Inside campaign fundraising for Atlanta mayor, City Council president races

Campaign finance disclosure documents submitted by candidates on the ballot in the upcoming municipal elections give insight into where they’re drumming up support for their bids.

In the contentious race for Atlanta City Council president — arguably the most consequential choice for city of Atlanta voters in November — two-term council member Marci Collier Overstreet and challenger Rohit Malhotra have raked in $900,000 between them.

According to the disclosure reports, Malhotra, a progressive policy nonprofit founder, has outraised Overstreet by about $50,000.

Overstreet is running with an endorsement from Mayor Andre Dickens, who has hosted multiple fundraisers for her.

Out-of-state donors have played a significant role in backing Malhotra’s campaign. About 30% of his fundraising came from outside of Georgia, according to an analysis by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That compares with about 4% of Overstreet’s donations coming from outside the state.

A spokesperson for Malhotra’s campaign said it’s not surprising that “this race is garnering attention across the country” and referenced the candidate’s national connections through nonprofit work, organizing under the Obama administration and trainings he’s hosted for entrepreneurs across the country.

“It makes sense that the thousands of people he has touched with his work — inside and outside of Atlanta — are supportive of him and this inspiring campaign,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “They also understand that elections in Atlanta often have a rippling.”

Overstreet said her fundraising reveals a grassroots campaign.

“My financial disclosure reflects the heart of this campaign — Atlanta rooted, Atlanta supported,” she said in a statement. “I was raised here, inside the city, and the majority of my contributions come from neighbors, small businesses, and community leaders who know my record and trust my vision.”

In the mayor’s race, Dickens has raised more than $4.5 million for his campaign.

That’s compared with the just over $1 million he reported raising during the same period of the crowded 2021 mayoral race, when he was a lesser-known candidate.

According to an AJC analysis, 81% of Dickens campaign contributions since the beginning of 2025 have come from within Georgia. But he’s received nearly $60,000 from Illinois residents, $49,000 from donors in Florida, and $47,000 in Washington, DC.

Each of the three candidates challenging Dickens raised about $1,000.

The Dickens campaign didn’t respond to request for comment in time for publication.

Early voting started Tuesday.

Interim Council member is accessibility advocate

Atlanta City Council’s newest representative is pushing the city to do more when it comes to accessibility.

Disability advocate Carden Wyckoff (right) has been appointed to serve as interim District 2 council member until January, when the new City Council is sworn in to office. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Wyckoff, a well-known disability advocate, introduced her first piece of legislation last week that would require all new buildings be equipped with push-button activators at entryways.

The council member said in a statement that it’s a problem impacting thousands of residents daily, and has a simple solution.

“This isn’t abstract policy for me,” she said in a statement. “I’ve rolled up to doors in Atlanta that I simply couldn’t open. I’ve had to wait outside in the rain, or ask a stranger for help, just to get into a coffee shop or public building.

“That’s not independence, that’s exclusion built into architecture,” she said.

---