The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked each member of the Atlanta City Council to explain their vote concerning the city’s funding of the new public safety training center. The measure passed 11-4 early Tuesday morning after more than 14 hours of public comment.
Responses below have been edited for length.
The responses
Council President Doug Shipman (does not vote except in a tie)
“I believe the amendments that were added including the types of de-escalation and community-oriented training required onsite; acquiring and protecting 85 additional acres in the South River Forest area; and requiring Council approval for non-city entities to use the facility along with the request that two Council members be on the (Atlanta Police Foundation) Board begin to address the transparency and environmental concerns. I believe we need improved training facilities for our fire, rescue and police personnel and we need to continue to improve the project to be more transparent, less environmentally damaging and more fiscally clear and efficient as well as addressing policies that will improve how we undertake first response in our city.”
District 1 Jason Winston (voted YES)
“I am immensely grateful to every Atlantan who reached out and made their voice heard. From Grant Park to Browns Mill and throughout District 1, I hear the same thing — people are concerned about the safety of their family. I made a promise to every single one of them: I will not allow Atlanta to become a place where our families live in fear of crime and violence. I voted to uphold this vision.”
District 2 Amir Farokhi (voted YES)
“Modernizing those facilities is critical to delivering best-in-class training to keep Atlanta safe. However, we also have a duty to modernize what public safety looks like, including how we respond and what non-police services we provide to reduce crime and lift residents up. These are not in conflict. While this process was difficult, and at times tragic, I believe that we are advancing toward both objectives.”
District 3 Byron Amos (voted YES)
Did not respond.
District 4 Jason Dozier (voted NO)
“While the idea of a centralized training facility for law enforcement may sound appealing on the surface — existing training facilities for police and fire are awful and we needed to replace them years ago — I firmly believe that the Public Safety Training Center, as proposed, is not the right approach for Atlanta. I’ve had a number of issues with this proposal related to transparency and accountability, but I keep coming back to the opaqueness of the decision surrounding the project’s location and scale. I’m not convinced that first responder training requires an 85-acre campus, and I think the tail’s been wagging the dog here as committing to a project of that scale from the beginning limited opportunities to seek alternative locations or options.”
District 5 Liliana Bakhtiari (voted NO)
“For me, it was about preserving the public’s trust in its government. In speaking with residents, and especially after the marathon of testimonies offered during public comment, what was clear to me is that this project has created a lot of pain and confusion among our constituencies. Much of my district feels that they have been deceived; they feel that even pleading with their elected leaders offers no true recourse. And while, yes, we worked — and will continue to work — tirelessly to ensure that this project is improved upon, I could not in good conscience vote to approve funding a project while so much pain exists throughout the community.”
District 6 Alex Wan (voted YES)
“The city has a critical need for a dedicated public safety center with facilities and equipment where our police and firefighters can get trained. Our original facilities were condemned due to safety concerns, and we have been leasing multiple sites for this function since. District 6 constituents continue to prioritize supporting public safety in our neighborhoods to me, and the PSTC will help with the recruitment, instruction, and retention of our police and firefighters. Patterns of police violence against minority communities must stop, and the PSTC is where training on more socially just models of policing can take place to effect that change.”
District 7 Howard Shook (voted YES)
Currently, training occurs either at wholly inadequate City facilities or via out of town facilities that we are charged for using. The proposed training facility will provide the state-of-the-art environment our first responders need. I also fully support the creation of what will be Atlanta’s largest park (that will serve an historically under-invested part of town).
District 8 Mary Norwood (voted YES)
“Atlanta Police should be the best trained, the best equipped, and the best staffed to keep all of us safe. The financial projections regarding the cost of the training center have not been reported accurately. According to City of Atlanta’s Financial Department, we spend $1.4 million annually to obtain facilities in which to train our public safety personnel. The $1.2 million annual projection will actually save us $200,000 each year.”
District 9 Dustin Hillis (voted YES)
“I have supported building the Public Safety Training Center since the first vote was taken in September 2021 because that is what a majority of my constituents support. I feel that being reelected with 68 percent of District 9 voters supporting me after that initial vote took place is an approval of both my prior accomplishments, as well as the goals I set forth (including more police officers and firefighters) to District 9 residents. APD and AFRD are in desperate need of a centralized training facility that meets all their needs, instead of having to travel to multiple places, some 60+ minutes away in other jurisdictions.”
District 10 Andrea Boone (voted YES)
Did not respond.
District 11 Marci Collier Overstreet (voted YES)
“Public Safety is directly tied to the quality of life of our citizens and I’ve heard that loud and clear from my constituents who overwhelmingly support the Public Safety Training Center. They’ve consistently reminded me that when people don’t feel safe, nothing else matters. Bottom line, training our police and fire men and women is essential to the quality of life of the residents of the City of Atlanta.”
District 12 Antonio Lewis (voted NO)
“The transparency on the funding … Any time that a person comes to City Council they talk to us about getting some money, if we give them that amount — if we give them $30 million — I don’t want to see you next year ask for another $30 million. I don’t want to see you ask for another $1. I do believe we have to have the ability to train the police. But we need more money invested in kids. So once we give you an amount, you can’t come back next year and ask for more.”
Post 1 Michael Julian Bond (voted YES)
“When I was first elected to the Atlanta City Council in 1993, the police, fire, and corrections training facilities were old and in need of repair. It was an impressive display of activism to have an estimated 300 citizens come and give their opinions. However, those countervailing opinions have to be weighed against what might be in the greatest interests for the total citizenry.”
Post 2 Matt Westmoreland (voted YES)
“For decades, Atlanta has badly needed new training facilities for our first responders. The City has owned the roughly 350 acres on this site for a century. For 50 years (including the present day) portions have been used for training. Guided by recommendations from the Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee, we are using a portion of it to build the facilities we need to better recruit, retain and train our women and men in uniform. At the same time, we will preserve the remaining 275 acres of greenspace and open it to the public. As part of that process, more than 100,000 tires have been removed from the property, every hardwood tree has been preserved, hundreds more will be planted, and trails constructed.”
Post 3 Keisha Sean Waites (voted NO)
“My vote reflects the will of the people. The $67 million in taxpayer’s money would be better spent on affordable housing, resources for the homeless and unsheltered, infrastructure improvements, mental health services, health care for the uninsured, rental and mortgage assistance, including providing housing and salary increases for our first responders and law enforcement officers. These resources directly impact the root causes of crime, which policing does not.”
