Nearly $600,000 raised in contest to lead Atlanta City Council

By Maggie Lee

Three members of Atlanta City Council are asking voters to promote them to president of the body. The three have reported raising almost $600,000 in total campaign funds.

Alex Wan, with a little help from a last-minute loan of $25,000 to his own campaign, is coming in first with some $225,954 raised through June 30.

Just behind him is C.T. Martin, with some $211,131 in donations.

Felicia Moore reported raising $159,097.

The council president runs meetings, votes in case of a tie and appoints committees and their chairs, subject to rejection by a majority of the council.  In case the mayor’s office becomes vacant or the mayor is unable do to their duty, the council president takes over the duties of mayor.

Wan, in a written statement said, “In this 90-day window [to June 30] we received donations from over 200 individuals, representing a broad base of support from across the city … The diversity of Atlantans who support our shared vision for the city we love is heartening. This energy and the investment in me is encouraging, and emphasizes that we can indeed continue moving away from politics as usual.”

Martin said that his donors are supportive and want good representation.

With the fundraising race close, Martin said the strategy is to continue to get the message out. “Continue to ask people for their support and assure them that you’re going to be representative,” he said.

“We’re working hard to give them good representation,” Martin said.

Felicia Moore said in a written statement that she hasn’t been raising money as long as the other two candidates.

Atlanta City Hall File/Credit: Kelly Jordan

“While I certainly don’t believe that money is the most important thing in this race, we do believe it is an accurate barometer of which campaign has the most momentum going into the Fall and who has the most supporters at this point in the race. We will continue to run a positive campaign focused on the issues most important to hardworking Atlanta families and small business owners,” she wrote.

Wan and Martin each filed paperwork in August 2016 declaring their intent to accept contributions for the campaign. Moore filed her paperwork in January this year.

They’re running to replace incumbent City Council President Ceasar Mitchell, who is running for mayor. The council president job pays $62,000 per year.

The election is set for Nov. 7. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will be held Dec. 5.