Atlanta Citywide Elections Could Still Result in Black LGBTQ Representation, Support Following Runoffs
After months of debates, campaign ads, meet and greets, and canvassing, Atlanta is close to naming a new mayor and potentially welcoming some new and familiar faces to the City Council and Board of Education.
Unfortunately, some of those faces will not include the dozen or so Black LGBTQ identified candidates who launched campaigns for the council, school board, and the mayor’s office.
Of the slate of Black LGBTQ candidates, Keisha Waites is the only candidate with a chance of possibly winning their campaign. A native of Atlanta and a former state legislator, Waites is in a runoff against Jacqueline “Jacki” Labat for the Council’s Post 3 At-Large seat. Labat’s husband, Patrick Labat, is Fulton County Sheriff.
Waites’ platform is centered on four issues: public safety, restoring public trust, regional transportation, and affordable housing.
She believes a more expansive use of technology will help curb public safety issues, like the use of security cameras or other technologies like the ShotSpotter system. She seeks to update and revise the city's Employee Code of Ethics and instate strict penalties for violating the code. She intends to use the relationships developed during her time in the state legislature to develop solutions to the city’s transportation challenges. And she plans to assist predominantly minority-owned communities by increasing property values and closing the racial wealth gap.
“Of the slate of Black LGBTQ candidates, Keisha Waites is the only candidate with a chance of possibly winning their campaign.”
“I am looking to fill a void present in the current makeup of the city council. There is a void of quality people who have relationships necessary to move conversations forward,” Waites told The Reckoning this summer. "I grew up in this city. I have seen it prosper. I have also seen what happens when we elect folks who are more interested in taking care of their friends and advancing their political careers than taking care of the business of the people.”
In addition to the Council’s Post 3 At-Large seat, there is also a runoff for Atlanta’s mayoral race. Councilman Antonio Brown, who was vying to be the city’s first LGBTQ mayor, was not victorious in his effort. By the end of election night, Brown conceded with five percent of the vote.
The next morning Brown tweeted, “80% of the city didn’t vote last night. That saddens me. Everyone’s voice deserves to be heard, but you have to vote!”
Moore vs. Dickens, LGBTQ losses
Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore advanced to a Nov. 30 runoff against Councilman Andre Dickens. Dickens currently holds the seat Waites is campaigning to fill.
Neither the Moore nor Dickens campaigns responded to interview requests.
Early in their campaigns, Dickens and Moore expressed their support for the LGBTQ community.
For Dickens, who many did not expect to beat out former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed for a spot in the runoff, his LGBTQ commitment is highlighted via his campaign website.
If elected, he intends to address the issues plaguing HOPWA — Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS—the city’s LGBTQ housing program. In addition, he pledges to expand the City’s LGBTQ Advisory Board to prioritize the needs of the LGBTQ community, elevate workforce development for LGBTQ youth and trans people, promote tourism and Invest Atlanta incentives to attract LGBTQ conferences and jobs, and continue to promote Atlanta as the LGBTQ capital of the South and the Black LGBTQ capital of the US.
“I have witnessed first-hand so many parallels between the experiences of the African- American community and the LGBTQ community,” Dickens told Project Q in September. “Improving economic opportunities and reducing homelessness will help reduce violence by allowing trans people, and in particular trans youth, the opportunity to live in safe housing conditions.”
He touts endorsements by Georgia Equality in previous races, as well as his support of legislation to earmark emergency housing money for LGBTQ youth and young adults and his support of legislation to create an LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement for the City of Atlanta as reasons for the LGBTQ community to support his candidacy.
Moore, who many considered the front runner in the mayoral race, has received endorsements from the likes of Georgia State Representative Park Cannon. However, she has not highlighted her plans or commitment to the LGBTQ community via her campaign website.
“For some of the Black LGBTQ candidates that did not win their campaigns, they expressed their thanks to those who supported them and vowed to continue working to better Atlanta.”
She is, however, celebrated for her early support of marriage equality during the Barack Obama administration. During her term as city council president, she has participated numerous times in Atlanta Pride festivities, including during former Georgia House of Representatives minority leader Stacey Abrams’ campaign for governor of Georgia.
According to reports, Reforming HOPWA is also part of Moore’s campaign pledge. In an interview with Project Q, she noted that the program lacks transparency and accountability, and would make repairing the program and combating HIV her top LGBTQ priorities.
In addition, if elected, Moore pledges to create an LGBTQ task force.
“I want to see action,” she said during an interview with Podcast Q, adding that she will seek guidance from the task force and put their priorities into action. “And then I need to be held accountable to get those things done. I know the challenges of the community. I care for people, period.”
For some of the Black LGBTQ candidates that did not win their campaigns, they expressed their thanks to those who supported them and vowed to continue working to better Atlanta.
Jason Hudgins, a former candidate for Atlanta City Council District 10, tweeted “This is not the end. In fact, this is just the beginning.”
Jereme Sharpe, a candidate for the Council’s Post 1 At-Large, also thanked his supporters via Twitter.
“I'm honestly excited about the future of our city and what we'll accomplish together!” he said. “Running for city council was a humbling experience and I'll remain focused on making Atlanta a place for everyone.”
As he congratulated his opponent, Devin Barrington-Ward, City Council District 9 candidate, also thanked his supporters through a series of tweets.
“Despite defeat, I will smile because the best is yet to come!” he said. “Defeat builds character and my character is strong!”
Mashaun D. Simon is an equity and inclusion advocate who centers his preaching, writing, and scholarship on cultural competency, identity, and equity.
He has written for NBC News and the Atlanta Daily World, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Black Enterprise, Bloomberg News, TheGrio.com, Ebony Magazine, BelieveOutLoud.com, and Essence Magazine. He has also created and managed cultural competency and affirmative action programming and training and in 2018, Mashaun organized and facilitated Kennesaw State University’s Faith and Sexuality Symposium on behalf of KSU’s Presidential Commission for LGBT Initiatives. In 2021, Mashaun was selected as a member of the inaugural cohort of the Rising Leaders Fellowship.
He holds a professional writing degree from Georgia Perimeter College, a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Kennesaw State University, and a Master of Divinity from Emory University's Candler School of Theology.