A citywide seat on Atlanta City Council will be up for grabs during the November general election after a councilor resigned last month. But members engaged in a heated debate Monday over the timeline to fill the position, some saying that a spring qualifying period is unfair to candidates and voters.
Former City Council member Keisha Sean Waites recently announced she was resigning from her seat to run for Fulton County Superior Court Clerk which is on the May ballot. Her term was not set to expire until December 2025.
The move left a crucial opening on Atlanta City Council: a citywide position that only two other members hold — Michael Julian Bond and Matt Westmoreland.
A piece of legislation considered by council on Monday would have set the qualifying period for the election in May, which is considerably earlier than the usual qualifying period before an election.
Some senior members on council condemned the stretched-out qualification period, saying that it could exclude potential candidates from running for the seat if they aren’t prepared to qualify that early.
“I have been here a long time and for qualifications to occur five to six months before an election is unheard of,” said Council member Andrea Boone. “I do not think this is the right thing to do.”
“This is hurting potential candidates, this is hurting the residents of the city of Atlanta and whatever spirit this was derived out of, I want those that are supporting this to really think about what you are doing,” she said.
Bond accused some members of unjustly moving the qualifying dates earlier in an effort to block candidates on the May ballot from running for the seat in November.
He alluded that the change was made to prevent Waites from running again for her former post if she lost her bid in Fulton County and called the proposed May qualifying date “an embarrassment” and a “poison pin-dart aimed at a colleague who resigned.”
“This place is like your family, you don’t get to pick who your family is,” he said. “The voters do.”
Others disagreed and said they believed the earlier qualification date weeds out candidates who may not be as prepared for the position.
“I think an earlier qualification time actually vets out more viable candidates than what we might end up getting,” Council member Alex Wan argued. “I think given the importance of this, in a citywide seat quite frankly, I would support an earlier qualifying time.”
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
But councilors did agree that Waites resignation left the body in an unfortunate position since the next possible special election date isn’t until the general election in the fall.
“We find ourselves in a situation that we didn’t ask for,” said Council member Marci Collier Overstreet. “I think this is a long time for this seat to be empty in the first place.”
Bond suggested that the council appoint someone to fill the seat until an election takes place and that person would not be allowed to run themselves, although it’s unclear if that would be allowed under Georgia law.
Council did not make a final decision on how to handle the void, although the resolution calling for a special election ultimately passed with a qualifying period from June 25-27 — dates that were seen on an earlier draft of the paper.
The legislation passed 9 to 3 with Council members Bond, Boone and Antonio Lewis voting against it. Both Council members Amir Farokhi and Mary Norwood weren’t present at the meeting.
The Nov. 5 election for the opening will be across all of Atlanta’s precincts and follows the same runoff rules if no candidate receives a majority of votes. If necessary, a runoff would take place on Dec. 3.
Individuals interested in running for the open seat may qualify through the clerk’s office during the voted on dates in June, and must also submit a $2,170 qualifying fee.
The Atlanta City Council race will share a ballot with the contentious presidential rematch between President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump, meaning a high turnout of voters that council races might not always see.
But until then, the seat will be empty — leaving a hole in both full council meetings and key planning committees. Waites held positions on the transportation, city utilities and finance committees.
City Council President Doug Shipman said Monday he plans on assigning other members to fill the impacted committees.
