Politics & Government
Mayoral, City Council Candidates Scored Ahead Of Elections
Business and community organization Committee for a Better Atlanta rated candidates based on interview and questionnaire answers.
ATLANTA — How do candidates for the coming City of Atlanta elections stack up?
Committee for a Better Atlanta, the nonprofit coalition of business and community leaders aimed at improving the city, has an answer for voters with scores given to most of the candidates vying for seats in the Nov. 2 election.
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The organization, which hosted this election season's first candidate forum in June, took answers from in-person interviews and questionnaires to compile numeric scores and rankings of “Excellent,” “Well-Qualified,” “Average,” or “Not-Qualified.”
The questions addressed issues considered key in the CBA’s policy platform, including public safety, economic development and recovery, affordable housing, and ethics and transparency, among others.
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“These scores will empower Atlanta voters to make informed choices about the next leaders of (the) City of Atlanta,” said 2021 CBA Co-Chair Denise Quarles, who also serves as Southeast Region Head of External Affairs at Siemens. “As business leaders, our role is not to endorse individual candidates, but rather to provide voters with a thorough evaluation of the candidate’s qualifications and handle on local issues.”
Not all candidates participated in the interviews and questionnaires, however. Here are the results from the ones who did, listed in order of their score:
MAYOR
| Candidate | Grade | Score |
| Felicia Moore | Excellent | 91 |
| Kasim Reed | Excellent | 91 |
| Andre Dickens | Excellent | 90 |
| Sharon Gay | Well-Qualified | 88 |
| Antonio Brown | Well-Qualified | 84 |
| Mark Hammad | Average | 74 |
| Kenny Hill | Average | 72 |
| Rebecca King | Average | 70 |
| Richard Wright | Not Qualified | N/A |
| Roosevelt Searles III | Not Qualified | N/A |
| Kirsten Dunn | Did Not Participate | N/A |
| Nolan English | Did Not Participate | N/A |
| Glenn Wrightson | Did Not Participate | N/A |
| Walter Reeves | Did Not Participate | N/A |
CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Doug Shipman | Excellent | 93 |
| Natalyn Archibong | Excellent | 91 |
| Courtney English | Well-Qualified | 88 |
| Mike Russell | Well-Qualified | 81 |
| Samuel Manuel | Did Not Participate | N/A |
CITY COUNCIL: POST 1 AT LARGE
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Michael Julian Bond (I) | Well-Qualified | 86 |
| Todd Gray | Well-Qualified | 85 |
| Brandon Cory Goldberg | Well-Qualified | 81 |
| Alfred “Shivy” Brooks | Average | 78 |
| Jereme Sharp | Average | 71 |
CITY COUNCIL: POST 2 AT LARGE
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Matt Westmoreland (I) | Excellent | 92 |
| Sonya Russel-Ofchus | Average | 71 |
CITY COUNCIL: POST 3 AT LARGE
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Jacki Labat | Well-Qualified | 84 |
| Jodi Merriday | Well-Qualified | 84 |
| Keisha Sean Waites | Well-Qualified | 80 |
| Ralph Long III | Average | 75 |
| Sherry Williams | Did Not Participate | N/A |
CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 1
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Nathan Clubb | Excellent | 90 |
| Jason Winston | Well-Qualified | 89 |
| Kelly-Jeanne Lee | Well-Qualified | 86 |
| Russell Hopson | Well-Qualified | 84 |
| Clarence Blalock | Average | 77 |
CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 2
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Amir Farokhi (I) | Well-Qualified | 94 |
CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 3
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Erika Estrada | Well-Qualified | 87 |
| Byron Amos | Well-Qualified | 87 |
| Elijah Porter | Well-Qualified | 83 |
| Brandon Graham | Well-Qualified | 81 |
| Keona Jones | Average | 77 |
| Ken Wainright | Did Not Participate | N/A |
CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 4
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Jason Dozier | Well-Qualified | 85 |
| Kim Scott | Well-Qualified | 84 |
| Cleta Winslow (I) | Well-Qualified | 83 |
| Larry Carter II | Well-Qualified | 80 |
| Deborah Williams | Average | 75 |
| Rogelio Arcilo | Did Not Participate | N/A |
CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 5
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Mandy Mahoney | Excellent | 91 |
| Liliana Bakhtiari | Well-Qualified | 89 |
| Samuel Bacote | Well-Qualified | 80 |
| Douglas Williams | Average | 78 |
| Katie Kissel | Average | 76 |
CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 6
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Alex Wan | Excellent | 91 |
| Courtney Jenee Dedi | Well-Qualified | 88 |
| Katie Voelpel | Average | 72 |
| Justin Critz | Average | 70 |
CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 7
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Howard Shook (I) | Did Not Participate | N/A |
CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 8
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Mary Norwood | Did Not Participate | N/A |
CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 9
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Dustin Hills (I) | Excellent | 90 |
| Devin Barrington-Ward | Average | 75 |
CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 10
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Jason Hudgins | Well Qualified | 84 |
| Andrea Boone (I) | Did Not Participate | N/A |
CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 11
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Ron Shakir | Did Not Participate | N/A |
| Marci Collier Overstreet (I) | Did Not Participate | N/A |
CITY COUNCIL: DISTRICT 12
| Candidate | Rating | Score |
| Joyce Sheperd (I) | Well-Qualified | 84 |
| Antonio Lewis | Average | 74 |
| Jenee’ Shepherd | Average | 72 |
Early voting begins on Oct. 12.
I = Incumbent
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