ATLANTA — The race for Atlanta mayor is taking an unexpected, unprecedented turn, as early voters go to the polls, with the election less than a month away.
For the first time in memory, Atlanta’s NAACP is taking sides, warning voters not to put Kasim Reed back in office, and accusing Reed--and his policies and programs--of being anti-Black during his first two terms as mayor.
Thursday, Reed fired back, refuting the attacks.
And Reed, a lifetime member of the NAACP, is reporting Atlanta’s NAACP president, Richard Rose, to the national office, complaining that Rose is politicizing the chapter.
“He was not a good mayor for Black neighborhoods, clearly,” Rose said, Thursday.
Rose wrote a seven-point attack on Reed’s record as mayor and posted it on the chapter’s Facebook page.
The accusations:
- Failing to pursue affordable housing, but providing tax incentives to help developers who were building condos and apartments for people with higher incomes.
- Negotiating the complicated deal to build Mercedes Benz stadium that exempts the stadium from paying millions of dollars a year in property taxes to the city—money that Black school children, in particular, need for their schools.
- Welcoming the endorsement of the IBPO police union, an organization that supports Atlanta police officers who are accused of using illegal, excessive force against citizens.
- Ignoring “President Obama’s 21st Century Policing Policy… (that) might have saved Black lives.”
- Supporting the city’s attempt to take 13 acres of property away from two Atlanta HBCUs, Clark Atlanta University and the then-bankrupt Morris Brown College-- a battle that ended only when the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled against the city.
- Leading an administration that federal prosecutors investigated for corruption (Reed’s attorneys recently announced that federal prosecutors confirmed they are no longer investigating Reed, himself).
- Deciding not to remove Confederate monuments throughout the City.
“The allegations are demonstrably false,” Reed said Thursday, disputing both the specifics and the spirit of Rose’s criticisms.
For example, “He said that we took advantage of Morris Brown, that’s foolish… my administration paid $10.1 Million to Morris Brown to help it actually stay alive.”
Reed did not address why the city wanted the 13 acres of property, or why the city pursued a claim on the property, even thought that forced the cash-strapped schools to spend money on legal fees fighting the city.
Rose stands by all of his accusations against Reed.
“We want to hold the politicians accountable,” Rose said, “and not give them a pass because of the color of their skin. And not assume that because they are Black they’re going to do what’s right for the community. And not assume that because they are white that they won’t do what’s right for the community.”
Rose acknowledged that he contributed $500 each to two other candidates for mayor, Andre Dickens and Felicia Moore.
Reed said that proves that Rose is politicizing the NAACP chapter.
“We’ve shared these concerns with the national NAACP, and we look forward to hearing from them, soon,” Reed said.
Rose insisted he has not violated any NAACP policies or rules.