Crime at the center of Atlanta mayoral race as voting begins

Atlanta mayoral candidates are talking about affordable housing, hoping to stave off a secession movement in a wealthy neighborhood and trading increasingly pointed jabs. But as in so many places across the country, the election is really about crime.

News is dominated by reports of violence, and residents poor and rich demand solutions, even as many say they want to balance policing and social justice. Candidates seeking to mollify voters are competing in a wide-open race after Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms surprised many in May by announcing she didn’t want a second term. Now, with 14 names on the Nov. 2 ballot, a runoff in the nonpartisan race seems almost certain.

Early in-person voting began this week and recent polls show many voters still undecided. Kasim Reed, Bottoms’ predecessor, is a top contender. City Council President Felicia Moore, long a Reed critic, is another leading candidate. Attorney Sharon Gay and council members Andre Dickens and Antonio Brown also have gained support.