Democracy Digest: 06/04/2024 – Atlanta Civic Circle

Second round of voting begins next week June 18 is Election Day for races that were not settled in the May 21 primary election. This Friday, June 7 is the last day to request a postal vote. You can check out our past coverage for more information on voting by mail. Early voting begins next Monday, June 10 and ends on Friday, June 14.
Pro Tip: Due to potential mail delays, request your ballot now.
: Meredith Hobbs Breaking: Atlanta’s water system Large swaths of central Atlanta remained without water for nearly three days after major water mains broke., and, as of this writing, some areas of the city are still without water or remain under a boil water advisory. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has faced criticism, and Monday afternoon’s city council meeting drew a number of residents who expressed outrage during the public comment period.
Online and in public comments, many residents are questioning the city’s spending priorities, such as the $67 million in public funds that the Atlanta City Council approved last year to build the controversial Atlanta Public Safety Training, aka “Cop City.” The total cost of the project increased from $90 million to nearly $110 million.
Atlanta voters approved reauthorization of a 1-cent municipal option sales tax (MOST) on May 21. According to the city, MOST generated $2 billion to fund water and sewer infrastructure.
During the municipal council, Devin Barrington-Ward, candidate for Position 3 on the City Council at large, has proposed creating a $5 million emergency fund. for small businesses affected by the water outage.
Later Monday afternoon, Mayor Andre Dickens announced similar legislation in the City Council Chambers, which was introduced by Councilman Matt Westmoreland. Your financial support remains Atlanta Civic Circle Coverage of democracy in 2024 is underway. This gives us the essential resources to hire Election Day staff, publish articles and explainers, and produce our voter guide.

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: Liz Rymarev Atlanta City Council, School Board approve annual budgets The Atlanta City Council has adopted Mayor Andre Dickens’ proposed $2.75 billion budget. Simultaneously, the Atlanta School Board gave the green light Monday to its fiscal 2025 budget.
The district allocated $11.8 million for the superintendent’s “Readers Are Leaders” initiative to ensure all students read on grade level. » The school board aims to complete its superintendent search by the fall. ICYMI: Delta Organizing and Gen Z Election Night
The highlight of the May 21 primary was almost all of the victories of the young candidates., including Gabriel Sanchez’s upset victory over incumbent Teri Anulewicz for his Smyrna-area district in the Democratic primary. Read Atlanta Civic Circle coverage, which includes a comprehensive roundup of races leading to runoff elections in Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnett counties.
Meanwhile, Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock weighed on unionization efforts by Delta workersjoining 175 of his colleagues in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to call on Delta’s CEO to remain neutral and not engage in anti-union activities. Note to our readers: Atlanta Civic Circle wants to know what local voters care about in the upcoming elections. Want to share your thoughts? Send us a message. VOTER PROFILE: ALBERTINE RILEY
Age: 75
Occupation: Retired
Neighborhood: Lawrenceville
Political affiliation: Republican What brought you to the polls in the primary?“Because it’s important to have a say in your government.”
Are there any specific races you follow? Or specific people you wanted to be sure to vote for?“I was following the Republican candidate for the House of Representatives, Andrew Clyde, because he has conservative values, just like me.” (Incumbent Clyde easily defeated three challengers in the Republican primary for Georgia’s 9th Congressional District. -Ed.)
What is the most important issue for you in this election?“Right now, it’s inflation and immigration. I think Andrew Clyde would work to put an end to out-of-control illegal immigration.”
What would change in your life if more people shared your position on these issues? “We would have more security. The United States would be safer. And without high inflation, we would have more prosperity.”
Would you support an additional sales tax to fund more public transportation in Gwinnett?“Yes, because I think people who can’t afford a car have a hard time getting around the county. So we need public transportation.
Note: Gwinnett County Commissioners I will vote on Tuesday on whether to approve a ballot referendum for a 1-cent, 30-year Transit Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) for the Nov. 5 ballot. If they do, it will be the fifth time Gwinnett residents have voted on a tax aimed at expanding public transit; all previous attempts have failed. The last vote, in November 2020, failed by a slim margin of 0.28%. Today’s Democracy Digest was written by Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon with contributions from Edward Maille. It was edited by Meredith Hobbs.