hammad
- Hammad said he is running for mayor because "it saddens me to see the current state of the city." He said he is not a political insider and has never worked in politics before. If elected, he promises to be only accountable to the citizens of Atlanta.
- Kenny Hill
- Hill retired from Home Depot after 30 years. He and his wife founded The Launchpad Foundation to provide housing, life skills and career training to the homeless, according to his website. He is going off the acronym PEACE for better public safety, educational outcomes, affordable housing, city leadership and economic opportunity.
- Rebecca L. King
- The Buckhead businesswoman is the CEO of Cover Your Assets, Inc. She unsuccessfully ran for a City Council seat four years ago and currently serves on Buckhead's Neighborhood Planning Unit. Much of her philanthropic and community work appears to be centered around Buckhead's livability and viability issues.
- Felicia Moore
- Moore is perhaps the most experienced candidate in the race, with two decades on the Atlanta City Council representing much of the Westside and northwest corner of Atlanta in District 9. Since 2018, she has been City Council president. She presents herself as a champion of transparency and clean government.
- Kasim Reed
- Reed is the most familiar face in the race, running Atlanta for two terms as mayor from 2010-18. Among the hallmarks of his time in office, the former mayor oversaw the rapid growth of the city and staked much of his reputation as being tough on crime.
- Walter Reeves
- Reeves is new to Atlanta and new to politics. He previously told 11Alive he aims to combat crime in Atlanta and intends to "ban criminally insane elements from the city." He said his record is that of a labor activist who has advocated on behalf of chicken plant workers, mostly in the Gainesville area, where he had lived before moving to Atlanta a few years ago.
- Roosevelt Searles III
- Searles is an Atlanta native. According to his campaign website, his platform touches on social issues like policing in the city, food accessibility, and city code enforcement for buildings with various resident complaints.
- Richard N. Wright
- Wright is an Atlanta transplant who moved to the city in 1997. His campaign website states he wants to work toward remedying systemic issues in the city, like urban economic development and affordable living. His biography states he wishes to use his experience in the corporate world as a Certified Public Accountant to work toward measurable goals for the city.
- Glenn S. Wrightson
Outside of the Atlanta mayoral race, residents had other items on their ballot, such as choosing leaders for city council seats and the board of education.
Other cities also held elections for some municipal positions. For races where a candidate doesn't receive 50% plus one vote, it will head to a runoff at the end of the month.
11Alive will be tracking the races as the votes come in on election night to provide real-time updates. To see a list of hot races and other election results, click here.
11Alive is Where Atlanta Speaks. We are committed to getting viewers' answers. 11Alive News is your source for Election Day stories, identifying voter issues, fact-checking and results.