Runoff Candidates Scored By Atlanta Business, Community Group

Atlanta GA

12 November, 2021

12:42 PM

Description

ATLANTA — The 16 candidates vying for Atlanta City government seats in the Nov. 30 runoff elections are have been sized up by a community improvement organization. The Community for a Better Atlanta this week released a condensed version of its voter guide, complete with scores of each candidate on the ballot which includes races for City Hall's top two roles: mayor and city council president. "It's critical that Atlantans stay engaged and vote in these runoff elections," said Denise Quarles, 2021 CBA Co-Chair and Head of External Affairs for the Southeast Region at Siemens. "We want CBA's scores to help voters make informed choices about who will lead Atlanta." Ready to get out the vote again? We may be two days out from the general election but it's important to put together a plan to vote for the Nov. 30 runoff! See our updated 2021 Voter Guide to begin preparing to vote in the runoff on Nov. 30! #GOTV #gapol #atlpol pic.twitter.com/EzfbwKZGfp— Comm for Better ATL (@CBAtlanta) November 4, 2021 Early voting for the runoff begins on Nov. 17 and will run over the weekend through Nov. 24, and CBA wants to ensure that every eligible Atlanta voter makes it to the polls. "It is our hope that every Atlantan will vote in these all-important runoff elections," said Kyle Waide, 2021 CBA Co-Chair and President & CEO of Atlanta Community Food Bank. The runoff is being held for the top two vote-getters in races where no candidate received the state constitutional minimum of 50 percent of the votes plus one. Mayoral candidates Felicia Moore and Andre Dickens top the ballot after they bested a field of 14 opposers, and Dickens squeaked a win of roughly 600 votes over former Mayor Kasim Reed for the second spot in the runoff. Moore earned a score of 91 from the CBA versus a 90 for Dickens. For city council president, Councilmember Natalyn Archibong scored a 91 in the CBA scoring to National Center for Civil and Human Rights CEO Doug Shipman's 93. Early in 2021 the CBA conducted in-person interviews and collected questionnaires to score the candidates against the organization's policy platform addressing critical issues in public safety, affordable housing, transportation, ethics and transparency, city leadership, sustainability and city leadership, among others. Results were released in September. "As we approach the runoffs, CBA's evaluation process is a timely tool to inspire voters to get back to the polls and do their part to choose Atlanta's leadership," Waide said. Full questionnaires and scores for participating candidates can be seen here. Candidate scores can be seen below: MAYOR Candidate Grade Score Felicia Moore Excellent 91 Andre Dickens Excellent 90 CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT Candidate Rating Score Doug Shipman Excellent 93 Natalyn Archibong Excellent 91 CITY COUNCIL: POST 3 AT LARGE Candidate Rating Score Jacki Labat Well-Qualified 84 Keisha Sean Waites Well-Qualified 80 CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 1 Candidate Rating Score Nathan Clubb Excellent 90 Jason Winston Well-Qualified 89 CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 3 Candidate Rating Score Erika Estrada Well-Qualified 87 Byron Amos Well-Qualified 87 Elijah Porter Well-Qualified 83 CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 4 Candidate Rating Score Jason Dozier Well-Qualified 85 Cleta Winslow (I) Well-Qualified 83 CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 5 Candidate Rating Score Mandy Mahoney Excellent 91 Liliana Bakhtiari Well-Qualified 89 CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 12 Candidate Rating Score Joyce Sheperd (I) Well-Qualified 84 Antonio Lewis Average 74