Candidate Profile: Matt Westmoreland For Atlanta City Council

ATLANTA — Fifty-six City Council candidates are running for 16 seats in Atlanta's Nov. 2 municipal election.

Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as Election Day draws near.

Matt Westmoreland is running for Atlanta City Council Post 2 At-Large.

Age (as of Election Day)

34

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

Proud Atlantans

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

My dad is a retired Superior Court Judge

Education

Princeton University, Bachelor's degree in History, Class of 2010

Occupation

City Councilman, four years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Current: Atlanta City Council; Previous: Atlanta Board of Education

Campaign website

www.mattwestmoreland.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I was born and raised in Atlanta and am a proud product of our city's public schools. After college, I came home and taught History at Carver High School in Southeast Atlanta. I ran for the Atlanta Board of Education and then for the Atlanta City Council to help move a vision where every child and family has opportunity and choice in life.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The single most pressing issue facing our City is infrastructure — both human and physical. We have among the highest income gaps and lowest social mobility rates in the country. And, from streets to sidewalks to bridges, we have a dilapidated and aging infrastructure.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My time on the Atlanta Board of Education and on the Atlanta City Council provided me with a deep background on the issues and challenges we are facing — as well as the opportunity to have learned which levers need to be pulled to bring about change.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

I'm the incumbent

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

I'm proud of our local government's response to the pandemic— whether it was dispersing rental and mortgage assistance dollars to our residents to help them stay in their homes or to hundreds of small businesses to help them weather the economic downturn. We also opened our recreation centers to safe learning pods for students, and provided numerous opportunities for Atlanta residents to get vaccinated.

What do you identify as the root causes of the recent and ongoing increase in violent crime, and how would you address the issue?

The ramifications of a global pandemic, an uneven economic recovery, and schoolhouses being closed for over a year are very real. And even before that, Atlanta has very real challenges with economic security and mobility. Lack of opportunity is a significant driver of crime.

I believe there are short-term and long-term pieces to this conversation. Atlanta must be a city where residents feel safe and our first responders feel supported. And that means having fully-staffed, well-trained, competitively-paid and community-focused police and fire departments.

Over the last three years, we have instituted historic, 30 percent pay raises for our men and women in both the Atlanta Police Department as well as Atlanta Fire and Rescue. Competitive pay is an essential component of recruiting the right individuals to serve and protect our city.

Earlier this year, Council asked the City Auditor to conduct a review of our licensing and permitting division and strengthened enforcement mechanisms for violators. We have also partnered with the Atlanta Police Foundation and others to make significant investments in technology, initiated the repeat offenders task force, and opened a second @Promise Center to help engage our youth — with a third Center under construction. This past January, I was proud to contribute $25,000 from my Council office budget to help expand programming at these three Centers.

Looking to the future, Atlanta needs a new training center for our first responders — as well as several new police precincts and fire stations.

We also have to think and act with a longer-term and systemic focus: Deploying trained crisis teams to respond to nonviolent calls, allowing police to focus on violent crime; better addressing the trash, blight, and vacant lots that research shows negatively impact neighborhood safety; investing in proven programming to help our younger residents avoid, de-escalate and manage situations that can turn violent or deadly.

Finally, Council and Mayor must better partner with our public schools to ensure every child enters kindergarten ready to learn and graduates from high school headed to college or a career that pays a living wage.

Do you support or oppose the creation of Buckhead City? Why or why not?

I oppose the creation of Buckhead City and believe it would be devastating to Atlanta and destabilizing to the region and the state.

What I strongly support is the right of Buckhead residents — like those in every part of Atlanta — to feel safe in their community, experience quality city infrastructure, receive reliable basic services, and have an accessible and responsive city government. In my conversations with many Buckhead constituents, our City government is failing on these fronts. That is unacceptable, and we have to move urgently and aggressively to address our shortcomings.

How would your administration react to the creation of Buckhead City and the resulting loss of a major residential, commercial and cultural center and significant source of tax revenue? How would you respond to residents and businesses in that community if cityhood were rejected?

I will be working hard in the months ahead with others in the civic, business, nonprofit, and philanthropic communities to ensure Atlanta remains united.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Affordable Housing, Economic Development, Community Revitalization, Transportation, Education, and City Services

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

• Prioritized safer neighborhoods by adopting historic 30% pay raises for our first responders.
• Established a middle-wage jobs fund connecting residents in underserved communities to high-quality jobs with salaries between $40,000-$80,000.
• Created affordable housing with a $100 million housing bond to build and preserve 3,500 units of affordable housing citywide.
• Invested in our City's parks, streets, and sidewalks by updating impact fees for the first time in 30 years, generating millions of new dollars every year for infrastructure.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

You can't please everyone all the time.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Don't ever hesitate to reach out if you'd like to talk or if I can help — at matt@mattwestmoreland.com or on my cell at 404.408.0980