Dickens Upsets Willis for Atlanta City Council Post 3

It was after 1:00 a.m. when Dickens learned he had beaten Willis 53% to 47%.

“It’s a new day,” said Dickens moments after he got news of his victory. “Honesty and integrity are a must for elected officials. And it’s clear that that’s what the people are looking for.”

Over the last month, Dickens has hammered his opponent for recently being disbarred for professional misconduct.

State Senator Vincent Fort said Dickens’ victory — and that of Mary Norwood in the race for City Council Post 2 — should send Mayor Kasim Reed a message, telling WABE, “The king has no clothes. The mayor’s juice is not as potent as he would like to believe.”

Dickens says his top priorities are creating jobs and ridding Atlanta of urban blight through stronger code enforcement.

Meanwhile, Willis, who was scheduled to appear at Mayor Kasim Reed’s campaign event at the Hyatt in downtown Atlanta, was nowhere to be found.

Reed made a quick reference to the council races in his victory speech, but didn’t mention Willis.

“I also want to thank my partners on the Atlanta City Council. They’re dealing with their own races now but Keisha Lance Bottoms is in the house,” said Reed, who quipped, “Her campaign was light work so she could get over here.” 

That wasn’t the case for Willis, who made no public appearance election night.   

While WABE was unable to reach Willis, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Willis said the election results indicate Atlantans are “saying different things” about the direction of the city.

He added: “I’ve always been very comfortable with where I am in the public policy space. At the point (voters) make a decision that’s not where I should be, I’ll move onto something else.”

WABE’s Jonathan Shapiro contributed to this report.