Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens says his first-ever experience at the U.S. Conference of Mayors feels like a family reunion that he never attended — until now.
Dickens said seven mayors congratulated him for his election win once he arrived at the conference on Wednesday. He told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday that he spent his first 24 hours in Washington, D.C., talking about ways to bring pilot programs to Atlanta.
“They knew the new kids at school,” Dickens said by phone.
“It was a family reunion that they’ve been having that I had never gone to but they were aware that I was coming this time,” Atlanta’s new mayor said. “They’re all excited, they want to help....I’m nerding out for a minute.”
Dickens said the best session so far focused on housing and economic development. During that forum, Dickens said he interacted with the deputy secretary of U.S. Housing and Urban Development and the federal assistant secretary of Commerce for Economic Development to discuss his plans to build or preserve 20,000 affordable units in Atlanta.
The federal government wants to support cities with goals similar to his vision for Atlanta, Dickens said. For instance, Dickens said the city is working with Invest Atlanta to submit an application for some of the $500 million in federal funds allocated for the American Rescue Plan’s Good Jobs Challenge, which aims to strengthen partnerships that foster workforce training for good-paying jobs.
Dickens also said he had 30 minutes of one-on-one time with White House leadership to maintain the relationship former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms forged with President Joe Biden.
“They’re doing a lot on violence reduction,” Dickens said. “We need that in Atlanta to cut down on our murders and our issues dealing with shootings.”
“Whether it’s in violence reduction, if it’s in transportation, [or] if it’s in housing, I want us to get it first.”
The mayor said he frequently mentioned that Atlanta’s higher education community and business market is willing to partner with the government to cultivate pilot programs citywide.
Credit: Nathan Posner for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Nathan Posner for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Throughout the conference, Dickens said he’s found opportunities to connect with other leaders. He said some officials talked to him about Morehouse College and Spelman College. Other officials asked about partnerships related to business trading routes and even cryptocurrency.
“I was explaining my history throughout my life and that I got quick access points to these community places,” Dickens said in reference to faith leadership, nonprofits, small businesses and transportation.
It remains to be seen if the mayors will vote for Dickens to take on more responsibility in the organization. Mayor Bottoms served as the Community Development and Housing Committee chair in 2019.
“They’ve already started talking to me about chairman shifts and being involved and I ain’t even been here — this is my 24th hour here,” he said. “I don’t say much, I just receive all this information and my staff and I go back and compare notes of everything people have been telling us.”
Dickens said he’s open to a leadership role in the organization. He said he met twice with conference president and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who invited Dickens to speak at a president’s dinner where he was one of the few new mayors in attendance.
“I got up and I talked that talk about Atlanta and everybody being together,” he said.
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