Atlanta voters will be heading to the polls on Nov. 7 to elect a new mayor, city council members and school board members. With multiple contenders in nearly all the municipal races, picking a winner may come down to run-off elections on Dec. 5.
The most watched and hotly contested race is for mayor of the City of Atlanta with 12 candidates on the ballot: Peter Aman, Rohit Ammanamanchi, Keisha Lance Bottoms, John Eaves, Vincent Fort, Kwanza Hall, Carl Jackson, Laban King, Ceasar Mitchell, Mary Norwood, Cathy Woolard and Glenn S. Wrightson.
Three current city councilmembers – C.T. Martin, Felicia Moore and Alex Wan – are vying to become the new Atlanta City Council President since Ceasar Mitchell is in the mayoral race.
Atlanta City Council Dist. 1 incumbent Carla Smith will face Ron Aribo, Oz Hill, Mo Ivory and Bill Powell. District 2 contenders to replace Kwanza Hall include Amir Farokhi, Stephon Ferguson, Zelda Jackson, Nick Mulkey and Lauren Welsh.
Atlanta City Council Dist. 3 incumbent Ivory Lee Young also faces challengers, including Ricky Brown, Greg Clay and Darrion Fletcher. Dist. 4 incumbent Cleta Winslow will square off against MR Adassa, Christopher Brown, Dan Burroughs and Jason Dozier. Dist. 5 incumbent Natalyn Archibong has only one challenger, Liliana Bakhtiari.
Atlanta City Council Dist. 6 candidates are Jennifer Ide and Kirk Rich, who will vie for Alex Wan’s seat, while Dist. 7 incumbent Howard Shook will face Rebecca King. In Dist. 8, incumbent Yolanda Adrean decided not to run, so the race goes down to J.P. Matzigkeit and Anna Tillman.
There’s a crowded field for the Dist. 9 seat including Kwama Abernathy, William Harrison and Dustin Hillis. In Dist. 10, Andrea Boone, Kenneth Darnell Hill and Beverly Rice are in the running.
Another crowded race is for Dist. 11 with candidates Harold Hardnett, Debra Harris, LaTarsha Holden, Anthony Johnson, Edith Ladipo, Brionte McCorkle, Marci Collier Overstreet and Georgianne Thomas.
In Dist. 12, incumbent Joyce Sheperd will face Randy Gibbs, Mike Jackson and Diana Watley.
Vying for Atlanta City Council Post 1 – At Large are incumbent Michael Julian Bond and Courtney English. Running for Post 2 – At Large is Cory Ruth, Matt Westmoreland and Bret Williams. Andre Dickens has no challenger for his Post 3 – At Large seat.
All seats on the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education are in play this year as well. In District 1, incumbent Leslie Grant is facing challenger Ade Oguntoye. District 2 incumbent Byron Amos is running against challengers Tony Burks and Keisha Carey.
In Dist. 3 five newcomers – Adzua Agyapon, Lewis Cartee, Michelle Olympiadis-Constant, Antoine Raynard Trammell and Rashida Winfrey – are running for the seat. Incumbent Nancy Meister is unopposed for her Dist. 4 seat.
The Dist. 5 incumbent Steven Lee did not file for re-election leaving the race open to newcomers D’Jaris James, Raynard Johnson, Jatisha Marsh, Erika Yvette Mitchell, Bobby Montgomery and Jackye Rhodes. In Dist. 6, Valrie Walker Sanders, Patreece Hutcherson, and Donta McMichael are challenging incumbent Eshe’ Collins for the seat.
The open Dist, 7 seat drew newcomers Nathaniel Borrell Dyer, Patricia Crayton, Micah Rowland, Kandis Wood Jackson and John Wright. Dist. 8 incumbent Cynthia Briscoe Brown is facing challengers Ben Stone and Charlie Stadtlander. Incumbent Jason Esteves was the only candidate to file for the Dist. 9 seat and is running unopposed.
To see sample ballots and get other information, visit fultoncountyga.gov/rae-home.