Howard Shook has announced next year will be his last on the Atlanta City Council.
Shook, who has represented Buckhead’s District 7 since 2001, said in a letter to constituents he would not seek re-election in 2025.
“I have decided that the Atlanta City Council’s final meeting of 2025 will be my last,” he said in the letter. “As Chaucer knew, ‘All good things must come to an end.’ Without a doubt, one of the very best things to happen to me was the privilege of being elected by my friends and neighbors to represent them as a member of this legislative body.”
The remainder of the letter:
It was my good fortune to take office with a built-in dislike of elected officials eager to appear as all things to all people. In support of you I have striven to be plain-spoken, ethical, independent, fact-driven, bottom line-oriented, eager to work with others and, when required, ready and able to fight.
My decision not to stand for re-election has given me the opportunity to reflect upon the notable things we’ve done together. By my calculation I will have cast 60,000 votes by the end of this term. While I’m quite sure that not everyone was pleased with all of them, I do feel that my record reflects our mainstream sentiments and desired outcomes. Some of the things I feel best about include: keeping our neighborhoods strong with a 100% record of supporting community recommendations on zoning & land-use issues (and never losing a zoning battle in Council); never supporting a property tax increase; tripling our acreage devoted to parks & trails; transforming the notorious Buckhead Village into today’s family-friendly mix of retail and dining venues; virtually eliminating the sanitary sewer spills that used to routinely pollute Nancy Creek; and authoring many pieces of landmark policy reforms regarding ethics, procurement, pensions, budgeting, and the handling of our precious reserves.
Notwithstanding the above, I am acutely aware of the many challenges our successor will face: No matter how much crime may decrease there will always be too much of it; traffic isn’t going to magically melt away; our social media platforms will ever test our desire to be part of a community that values both solidarity and diversity of opinion; and the reality that politics will never be free of politics. More concretely, our new representative will have to oversee an enlightened redevelopment of our vaunted commercial nodes while preserving the abutting single-family neighborhoods; keep up with an endless need to invest in our pipes, streets, and sidewalks; maintain a first-class public safety net; see that the core services we receive reflect what we pay for them; and, above all: keep taxes and fees fair and affordable.
In closing: This job has produced some tough stretches, but I want you to know how sure I am that my worst day downtown would have beaten ever coming in second. I always felt that we had each other’s back, and I can’t thank you enough for your support. I look forward to continue serving with you as a fellow citizen as we hurtle into our future!
This is a developing story. Check back for details.
