Dentons attorney Sharon Gay has identified an adviser to support the public safety and policing platform for her Atlanta mayoral campaign.
Gay announced Monday that Cedric Alexander, a 40-year law enforcement veteran, will be her public safety adviser. She told reporters in front of Atlanta Dairies that her administration would focus on four points of public safety during her first 100 days in office to address crime.
Those four points include giving the police mayoral support to improve morale, giving the police proper training with an emphasis on reviewing body worn camera footage, stronger recruiting initiatives and better incentives such as pay and benefits.
Gay said she wants to use the city detention center to house Fulton County inmates. She also said her administration would crack down on businesses that facilitate crime, and she wants to address the “conditions” that create crime in neighborhoods.
Crime is becoming the top issue in this year’s mayoral race because Atlanta’s violent crime wave has spurred residents and business owners to pressure public officials to prioritize public safety above all else.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who announced last month that she is not seeking reelection, formed an “Anti-Violence Advisory Council” in May to help her develop recommendations to address the crime wave in July.
Gay didn’t mention Bottoms by name, but she alluded to the mayor’s penchant for appearing national media when told reporters she doesn’t have “any ambitions to higher office or to be on TV a lot.”
“I think our city is in a crisis moment, and that we need a different kind of leadership,” Gay said.
Gay previously served as vice president of governmental affairs for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and was deputy chief of staff and executive counsel to former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell.
She faces tough competition in the race for mayor. Her challengers include City Council President Felicia Moore, and City Councilmen Antonio Brown and Andre Dickens. Fundraising records show Gay has raised $208,000 in donations, and issued a $210,000 personal loan to her campaign.
Alexander, who previously served as DeKalb County’s Public Safety Director, said Atlanta needs to search nationwide to recruit “people who are soldiers” determined to address the crime wave. He said officers need to focus on violent offenders while social services can support people with mental health issues, including the homeless community.
He also said their efforts would include support for affordable housing and efforts to create “lead-free communities” to ensure schools and homes aren’t contributing to mental health issues and disabilities.
“These crime issues were here prior to COVID,” said Alexander, a previous President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. He also served on President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
Alexander currently sits on the Board of the Innocence Project, which exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing as it tries to reform the criminal justice system. He is also an MSNBC law enforcement analyst who has appeared on several national media networks commenting on police-community relations.
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