Story by: David Wingo
Felicia Moore is the sitting Atlanta City Council President, and has served on council for the past 20 years. She's currently the only candidate running against incumbent, Keisha Lance Bottoms in this year's race for mayor. She released a new campaign video this week, and it's clear that attacking crime will be top priority for her campaign.
Atlanta has seen a 60 percent increase in crime since this time last year, and the police department is down about 400 officers. Several officers quit after last summer's police uprisings. Since the start of 2021, murder is up 41 percent, rape is up four percent, robbery is up 16 percent, aggravated assault is up 50 percent, auto larceny is up seven percent, and auto theft is up 37 percent, according to the Atlanta Police Department's Cobra report.
With numbers spiking like this across Atlanta, crime will be an important debate topic for both candidates leading up to November's election.
Moore has already brought forward an ambitious plan to combat crime, which includes aggressively recruiting new and retired officers to increase police force numbers, hiring a permanent police chief, and being more "selective" when it comes to releasing violent criminals from jail. She has yet to make clear if these plans include increased funding for the Atlanta Police Department.
It appears Mayor Bottoms is also making crime control a major focal point in her race for re-election. She released an action plan in January that prioritizes cracking down on "nuisance properties," by directing fire inspectors to shut down bars & restaurants that violate capacity codes. She's also partnered with the FBI to focus on apprehending Atlanta's most dangerous criminals.
An advantage that Mayor Bottoms will have over her opponent is name recognition. Her televised speech during last summer's Black Lives Matter protest, and her early endorsement of President Biden, have raised her national profile and popularity. However, constituents, especially in Buckhead, have been very vocal about their disappointment in Bottoms' leadership last year, as the crime influx has arguably hit their neighborhood the hardest. Many Buckhead residents have even threatened to leave the city because of it.