Meet The Candidates In Atlanta’s Mayoral Race
Atlantans will select their next mayor when they head to the polls this fall. After serving two terms office, incumbent Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is not eligible for re-election, so the race to eslect his successor on.
In order to help voters prepare to choose between the 10 remaining mayoral candidates, WABE has compiled a database of officially running for the city’s highest office. Bios, websites, photos and links to candidates’ social accounts can be found below, sorted alphabetically by last name:
Peter Aman
Listen to Peter Aman on “Closer Look with Rose Scott” on Oct. 3.
Atlanta partner at Bain and Co. management consultancy; former city of Atlanta chief operating officer under Mayor Kasim Reed. Under former Mayor Shirley Franklin, Aman oversaw the Bain Report, which recommended improvements to city government operations. Aman is involved in various organizations in Atlanta, including serving or have served on the boards of the Atlanta Police Foundation, Woodruff Arts Center, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Partners for HOME, the West Side Future Fund and others.
Candidate Links:
Photo by Al Such/WABE
Rohit Ammanamanchi
Listen to Rohit Ammanamanchi on “Closer Look with Rose Scott" on Oct. 2.
Ammanamanchi is a Georgia Institute of Technology civil engineering graduate. He has spoken out about issues like immigration, minimum wage and LBGTQ rights. If elected mayor, he said he hopes to improve transportation, housing, education and engage citizens through technology. He wants to put more resources into neighborhoods on the south and west sides of the city, according to his website. He also said he wants to represent millennials and prepare for a potential growth in Atlanta’s population.
WABE Story on Rohit Ammanamanchi
Candidate Links:
Photo courtesy of Rohit Ammanamanchi.
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Listen to Keisha Lance Bottoms on “Closer Look with Rose Scott” on Sept. 27.
The Atlanta City Council member sponsored legislation to address the city’s unfunded pension liability, according to her campaign website. As vice chair of the council’s Public Safety Committee, Bottoms supported expanding the Atlanta Police Department. Former executive director of the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority; Served as an attorney in private practice and legal analyst for media outlets. Former board member of Atlanta Central Progress, Andrew and Walter Young YMCA and others.
WABE story on Keisha Lance Bottoms
Candidate Links:
Photo courtesy of the City of Atlanta.
John Eaves
Listen to John Eaves on “Closer Look with Rose Scott” on Sept. 28.
Three-term Fulton County Commission chairman; executive consultant, TalentQuest; formerly taught at Kennesaw State University and a college administrator at Davidson College in North Carolina; former Southeast Regional director of the Peace Corps; recipient of two Fulbright Scholarships and the American Marshall Plan Memorial Fellowship-German Marshall Fund; launched Fulton County’s SMART Justice Advisory Council and supported 2017 property tax assessment freeze approved by Fulton commission.
Candidate Links:
Photo courtesy of Fulton County.
Vincent Fort
Listen to Vincent Fort on “Closer Look with Rose Scott” on Sept. 29.
Fort has been a Georgia state senator since 1996 and is currently Senate Minority Whip. According to his campaign website, Fort has been a sponsor of legislation to crack down on predatory lenders and hate crimes. He’s also sponsored bills to promote minority business ownership, including the creation of the first statewide Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. A former educator at institutions in the Atlanta University Center. Formerly the president of the Atlanta Community Planning Advisory Board.
Candidate Links:
Photo courtesy of the Georgia State Senate.
Kwanza Hall
Listen to Kwanza Hall on “Closer Look with Rose Scott" on Sept. 20.
Member of Atlanta City Council since 2005; director of business development, MACTEC Engineering and Consulting. Former member, Atlanta Board of Education. Recipient of Georgia State University’s Pioneer Award for promoting arts and culture in downtown Atlanta. Honored by Atlanta Park Pride for advocacy of green spaces and public parks. Board member of Leadership Atlanta, Metro Atlanta Arts Fund, Atlanta Medical Center, True Colors Theater Company and the Downtown and Midtown Improvement Districts.
Candidate Links:
Photo courtesy of the Kwanza Hall campaign.
Carl Jackson
Carl Jackson filed to qualify as a
pauper, but did not collect enough citizen signatures required to do so.
Teaching assistant at GSU, according to his Facebook page.
Laban King
Laban King announced he is ending his bid for mayor on "Closer Look with Rose Scott" on Oct. 4.
According to his website, King is interested in building partnerships to address the city’s issues and further the gains of past administrations. An entrepreneur and investor, he launched the United Economic Development Council to spur the growth of minority-owned businesses across the country. Before entering the business world, he lived in New York and worked in the entertainment industry.
Candidate Links:
Photo courtesy of the Laban King campaign.
Ceasar Mitchell
Listen to Ceasar Mitchell on “Closer Look with Rose Scott" on Oct. 4.
Atlanta City Council president; attorney, global law firm DLA Piper LLP; community activities include president of the board of directors of Hands on Atlanta, president of the Gate City Bar Association and gubernatorial appointee to the Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism. According to his campaign website, he pushed for the creation of the Parks Advisory Group and the Clean Green Team in Atlanta and supported legislation calling for community input into developing the Atlanta BeltLine.
Candidate Links:
Photo courtesy of the City of Atlanta.
Mary Norwood
Listen to Mary Norwood on “Closer Look with Rose Scott” on Oct. 17.
The current Atlanta City Council member and former mayoral candidate has served on the Mayor’s Commission on Waste and Efficiency, the Repeat Offenders Commission and the Code Enforcement Commission. Norwood is a longtime activist and volunteer in Atlanta, she has worked with Atlanta Opera, the Atlanta Preservation Center, the Frazer Center, the Council for Battered Women, the Southeastern Horticultural Society, and the Women’s Pre-Release Center, according to her City Council profile.
Candidate Links:
Photo by Al Such/WABE.
Michael Sterling
Michael Sterling announced Oct. 24 that he’s ending his campaign and endorsing Ceasar Mitchell.
Sterling is the former executive director of the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency. He is also a former adviser to Mayor Kasim Reed and a former assistant U.S. attorney in Illinois and lawyer in private practice in Chicago. He led an effort by the Kasim administration to create a municipal sales tax for water and sewer services and advised Reed on criminal justice and labor policy and handled various appointments and government relations matters. Sterling established the city’s office of entertainment.
WABE Story on Michael Sterling
Candidate Links:
Photo by Al Such/WABE.
Cathy Woolard
Listen to Cathy Woolard on “Closer Look with Rose Scott” on Sept. 26.
Former Atlanta City Council president; executive vice president of global advocacy and external relations at CARE; formerly a professional advocate for Planned Parenthood and Georgia Equality; formerly interim director of AID Atlanta. According to her campaign website, she was an early advocate for the Atlanta BeltLine. She was the main sponsor of a 2000 ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, first of its kind in Georgia. Woolard was the first openly gay elected official in Georgia history.
Candidate Links:
Photo courtesy of Friends of Cathy Woolard, Inc.
Glenn Wrightson
Listen to Glenn Wrightson on “Closer Look with Rose Scott" on Sept. 25.
Glenn Wrightson also ran for mayor in 2013 against Mayor Kasim Reed, Al Bartell, Fraiser Duke and others. In that campaign, he ran on cutting back on city spending by trimming the payroll and reducing budget of the mayor’s office by 20 percent. He has expressed interest in adding another airport in the city. He has also expressed a desire to reduce the use of plastic grocery bags and promote other sustainability efforts. Wrightson is a longtime resident of Grant Park, according to Creative Loafing.
Candidate Links:
Photo by Eboni Lemon/WABE.
Do you have a question about the 2017 mayoral race? Let us know here.
WABE’s Al Such, Courtney Kueppers, Kaitlyn Lewis and Wendy Parker contributed to this report.
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