The 2021 redistricting cycle has begun in earnest. The nation’s exhaustive and often divisive task of reshaping political lines officially began this week. On Monday, the Texas legislature formally convened its special session to redraw maps in a state where 44 percent of its 4 million residents live in five counties. The map-drawing phase of […]
Category: Atlanta Civic Circle
Posted inHousing Affordability
With new legislation, could federal eviction ban make a comeback?
A new congressional bill seeks to resurrect the recently killed federal eviction freeze that many renters saw as their last defense against displacement. On Tuesday, Congresswoman Cori Bush, a Missouri Democrat, unveiled the Keeping Renters Safe Act of 2021, legislation which, if enacted, would establish a new residential eviction moratorium “to address public health crises.” Sponsored […]
Posted inDemocracy
State elections officials dismiss illegal voting case against Herschel Walker’s wife
State elections officials Tuesday dismissed an illegal voting complaint against the wife of football legend Herschel Walker who is running as a Republican candidate from Georgia in the U.S. Senate race. The State Elections Board voted 4-0 to close the case against Julie Blanchard who was alleged to have voted illegally in Georgia while living […]
Posted inDemocracy
Secretary of State seeks to bar non-citizens from voting in Georgia
Georgia’s top election official wants state lawmakers to change the state constitution so that only American citizens can vote in municipal elections. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger recently became the first Georgian to sign a petition calling for that amendment to the state constitution. “I understand how important it is to have the right to […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
City of Atlanta brings $12 million more federal dollars into rent relief pot
The Atlanta City Council on Monday voted to inject another $12 million of federal money into its emergency rental assistance (ERA) account, paving the way for the city to accept more applicants for vital government funds as the pandemic threatens the financial and housing stability of tens of thousands in the metro area. The newly […]
Posted inDemocracy
Voter-education efforts ramp up ahead of November municipal elections
The odometer on voting rights activist Fenika Miller’s 2014 Ford Fusion has racked up nearly 300,000 miles. Most of those miles have been added since March when Miller’s organization launched an all-out blitzkrieg of sorts against Georgia’s controversial new election reform law. As senior state coordinator for Black Voters Matter, Miller runs the organization’s operation from […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Landlords, tenants lament roadblocks in DeKalb’s rental assistance program
Bemoaning the bureaucratic roadblocks encumbering DeKalb County’s emergency rental assistance program, a man who leases out just a single home in the community said Thursday, “I’m never going to be a landlord again when this is all done.” During a virtual town hall meeting hosted by County Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson, this landlord and others, […]
Posted inAtlanta Civic Circle, Democracy
Controversy erupts over appointment of new Fulton County Election chair
Atlanta political stalwart Cathy Woolard Wednesday was tapped to lead the troubled elections operations of the state’s largest county, despite vigorous opposition. Woolard was appointed chair of Fulton County’s elections board after strident criticism over her ties to Fair Fight Action, a voting rights group founded by Stacey Abrams. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger slammed the […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Could Congress help Georgia, metro Atlanta disburse rental assistance cash faster?
Congresswoman Cori Bush introduced legislation earlier this week that seeks to expand access to federal emergency rental assistance (ERA) money, a proposal that could ramp up the distribution of critical funding at a time when many states — including Georgia — are lagging. The move by the Missouri Democrat comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme […]
Posted inDemocracy
November will be first big test for Georgia’s new election reform law
Georgia’s six-month-old election reform law will see its first major test in the coming weeks as voters across the state head to the polls for municipal elections. Many of the provisions in the Election Integrity Act of 2021 will serve as the first wake-up call for many voters who until now hadn’t given much more than a […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Mythbusting Atlanta’s zoning reform efforts with planning czar Tim Keane
The City of Atlanta’s ongoing zoning code overhaul could impact how the city grows for decades to come, so it comes as no surprise that planning officials’ efforts have drawn both the praise and ire of residents across town. Many affordable housing advocates and city planning experts are excited at the prospect of finding ways […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Across from Atlanta City Hall, new affordable housing units could ascend
The City of Atlanta’s economic development agency is on the hunt for developers interested in building affordable housing across the street from City Hall. City officials announced on Wednesday that Invest Atlanta had issued a request for proposals (RFP), calling on firms to pitch ideas for building out 104 Trinity Avenue, a 1.3-acre city-owned property that today […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
With millions in rental assistance cash unspent, Fulton not considering eviction moratorium
Georgia’s most populous county, which includes most of the City of Atlanta, is not considering enacting a temporary eviction ban, despite having a backlog of landlord-tenant cases awaiting magistrate court judges, as well as millions of dollars in unspent federal rent relief money. Fulton County spokeswoman Jessica Corbitt told Atlanta Civic Circle on Wednesday that the county’s superior court is “not […]
Posted inDemocracy
Georgia Legal Services Program marks 50th anniversary with rural summit
Voting rights activist Stacey Abrams will headline the Georgia Legal Services Program’s 50th annual Rural Georgia Justice and Poverty Summit later this month. The September 17 summit brings together researchers, state agencies, philanthropists, community policymakers and attorneys to talk about problems such as housing, education, public health, poverty and other critical issues affecting low-income and […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Local, state eviction bans needed while governments disburse federal rental assistance cash, experts say
Localized eviction bans would render some much-needed breathing room to renters at risk of displacement due to the pandemic, especially as governments across Georgia sluggishly distribute federal funds meant to help keep financially burdened tenants at home. That’s according to the heads of legal organizations that specialize in supporting lower-income metro Atlantans, as well as local housing […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
What the city’s housing authority wants from the Atlanta Civic Center
At long last, Atlanta’s housing authority is on the hunt for developers that could revive the Atlanta Civic Center. Built in the late 1960s and anchored by an impressive performance hall that once hosted opera singers, ballet dancers and political icons, the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center has been deserted since 2014, aching for a comeback. […]
Posted inDemocracy
Redistricting goes DIY with mapping apps
Why should lawmakers have all the fun — or power — when it comes to creating the district where you’ll vote for city council, school board or Congress members? For the first time in history, there are DIY apps for that for the public. You can now draw political boundary maps yourself to get a […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
With federal moratorium gone, can local attorneys help stave off torrent of evictions?
On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland called on the nation’s legal community to help curb the “devastating” impact the “looming housing and eviction crisis” could have on Americans due to the abrupt ending of the federal eviction freeze. “As federal and local eviction moratoriums expire around the country, eviction filings are expected to spike to […]
Posted inDemocracy
What I’ve learned: A conversation with Jane Kim Coloseus, executive director of Her Term
Working in male-dominated industries like foreign policy, national security and the nuclear field helped honed Jane Kim Coloseus for the job she has now. Coloseus is executive director of Her Term, a four-year-old Atlanta-based nonprofit that recruits women to run for public office in the Georgia state legislature. It is an organization of about 10 people. […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
The “tsunami” approaches: With federal moratorium killed, Atlanta braces for crush of evictions
For more than a year, Atlanta renters have dreaded the crash of what Terri Lee, the city’s chief housing officer, called a “tsunami” of evictions — a tidal wave of displacement in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, it seems that wave is cresting, as the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Biden administration’s nationwide ban on […]
