Buckhead City Battle

Counter Moves

New mayor, city council tackling Buckhead secession head on

By Collin Kelley

New Mayor Andre Dickens and the radically changed Atlanta City Council went to work the same day they took their oaths of office on Jan. 3. At the top of the agenda: keeping the city unified.

The Buckhead cityhood movement was delt a serious blow last month when Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan assigned the bill to a Senate committee made up entirely of Democrats, who are likely to bottle it up. However, at press time, a similar bill is also in the Georgia House where it will get a more welcome reception from Republicans, many who are championing the Buckhead secession movement.

Dickens said he was “elated” by Duncan’s move but said during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day address that he also wasn’t “naïve” about the potential for Buckhead cityhood to reach the referendum stage this fall.

Within days of his inauguration, Dickens also presided over the opening of a new Atlanta Police precinct in Buckhead, fast-tracked from its planned opening this summer. The move was in direct response to proponents of Buckhead cityhood who have listed crime as their main reason for secession.

Located near the intersection of West Paces Ferry and Peachtree roads, the Zone 2 mini-precinct will be staffed with a dozen officers focused on traffic calls to allow other officers to patrol Buckhead and handle more serious crimes.

“We started to work on day one, addressing the issue of crime in our city,” Dickens said. “This is a concern of all of ours. And while some may want to use this to break us apart, we know that as a city, we are stronger together.”

The Atlanta City Council also took steps to win back the hearts and minds of Buckhead residents at its first full meeting on Jan. 18, but not without some contentious debate.

The council voted 14-1 to establish a Buckhead Public Safety Task Force, but sent legislation that would expand the city’s dormant Public Safety Commission got sent back to committee. That legislation could resurface on the Feb. 7 agenda.

Newly seated Councilmember Mary Norwood and Councilmember Michael Julian Bond introduced the Buckhead legislation in what is widely seen as an effort to counter the Buckhead cityhood movement

Norwood said the task force would operate for 90 days and include law enforcement, business, and community leaders to formulate recommendations to solve Buckhead’s increase in crime.

Councilman Antonio Lewis, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said he believed the creation of the Buckhead task force was unnecessary and that a citywide response to the surge in violent crime would be better addressed by standing up the city’s Public Safety Commission.

“Despite the media frenzy, crime is actually down in Buckhead,” Lewis said, citing a recent report from APD that crime was down 6% in 2021. “The Buckhead legislation should not pass by itself because it’s telling the rest of the city they don’t matter.”

Councilmember Keisha Sean Waites introduced legislation last week at the council’s public safety committee meeting to resurrect and expand the Public Safety Commission. The body was created last spring, but “never got off the ground,” Waites said.

Waites’ legislation would amend the Public Safety Commission’s membership to include business leaders and neighborhood associations to collectively address many of the public safety related issues impacting all of Atlanta.

But the discussion devolved after more suggestions were made on adding additional members to the commission beyond those listed in Waites’ legislation. Councilmember Alex Wax likened it to “making sausage” and made a motion to send the legislation back to the public safety committee.

“We need to be thoughtful about this and do the work in the committee,” Wan said, who also suggested that different communities could benefit from “hyperlocal” task forces like the one approved for Buckhead to address specific crime prevention needs. Councilmember Howard Shook said he found Councilmember Lewis’ comments about the Buckhead Task Force dividing the city “offensive” and “divisive.”

“Separating one neighborhood from the rest of the city is offensive to me,” Lewis shot back.

Waites said she supported the Buckhead legislation, and Norwood urged the council to pass Waites’ legislation.

“The Public Safety Commission is already law,” Norwood said. “I’d like to see us pass this legislation today and we can modify the composition of the task force going forward. I think the city needs to see that we are addressing their concerns.”

Waites echoed those sentiments. “The surge in crime is affecting us citywide. We don’t want to send a message that we’re putting the needs of one community over another.

The Atlanta City Council waits to take the stage at the swearing-in ceremony at Bobby Dodd Stadium on the Georgia Tech campus. (Courtesy City of Atlanta) Right, Mayor Andre Dickens at the opening of the Buckhead police precinct. (Courtesy City of Atlanta)