Atlanta City Council race is hazy after forum gives few policy answers

The playing field for the Atlanta City Council empty seat has narrowed to two, but a tense Nov. 12 forum by the Center for Civic Innovation did little to differentiate the campaigns for Eshé Collins and Dr. Nicole “Nikki” Evans Jones.

Collins and Jones came out on top of the field of five candidates after the general election on Nov. 5. The city council race got fewer votes than the rest of the ballot, with Jones receiving about 39 percent of the vote and Collins getting 25 percent.

The Center for Civic Innovation hosted a Nov. 12 forum to dive into each candidate’s platform in the weeks before the election. But after a nearly three-hour forum hosted by executive director Rohit Malhotra, few left the room with any clarity on who — or what to vote for.

Malhotra quizzed the duo on the details of the city government role, asking their stance on affordable housing, city transparency, corporate involvement and the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center known as “Cop City.”

But as the candidates stuck with broad answers and the event came to a close, Malhotra asked the crowd to raise their hands if they came in knowing who to vote for. Then he asked the crowd to raise their hands if, after the forum, they decided who to vote for.

Each time, scattered hands raised. The rest of the small crowd stayed still — undecided on who to vote for just weeks out from the Dec. 3 runoff election.

“What differentiates you?” Malhotra said. “There are still undecided voters in the audience.”

Eshé Collins and Dr. Nikki Evans Jones aligned on several issues. Both are in favor of affordable housing, transparent government communications, city council salary raises and engaging constituents.

When it comes to big priorities, there are some variations. Jones said she would be a “champion for equitable transportation” and floated policies like a commuter tax for people driving into the city. She also proposed a possible “parking tax” and investment into maintaining roads and sidewalks.

Collins said she would be a champion for “affordable living for all.” For Collins, that goes beyond increasing affordable housing stock in the city and into supporting legacy residents and subsidizing some city services.

But housing is still one of Jones’ top three priorities, alongside “safer communities” via increased police staffing and pay raises. Collins’ top three priorities are housing affordability, safety through community policing and economic growth through workforce development.

Both candidates filled out questionnaires for the Committee for a Better Atlanta, a coalition of business and civic groups in the city.  In the questionnaires, each laid out their platforms in depth — the committee gave Collins and Jones high scores at 92 and 87 percent, respectively.

Malhotra said the goal of the forum is threefold: know whether a candidate understands the role, know where they stand on certain issues and know who they are. It’s why he and the civic innovation team dive into policy specifics with the candidates beyond talking points.

“It also gives you their temperament when they’re confronted with complex and different scenarios and topics,” Malhotra said.

The executive director said he was glad both candidates were willing to engage at the Nov. 12 forum.

“They weren’t evasive, they were very much willing to grapple with the issues,” Malhotra said.

As a moderator, he said the conversation is just as much about policy details as it is temperament. Malhotra wants to know how they work through getting to an answer, not just what the answer is.

One thing he pointed out was each candidate’s experience and knowledge surrounding education. Jones is a retired educator and former school principal, while Collins is a civil rights attorney and member of the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education.

“They know how to talk about families and young people; they genuinely care,” Malhotra said.

But he cautioned that the world of education and school systems is not a direct line to city government. It’s why he pressed the pair for answers on issues like how they would handle “unchecked corporate power” or what line item on the budget they would first aim to increase or decrease.

“We’re pressing because we know there’s more there,” Malhotra said. “Either they’re not sharing, or they do not know.”

Malhotra’s greatest disappointment was the candidates’ lack of attention to the minutiae of the job, like knowing budget details and actual neighborhood-level engagement. When he asked the duo what they would do to hold corporate power accountable, each candidate said they would do it without explaining how.

A frustrated Malhotra pushed further, telling them, “I’m not feeling the answer,” before moving on.

Despite critiques and tense moments, Malhotra ended the Nov. 12 forum on hope, looking at the importance of local government and civic organizations in the wake of a contentious national election.

“We do this because we give that much of a damn about Atlanta, and we love Atlanta so much that we are willing to fight for it,” Malhotra said.

Jones and Collins both ended the night on optimism, though they urged voters to get out to the polls for the Dec. 3 runoff.

“I really enjoyed this dialogue, as always,” Collins said. “The runoff is a sprint, we have little to no time to bring our voter base back out to vote for us.”

Collins said her campaign is about electing an “experienced leader” into office because people deserve affordable living and to be able to “access and thrive in the city.”

Similarly, Jones said she was excited about the engagement and wants to double down on getting previous voters back out to the polls.

“I’ve mentioned a couple of times now that we know local government is what we have,” Jones said. “Some people might be happy about this past election, but for most of us, we should focus on state and local elections.”

Jones said her distilled campaign is simply “I get stuff done.”

Early voting for the City Council Post 3 at-large seat begins Nov. 23, and the runoff election takes place on Dec. 3.