Atlanta mayoral runoff: Moore hopes to stave off Dickens

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta voters on Tuesday are deciding a mayoral runoff between a candidate who is comfortable as a lone wolf and a candidate who has acquired a bunch of new friends as his support has surged.

Current City Council President Felicia Moore proclaims her independence as a virtue, and a plurality of voters agreed in the first round of voting on Nov. 2, giving her 41% of the votes across a nonpartisan field of 14 candidates. But fellow City Council member Andre Dickens says Moore’s record as a sometimes-lonely critic of previous mayors proves he would be a more effective mayor, as he tries to win a race where he started well back in the field.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced in May that she wouldn’t seek a second term, creating a wide-open race to succeed her. That successor could have been two-term former Mayor Kasim Reed, but he finished third narrowly behind Dickens after being dogged by corruption in his previous administration, although Reed said he himself was clean.

Moore jumped into the race even before Bottoms bowed out, saying becoming mayor was the best way to solve complaints she was getting about crime and city services. Moore argues her willingness to go against the grain proves she’s someone who will bring accountability and transparency to city government.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/elections-crime-atlanta-election-2020-keisha-lance-bottoms-99060e177e0f850f873af8f0c9a53a67