ATLANTA – The growing movement to turn Atlanta’s wealthiest community into its own city took on new opposition Monday.
Democratic members of the city of Atlanta’s legislative delegation will deliver a letter to Georgia House Speaker David Ralston and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, urging them to reject efforts from out-of-area lawmakers to push forward a bill that would allow Buckhead a path to cityhood.
“There is a move underway to remove Buckhead – the beautiful, wonderful neighborhood that we all enjoy – from the city of Atlanta,” said state Sen. Nan Orrock, who chairs Atlanta’s legislative delegation. “The senators who I’ve seen pushing this don’t live in Atlanta.
“We’re here to say, put on the brakes,” Orrock said. “Buckhead doesn’t need to leave Atlanta.”
State Sen. Nan Orrock speaks during a press conference by members of Atlanta’s Democratic legislative delegation. Image: Tim Darnell
A city of Buckhead would carve about 25 square miles – or about 18% of the city of Atlanta’s land area – and create Georgia’s 10th largest municipality. It would also include about 20% of the city’s population and cost the city of Atlanta more than $250 million in property, sales and lodging taxes, as well as business license revenues.
Those figures come from a KB Advisory Group analysis. Earlier this month, the joint House Study Committee on Annexation and Cityhood and the Governmental Affairs Committee heard testimony from several officials about how a city of Buckhead would impact Atlanta and the state.
“I live in Buckhead, but Atlanta is my home,” said state Rep. Betsy Holland, who chairs the city of Atlanta’s House delegation. “Carving out this part of Atlanta will have a devastating effect on my family.”
State Rep. Betsy Holland speaks during a press conference by members of Atlanta’s Democratic legislative delegation. Image: Tim Darnell
Both Holland and state Sen. Jen Jordan said they were worried about the thousands of Buckhead-based students who attend Atlanta Public Schools (APS).
“APS owns those buildings and property,” Jordan said. “Those schools don’t become the property of a city of Buckhead. What happens to those properties? Who becomes eligible to lease or sell them? APS is under no obligation to service children who don’t live in the city of Atlanta. If APS decides not to teach those kids, they fall into the jurisdiction of the Fulton County school system, and that system doesn’t have the plans, capacities, finances or staff to absorb them.”
State Sen. Jen Jordan speaks during a press conference by members of Atlanta’s Democratic legislative delegation. Image: Tim Darnell
But Bill White, CEO of the Buckhead City Committee, said APS will continue to serve Buckhead families.
“The law is silent on what happens when the city limits contract,” White said. “The law does not say that APS shall have the same boundaries as the city. No one believes APS will forfeit Buckhead and commensurate funds collected in taxes. We are confident APS will serve Buckhead City.”
“We’ve heard Buckhead wants a divorce from Atlanta,” said state Sen. Sonya Halpern. “What we need is a marriage counselor.”
Halpern acknowledged the issue of crime in the community, which is a strong reason some residents and groups are seeking their own city. She said she was at the Peachtree Battle shopping center back in September when a deadly shooting broke out in the parking lot.
“I urge the people who are leading this cityhood movement to put their time and efforts and financial resources to work with this upcoming new mayor, this new city council and with us to solve these problems,” she said. “The answer is not leaving the city. Increasing the police presence and fixing our sidewalks and potholes and streets won’t happen if Buckhead leaves Atlanta.”
“A new mayor will solve nothing,” White said. “The city of Atlanta is poorly managed, unresponsive, and incapable of addressing the concerns of Buckhead. A new mayor is no solution.”
White also said a Buckhead City will not financially devastate Atlanta. “Buckhead City would keep less than 10 percent of the city of Atlanta’s annual budget, while reducing Atlanta’s population obligations by 20 percent,” he said.
Orrock cited opposition from the Georgia Municipal Association to a Buckhead de-annexation.
“This is the worst thing we can do for Atlanta but also for Buckhead and Georgia,” she said. “Carving up a capital city will increase political, social and civil disorder.”
Orrock also said she doesn’t foresee a strict, party-line vote on the issue.
“You will have to search far and wide for a Buckhead business that supports cityhood,” she said. “The business community has said loudly, ‘Do not move forward on this.’
“You start down this track, where does it end? Will Savannah want to split up? What about Athens? How are you going to split that up?”
“Though there remains much work to do by those intent on making Buckhead City a reality, it’s time for the Georgia General Assembly – perhaps in the recently called special session – to allow Buckhead residents to vote on the matter in a fair election by adding the issue to the November 2022 ballot,” White said.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Early voting for November’s city elections began this week, and while only a handful of Georgia’s municipalities are holding contested mayoral elections, Atlanta’s will undoubtedly have the most impact throughout the state.
“Lots of groups rate Georgia very highly as a business-friendly state, and Atlanta as a forward-looking city,” said Tom Smith, an economics professor at Emory’s Goizueta Business School. “Atlanta’s mayors have historically been very aggressive in what the city has to offer businesses, making sure those workers are protected, and that they have access to housing, libraries and roads.
“People underestimate the mayor’s overall impact in coordinating and creating relationships with the state’s domestic and international partners.”
In a shocking move earlier this year, incumbent Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced she would not seek reelection, thus setting up a wide-open race that brought out more than a dozen hopefuls, including Bottoms’ predecessor, former Mayor Kasim Reed.
Also running are Atlanta city councilmen Antonio Brown and Andre Dickens, city council President Felicia Moore, real estate investor Kirsten Dunn, attorney Sharon Gay, nonprofit founder Kenneth Hill, insurance executive Rebecca King, legal scholar Walter Reeves, businessman Roosevelt Searles III, public accountant Richard Wright, and Glenn Wrightson, Nolan English and Mark Hammad.
Like many other major American cities, Atlanta was hammered by the effects of the coronavirus as well as a spike in violent crime and civil unrest. In a survey released this week by the personal finance website WalletHub, Atlanta ranked No. 1 among 50 American cities with the highest increase in homicide rates during COVID.
“The last three years have not been at all what I would have scripted for our city,” Bottoms said on May 7.
The mayor cited a major cyberattack on city offices in her first months in office and a federal investigation into corruption under Reed. She also blamed former president Donald Trump.
“There was last summer,” Bottoms said. “There was a pandemic. There was a social justice movement. There was a madman in the White House. It is abundantly clear to me today that it is time to pass the baton on to someone else.”
During the 2020 presidential election, Bottoms was seen as a rising star in Democratic Party politics and was briefly mentioned as a possible running mate for Joe Biden. After Biden picked Kamala Harris as his vice presidential choice, Bottoms was also rumored to be in line for a top Cabinet position.
Earlier this week, Bottoms’ hopeful successors met in a televised debates in which they clashed over crime, ethics and other issues. The debates were part of the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young debate series and were aired over Georgia Public Broadcasting stations.
Brown, Dickens, Gay, King, Moore, Reed and Wright have scored highest in recent polls, and a runoff is all but assured.
Reed continues to be dogged by allegations of corruption during his previous two terms as mayor but is assuring voters he has been cleared of any wrongdoing. Moore in particular has made Reed’s tenure a central theme of her campaign.
“People jailed, indicted, awaiting trial. Thirty million dollars and counting for [Department of Justice] responses, and it keeps going,” Moore said to Reed during the debate. “The tone is set from the top, criminals like your melody. Why should Atlanta voters believe that you are singing a different tune?”
“The bottom line is I never dishonored my office and I kept my word to the people of Atlanta,” Reed responded.
Atlanta’s new mayor will also have to deal with a movement in the wealthy residential and financial district known as Buckhead to form its own city.
A proposed city of Buckhead would carve out about 25 square miles – or about 18% of the city of Atlanta’s land area – as well include about 20% of the city’s population. It would also cost Atlanta more than $250 million in property, sales and lodging taxes, as well as business license revenues. The General Assembly is expected to address the cityhood proposal during the 2022 legislative session beginning in January.
Many of Georgia’s other contested mayoral races are inside metro Atlanta, including the cities of Marietta, Sandy Springs, Dacula, East Point, Fairburn, Johns Creek, Roswell, South Fulton, Stone Mountain and Tucker.
On the edge of the metro area are contested mayor’s races in Braselton and Sugar Hill. Voters in Warner Robins in Middle Georgia also will choose a mayor.
Voters in Columbus will decide a 1% special-purpose local-option sales tax that would collect $400 million over 10 years for public safety and governmental projects.
And a special election will be held in Chatham County to fill the state House seat that became vacant with the death of Rep. Edward “Mickey” Stephens, D-Savannah. Five candidates are seeking the seat.
Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus, the dean of the General Assembly, is awaiting U.S. Senate confirmation as President Joe Biden’s ambassador to the Dominican Republic. A special election has not yet been called to replace him, should the Senate approve his nomination.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Georgia’s nationally watched U.S. Senate race – a contest that could decide the balance of power in the world’s greatest deliberative body – keeps raking in the big bucks.
On Friday, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock reported his campaign raised more than $9.5 million during third quarter 2021 in a report filed with the Federal Elections Commission.
According to campaign manager Quentin Fulks, Warnock’s average donation is $37, with more than 145,000 individuals contributing to his campaign. Warnock’s coffers also include more than $17.2 million in cash on hand.
Also on Friday, Republican Senate candidate Latham Saddler reported a fundraising haul of $1.1 million. In total, Saddler has brought in more than $2.5 million since he launched his campaign.
The former Navy SEAL, along with Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, businessman Kelvin King, and UGA football legend Herschel Walker are all seeking the GOP nomination to face Warnock in November 2022.
Earlier this week, Walker reported raising $3.7 million during the first five weeks of his campaign. Contributions came from nearly 50,000 donors from all 50 states.
As of Friday morning, Black had not yet reported his fundraising numbers. Back in July, Black reported raising more than $703,000, while King’s campaign said he had raised nearly $680,000 during the third quarter, including a $300,000 loan he made to his campaign.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Georgia Power drew heavy criticism Thursday night over plans to bury more than 20 million cubic yards of coal ash at its Plant Bowen in Bartow County.
“Please don’t gamble with our lives,” Vicki Freeman of Atlanta pleaded during an online public hearing on the proposal. “Mandate that Georgia Power move that coal ash to a safe landfill with a proper liner.”
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Environmental Protection Division held the online hearing as part of a public comment period that will last until Nov. 15.
Plant Bowen is the nation’s ninth-largest power plant in net generation of electricity, according to Georgia Power. Nine miles southwest of Cartersville, it began operating in 1975 and is bordered by the Etowah River and Euharlee Creek.
Georgia Power wants to install a liner under the plant’s Ash Pond 1 and bury the residual coal ash over a 254-acre area, making it the largest single coal ash site in Georgia, according to the Sierra Club. Coal ash is the byproduct of burning coal for electricity.
Almost all of the commenters during the public hearing were concerned over sinkholes that could cause the toxic coal ash to leak into nearby rivers and creeks as well as groundwater supplies.
“I was astonished at its size,” said LaGrange resident Judy Lawrence. “My parents always said, ‘Do something right the first time and you won’t have to do it again.’ Georgia Power hasn’t gotten that message. The company knows the type of land they’re building this on, and they know the risks.”
In 2002, a four-acre-wide sinkhole opened up underneath Plant Bowen that released 2.25 million gallons of coal ash into Euharlee Creek. That spill caused arsenic levels in the creek to spike to levels 120 times higher than federal drinking water standards allow. More sinkholes developed in December 2008.
“Simply lining the coal ash dump will not prevent groundwater contamination,” said Dawn Cason of Powder Springs. “We know the plant rests on unstable terrain. Previous sinkholes have developed. It’s not a matter of speculation but only a matter of time.”
Coal ash contains contaminants including mercury, cadmium and arsenic that can pollute groundwater and drinking water.
“It’s like Georgia Power is playing Janga, waiting for this coal ash to topple into our water,” said Atlanta’s Neil Sardana. “It’s incomprehensible this plant is even being considered. It will poison people and put our lives and health at risk. It’s absolutely insane.”
The EPD’s permitting program for ash ponds due to be closed in place requires post-closure care for 30 years, including ongoing maintenance of the cover and groundwater monitoring. Results from monitoring must be reported at least twice a year and posted on Georgia Power’s website.
“What’s troubling is that nothing in either the EPD’s requirements or Georgia Power’s proposal address the instability of this terrain,” said Jesse Demonbreun-Chapman of the Coosa River Basin Initiative. “Thirty years of post-closure maintenance is also insufficient. Thirty years is the same time between the plant’s startup and the first appearance of sinkholes in the area.”
After the public comment period ends, the EPD will respond to comments in writing, post comments on its website and make changes to Georgia Power’s permit based on comments from the public.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
As President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan continues stalling in Congress, Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is hoping to get $10 billion included in the budget reconciliation bill for high-speed passenger rail for Georgia and the Southeast.
Last month, Ossoff wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who chairs the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
“As this Congress makes historic investments in America’s infrastructure, we should allocate robust resources for high-speed rail necessary to advance the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor, a long-planned project of national significance necessary to connect the fast-growing American Southeast,” Ossoff wrote. “I strongly urge the Senate’s proposal to include at least $10 billion in dedicated funding for high-speed rail planning and construction.”
Planning is currently underway for an intercity rail line between Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., with a proposed stop in Athens.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Georgia Department of Transportation, working with state transportation departments in North Carolina and South Carolina, have identified the 274-mile route as the “preferred corridor” for the Charlotte-to-Atlanta portion of a high-speed rail line that would continue northeast to Washington, D.C.
“The projected increases in population and economic growth for the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion create a need for a carefully planned approach to improving rail infrastructure that will benefit Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, the southeastern United States and the nation,” the FRA wrote in its final environmental impact report on the project released in July.
“Intercity passenger rail is available for business and non-business travelers that is competitive with other modes of travel in terms of travel time, convenience and safety.”
The co-called Greenfield Corridor Alternative chosen for the project connects Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with the planned multimodal Charlotte Gateway Station. The line would run mostly along a new dedicated alignment from northeast Atlanta to Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Ossoff is also supporting a proposed high-speed rail line connecting Atlanta to Savannah with a stop in Macon. This line would extend to Nashville, Tenn., through northeast Georgia and down to Jacksonville, Fla.
President Joe Biden, who commuted daily between his Delaware home and Washington for decades while serving in the U.S. Senate, is a passenger rail enthusiast. Biden even mentioned the Atlanta-to-Charlotte high-speed rail project in a speech last spring marking Amtrak’s 50th anniversary.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
