ATLANTA, GA – Atlanta mayor-elect Andre Dickens wrapped up his mayoral race victory on Tuesday night but woke up with a bitter pill.
A scathing congratulatory letter from Buckhead Town Committee chief Bill White came out at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, shortly after the Mayor’s call for the run, to salute the future mayor and remind him of one of the main challenges facing the budding administration.
“We congratulate Mayor-elect Andre Dickens and look forward to working with him to ensure a smooth transition for Buckhead City as we make our future sister cities safe and prosperous! The letter began.
After worshiping law enforcement and calling for a more streamlined government to surpass an Atlanta he called a “bloated bureaucracy,” White grappled with end-of-election rumors claiming the city council chairwoman de Dickens, second-round opponent Felicia Moore, intended to reduce nightclub hours. and shutting down nude dance clubs.
“When the final day of voting for Atlanta mayor was primarily focused on the candidate who was going to be the strongest supporter of strip clubs, it was clear to Buckhead’s families that our safety priorities, d “Education, infrastructure and zoning are no longer aligned with those of Atlanta city hall,” White wrote.
Since the end of the summer, White has become the face of the movement to pull Buckhead out of Atlanta and forge a new city.
The efforts have mostly not been deterred, as only a portion of Buckhead’s nearly 100,000 residents have directly weighed in and most of the heavy legislative work to bring the town to a 2022 poll has been done by lawmakers from outside the proposed city limits. The direct action of Buckhead’s voters – those who will actually decide whether a new town should be created – will only kick in on November 8, at the last minute.
For his part, Dickens took over from Atlanta’s next chief executive on Tuesday night in his victory speech, responding to voters’ call for unity.
“They think this city needed a unifier,” he said, crediting voters. “Someone who could bring this whole town together.”