Radio silence: Atlanta Mayor Dickens has no contact with White House

“Which is much different than what I had with the previous White House — the Biden-Harris administration,” he said.

The radio silence from Washington, D.C., is a drastic switch for Dickens as he enters the last year of his first term — and as he faces new issues driven by the change in national leadership, like freezes on crucial funding and the firings of federal workers across the city.

“I want some type of relationship (with Donald Trump),” the mayor said. “And right now he’s busy doing what he’s doing, which you know we’re very cautious of and concerned with.”

Credit: Courtesy of the White House

Credit: Courtesy of the White House

The Biden administration saw Dickens as a rising star in the Democratic Party and a key ally for rallying voters in swing-state Georgia. Dickens was one of only two Georgia politicians, along with U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, appointed to a leadership role in the Biden campaign.

Atlanta’s mayor even sat down with the former president in the Oval Office for a campaign video highlighting how federal infrastructure funds aided improvements at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

At the same time, Atlanta was showered with federal funds from clean energy initiatives to Beltline improvements. When a series of severe water main breaks caused a water crisis across the city, the Biden administration pledged the help of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assist with the multibillion-dollar problem.

“The federal government is critical for this,” Dickens said of Atlanta’s water woes. “Because the size of the problem is in the billions, and we can’t expect local governments to repair billion-dollar infrastructure on our own financially.”

Credit: John Spink

Credit: John Spink

Dickens is not only the leader of the biggest Southern city but also holds a number of national posts like co-chair of the National Housing Crisis Task Force and vice chair of the Climate Mayors coalition focused on addressing the climate crisis.

Dickens said Friday he hopes Trump will soon turn his attention to the nation’s mayors to hear about their problems.

“Mayors will be able to articulate to him that we are on the ground level of every single thing that the country is dealing with,” he said.

During this week’s State of the City address, Dickens called out Trump’s efforts to slash diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives by urging companies to do away with programs geared toward bolstering minority precipitation. On stage at the Woodruff Arts Center, the mayor proclaimed “our diversity is what makes us strongest.”

It was only one line in the 35-minue speech, but Dickens said Friday he was trying to stand up for Atlanta’s values without prompting pushback from the president.

“I had to make sure I stood up for a city that has thrived off of diversity — it’s dangerous to poke,” he said. “I’m not trying to poke the bear. I’m trying to console the public.”

“I’m not, you know, shaking my fist or thumbing my nose at the administration of the White House, at all,” he added.