A new poll from the Committee for a United Atlanta that shows support for the Buckhead cityhood effort down significantly in the neighborhood since Mayor Andre Dickens took office earlier this month.
The poll of 400 Buckhead registered voters was conducted by North Star Research and Whit Ayres, a well-known GOP pollster, from Jan. 16-19, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.
It shows Buckhead voters now oppose splitting away from Atlanta 51 percent to 40 percent. That’s a reversal from a North Star poll in June that showed Buckhead residents supporting a split 48 percent to 44 percent.
Ayres said two specific dynamics in the poll are notable.
First among them is voters’ top concern of crime, which 57 percent said is the most important issue facing the city in an open-ended question. The next most important issue for voters was police and public safety, which 5% of respondents ranked as their primary concern.
“I have rarely seen in many decades of asking this sort of question one issue so thoroughly dominate the political landscape as crime does,” Ayres said. “In this survey, it’s just overwhelming.”
Ayres’ second major takeaway in the poll is Mayor Andre Dickens’ approval rating in the Buckhead neighborhood, which is 50 percent favorable, compared to 14 percent unfavorable. That’s a major change from Dickens’ June rating of 7 percent favorable, 6 percent unfavorable, with 69 percent of voters not knowing who Dickens was.
“In this current climate, that’s incredibly positive,” he said.
By contrast, former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ approval rating in the Buckhead poll was 43 percent favorable and 49 percent unfavorable.
Dickens has been a frequent presence in Buckhead since his election in December. Two weeks into his term he announced a new police precinct in the center of the Buckhead business district.
The poll comes out as the Buckhead City Committee prepares to hold another fundraiser tonight and as the General Assembly gathers for its second week of legislative business.
Bill White, the face of the pro-Buckhead push, noted that the poll also shows a majority of Buckhead residents say crime is the most pressing problem in the city.
“Voters should not allow our opponents’ half-truths and fear mongering to impact their sacred right to vote on their own destiny,” he said.
Meanwhile, many Buckhead residents received a copy of the “Buckhead Gazette,” a one-page publication touting the fundraiser and splashed with headlines like, “Gang Warfare Closing in on Buckhead City;” and “Hood is Gunned Down in Slum Street.” All were about crimes outside of Buckhead.
An August poll from the Buckhead City Committee showed 62 percent support for a vote in the General Assembly to put the question of cityhood to a referendum on the 2022 ballot, which will be the subject of debate in the session this year.
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Mayor Andre Dickens will have a chance to make his case Atlanta directly to lawmakers this morning.
We’ve got word that the mayor will speak on the floor of the state House today shortly after 10 a.m..
House Speaker David Ralston invited Dickens to address the chamber, which is a tradition for Atlanta mayors that it looks like Ralston is sticking with.
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UNDER THE GOLD DOME, (Legislative Day 5):
- 8:00 a.m.: Committee meetings begin;
- 10:00 a.m.: The House gavels in;
- 10:00 a.m.: The Senate convenes.
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Count at least one GOP lawmaker as a definite “no” on Buckhead cityhood.
State Rep. Dave Belton, who represents the City of Buckhead in Morgan County, wrote an op-ed in Sunday’s AJC with multiple reasons for opposing another Buckhead.
Among them:
Think what this means to the Republican mantra of local control! it could set for local control: “If outsider legislators can jam this measure through, no local city or county will be safe from legislative mischief. The state could destroy any community against the local citizen's wishes.
Offering a counter point, Buckhead City Committee adviser Oliver Porter wrote in the AJC, “Local history shows new cities work, and counties adapt.”
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The U.S. Senate was originally supposed to be in Washington this week, while the U.S. House had a district work period scheduled. But the Senate delayed last week’s recess to this week, meaning both chambers of Congress should be quiet for the next few days.
That will give U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson time to continue recovering from COVID-19. He announced last week that he tested positive despite being fully vaccinated. The Lithonia Democrat said his symptoms were mild.
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POSTED: Members of Congress and their spouses would be prohibited from trading individual stocks if a bill introduced by Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff becomes law.
Ossoff’s proposal is among several filed by lawmakers, including some with bipartisan support, to address concerns that members of Congress benefit financially from information they receive in office. The bill fulfills a promise Ossoff made on the campaign trail that was in direct response to criticism of then-Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler’s stock trading during the coronavirus pandemic.
The bill would require every senator and U.S. representative, their spouses and dependent children to put their stock shares into a qualified blind trust. Those who violate the new rules would face a fine equal to one year of their congressional salary.
Ossoff has also released a report and video highlighting his first year in office.
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The next major dividing line in the U.S. Senate race in Georgia might be the way rival candidates respond to the growing Russian threat to Ukraine as a Russian invasion force masses on the border.
We’ve already heard from Agriculture Secretary Gary Black, who blamed President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock for “the second verse of a song” that’s endangering American lives.
The first verse, in Black’s view, was the U.S. retreat from Afghanistan that hastened the Taliban takeover of the war torn country.
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President Joe Biden has tapped a veteran elections attorney and top Stacey Abrams adviser for the Federal Election Commission.
The White House said Friday that Dara Lindenbaum would replace Steven Walther on the six-person commission. Lindenbaum was Abrams’ legal counsel in her 2018 gubernatorial bid and is working in the same role in 2022.
Walther is an independent, but he often voted with the panel’s two Democrats. That means that Lindenbaum, also a Democrat, wouldn’t significantly change the current 3-3 deadlock on the commission if she’s confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Federal law prohibits more than three members of either party from serving at the same time. There are already three Republicans on the commission.
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Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens joined hundreds of city leaders from across the nation to attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors convention in Washington last week.
In addition to meeting other mayors and receiving pats on the back after winning his race, Dickens also discussed ways to bring new pilot programs to Atlanta, the AJC’s Wilborn Nobles reports.
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Senate candidate Herschel Walker is holding mostly closed-door events in Georgia, while collecting lucrative fees for private speeches mostly outside of the state.
That’s the gist of an in-depth story the AJC posted just before the weekend. You can read it here.
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Voters are invited to an upcoming “Coffee with Carolyn,” for a chance to hear from and provide feedback to U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux. Her staff will also be on hand to provide assistance connecting constituents with federal agencies.
The event is scheduled for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Lilburn City Hall. RSVP here.
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Calling all Georgia political junkies: Your Insider Greg Bluestein’s book on how Georgia became the most important battleground state in the nation is out on March 22 – and you’re invited to a book launch party two days later.
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Details have been announced for the funeral for Dick Williams. The memorial will honor both Williams and his late wife, Rebecca Chase, who died in 2020.
The obituary for Williams at Legacy.com included this kicker, which we’ll long remember as the evidence of Williams’ life incredibly well lived.
As a young man," Williams once wrote, “I wanted to do three things in life: play basketball in Madison Square Garden, be a big-city newspaper columnist and publish a small-town newspaper that served its community. I did all three. Not bad."
Not bad at all.
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As always, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
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