Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed took to the stage Wednesday at his fifth “State of the City” breakfast, an annual early morning gathering of city leaders and the business elite. It’s one among many speeches the mayor has given in recent months, and in many ways, was a reprisal of his inaugural address in January.
1. What's new: Reed didn't tread far into new territory at the business event sponsored by Coca-Cola, but encouraged the audience of hundreds to "shake off" the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal and "get back in the game for Atlanta students." The mayor said "everybody got burned" by the discovery of wide-spread cheating on standardized tests, which brought negative national attention to the city. Now, he said, is the time to look ahead.
2. What's familiar: Most of it. Reed repeated his call for city and county leaders to tackle recidivism rates in Fulton County and said falling crime rates can only help improve the economy. He restated his goal of growing Atlanta as a technology hub. The mayor also delivered an oft-repeated list of successes during his first term, including tackling pension reform, opening up the city's recreation centers for youth, building reserves to more than $130 million and reaching a long-stated goal of 2,000 police officers.
3. What's missing: The mayor didn't discuss his plans to chip away at a $900 million backlog of infrastructure needs with a bond referendum worth up to $250 million in 2015, nor the latest on the Port of Savannah expansion project. The mayor also shied away from talk about the Atlanta Falcons stadium or plans to redevelop Turner Field.
4. What's notable: His mood. On the pair of winter storms that first delivered Reed and Gov. Nathan Deal one of the toughest political challenges of their careers, followed by a shot at redemption, the mayor assured the audience not to feel badly for him, saying "I'll be OK." Reed joked that he knew the January blast would "be a bad storm when it was named Leon."
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