Bribery scandal stokes Atlanta mayor’s race
The federal bribery investigation of Atlanta City Hall is disrupting the race to succeed Mayor Kasim Reed.
Ethics and reform of government had taken a back seat to other issues, such as affordable housing and transportation. But since the end of September, when the feds netted their first conviction of a high-ranking city official, a number of the candidates have used the long-running investigation as a weapon to bash opponents.
“For a long time, the race has been really dull,” Emory University political science professor Michael Leo Owens said. “We can point to very few big differences among the candidates. Now here is this thing that’s incredible. Corruption always draws our attention. But a few weeks out from a mayoral election — only a fool would not be mining this issue for votes.”
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About the Authors
Dan Klepal is editor of the local government team, supervising nine reporters covering county and municipal governments and metro Atlanta. Klepal came to the AJC in 2012, after a long career covering city halls in Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky. He has covered Gwinnett and Cobb counties before spending three years on the investigative team.
