Inside City Hall: Atlanta Mayor tries to address controversy from public safety training center
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens held back-to-back sit-down interviews with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WABE’s Rose Scott on Friday to voice support for the proposed public safety training center, regardless of the violent opposition against the project.
Dickens said he is personally going door-to-door in surrounding communities to engage neighborhood residents about the new center for police and firefighters across 85 acres of the DeKalb County forest. Dickens has already received a lot of feedback in the past, but the mayor said he’s not satisfied with the input he’s gather so far.
“I could have started yesterday or the day before, but I said let’s do a task force,” Dickens said. “Here we are right now having a conversation.”
Scott asked what he would do if his “newer” training center task force tells him to build the center elsewhere. Dickens said he’s open to feedback, but the center will be built eventually.
“At some point, the city of Atlanta that has the largest police force, that has the largest fire force, that has the largest amount of people to protect, needs to have implementation of a training (center) that they can count on, that people can depend on,” Dickens said.
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Transgender bill: Some Atlanta City Councilmembers voiced opposition to a new state law that bans health care providers from administering certain hormones or surgeries to children to align with their gender identity.
Senate Bill 140 passed the Legislature on a party-line vote, with Republicans supporting it. Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari — the first queer Muslim to be elected in Georgia — called the bill devastating.
“As a person who has struggled with gender dysphoria since childhood, I know first-hand the consequences that this measure will carry for families and youth in our State,” Bakhtiari said in a March 20 statement.
“To every gender non-conforming and transgender person in Georgia, and to every person who loves a gender non-conforming or transgender person in Georgia, please do not give up hope. We see you, and we will not give up fighting for you.”
City Council President Doug Shipman also condemned the bill after Gov. Brian Kemp signed it into law on March 23.
“As a policymaker and the spouse of a physician, I am deeply saddened that Georgia has taken the step of limiting healthcare choices for families in our state,” Shipman said. “Transgender kids need care and options, not restrictions and scorn.”
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ICYMI: Atlanta broke ground on a portion of the Beltline last week. The Beltline said this 1.3 mile trail connects Washington Park to Bankhead/Historic Westin Heights. Once it’s completed in 2030, it will allow people to travel 6.5 miles on paved trails from Pittsburgh Yards in the southwest to Huff Road in West Midtown to the northwest.
Meanwhile, Invest Atlanta has approved plans for a $6 million line of credit from the Housing Opportunity Bond Fund to the Atlanta Land Bank for land-acquisition for new affordable housing. The city wants to prioritize housing projects in the Hollowell Corridor, Campbellton Corridor, Thomasville and downtown.
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Events happening this week: Dickens is delivering his 2023 State of the City Address at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. We’re told he plans to highlight the city’s successes from last year, and his vision for 2023, which includes supporting the youth.
Atlanta City Council is also hosting committee meetings this week, including a joint work session focused on the city’s short-term rental laws. The mayor’s address and the council meetings will live streamed on the city’s YouTube page.
Finally, the Center for Diversion & Services will officially break ground at the city detention center on Friday, kicking off a year-long process to open the first 24/7 hour alternative to jail in Atlanta and Fulton County.
About the Authors
Wilborn P. Nobles III covers Atlanta City Hall for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He began covering DeKalb County Schools for The AJC in November 2020. He previously covered Baltimore County for The Baltimore Sun and education for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. He interned at the Washington Post. He graduated from Louisiana State University.
Riley Bunch is a reporter on the local government team at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covering Atlanta City Hall. She covers the mayor and Atlanta City Council while also keeping an eye on the city’s diverse neighborhoods.
