Atlanta Councilman Andre Dickens will become the 61st mayor of Atlanta in January after defeating City Council President Felicia Moore in the runoff election on Tuesday. Dickens won 63% of the vote, while while Moore garnered about 37%.
“We gather in victory for Atlanta,” Dickens told the crowd at his victory party after the election was called by the Associated Press. “We voted for progress, and a problem solver, and a bridge builder, and transformation.”
Moore and Dickens advanced to the Nov. 30 runoff election after leading the Nov. 2 mayoral election with 41% and 23% votes, respectively, according to data from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution collected from Fulton and DeKalb Counties. Former Mayor Kasim Reed, an early favorite, came in third behind Dickens and did not proceed to the runoff.
Andre Dickens. (Courtesy Atlanta City Council)
The candidates campaigned among 14 other candidates: a crowded race after current Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced she would not run for a second term. She did not give a specific reason, although she had a tumultuous term as mayor, presiding over both the pandemic and wide-spread protests in summer 2020.
Surrounded by family, members of his campaign and current Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Dickens thanked his supporters.
“They believed that this city needed a unifier, somebody that could bring this whole city together,” Dickens said. “Tonight, I am beyond humbled that you have chosen me.”
He commended Moore for “her desire to serve the city of Atlanta” and expressed a need for unity among city residents.
“We need to capture the spirit of Atlanta in this very moment that we have,” Dickens said. “A future that has one city, with one vision; one city, one future; a future that restores Atlanta to that shining city on a hill.”
In Moore’s concession speech to her supporters at her campaign party, she extended support to Dickens, who she had called prior to addressing the crowd.
“There’s no division tonight between the Dickens camp and the Moore camp, because tonight we’re all camp Atlanta,” Moore said.
She encouraged her supporters to embrace Dickens and specifically addressed Buckhead neighborhood residents calling for them to work with the new mayor. The next mayor will need to address growing desires for the northern, wealthy Atlanta neighborhood to secede from the city, an area that Moore had received much support from.
“I certainly will do anything that I can do, and I would ask each and every one of you to do the same, that we can help him and his administration as he moves forward,” Moore said.
Prior to the results of the runoff on Tuesday, Dickens discussed his motivation for running for mayor to WSB TV.
“I see a problem and I solve a problem,” Dickens said. “I’m an engineer that likes to fix things.”
Channel 2 reported that turnout had been “light” and that this is typical for a runoff election. The news station also reported no issues with lines or voting.
On FOX5 Atlanta, Moore discussed the easy voting day, saying , “There’s no excuse not to vote.”
Dickens plans to focus on crime as a major issue in Atlanta, in addition to infrastructure, housing and preventing a potential secession of the Buckhead neighborhood.
“Public safety, it can’t wait,” Dickens said in his victory speech.
Additionally, the city council president race runoff occurred on Nov. 30 between Doug Shipman (95C) and Councilwoman Natalyn Mosby Achibong. Shipman won with 54% of the vote to Archibong’s 46%, a trend that mirrored his slight lead over Archibong in the Nov. 2 race according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Kira Barich (she/they) (25C) is from Princeton, New Jersey and is majoring in political science and minoring in women’s, gender and sexuality studies. Outside of the Wheel, Kira is the vice president of inclusion for her sorority Pi Beta Phi. They are a runner and love any opportunity to start a new TV show.
