For the first two years of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ term, he’s successfully thwarted an effort by some residents in the wealthy Buckhead neighborhood to secede from the city.
The plan hinged on a group of Republican state lawmakers pushing a bill that would have split the city at the neighborhoods limits and transferred government services and facilities — and tax revenue — from Atlanta to a newly formed municipality.
But Gov. Brian Kemp’s administration delt a blow to Buckhead city supporters through a scathing memo that questioned the constitutionality of the plan. The move highlighted the strength of Kemp and Dickens’ working relationship.
Last week, Dickens told a group of young Buckhead Republicans that he’s hoping that the issue won’t come up again.
“I know there may be individuals in the room that participated in that one way or another,” he said at The Ivy, a swanky sports bar in northern Atlanta. “I understand the sentiment of it. But I really want us to know that when we work together to solve problems, good things happen.”
The first-term mayor said he doesn’t see supporters of cityhood as “the enemy.”
“My hope is that before someone says, ‘Let’s break the city apart,’ people say, ‘Let’s talk to that mayor,’” Dickens told the group.
We suspect that supporters of the movement would disagree but only time will tell if another ‘Buckhead City’ bill pops up under the Gold Dome next session.
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Credit: AJC file photo
Credit: AJC file photo
October 16th marked the 50th year anniversary of the 1973 election of Maynard Jackson Jr., Atlanta’s first Black mayor. Atlanta City Council honored the late mayor during its last council meeting.
“All of us are here today because of the work that Maynard Jackson did in the city of Atlanta,” said Council member Michael Julian Bond. “Not only changed the landscape of the city of Atlanta, but it reverberated all around America in the country.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is planning our own special coverage of the events that led to his election and the legacy he left on the city. Politicians and historians alike credit Jackson for giving political and economic power to Atlanta’s Black residents through policies like his push to award minority contractors more business.
Keep an eye out for our special coverage coming later this year.
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Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
Atlanta leaders are putting dollars toward backing the city’s growing startup businesses. The mayor’s office announced this month a new $1 million loan program to support local technology startups to help business owners grow their companies and acquire new assets or update existing assets.
Atlanta technology startups who received a City of Atlanta business license within the last five years are eligible to apply for a direct loan of up to $150,000. Applicants must demonstrate their businesses’ growth potential in their sector and show that they operate within the city of Atlanta.
According to the city, metro Atlanta is home to more than 30 corporate innovation centers, giving Atlanta the highest concentration of startups and innovators in the Southeast.
“Technology startups are vital to the growth of the Atlanta’s economy as they create jobs, increase our city’s competitiveness and very often — address an unmet need,” said Dr. Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta. “The Atlanta Startup Growth Loan program will extend our reach and impact because we will be in a position to help eliminate funding as a barrier to their ability to grow.”
The loans can be for technology, inventory, the purchase or renovation of commercial space within the city, machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures, and signage.
To learn more about and apply for the Atlanta Startup Growth Loan Program, interested business owners can visit www.investatlanta.com/startupgrowth.
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As always — got tips, tricks or just want to say hello? Email me at riley.bunch@ajc.com.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
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