The Republican-controlled Georgia state Senate on Thursday rejected a bill that would open up an avenue for residents of the wealthy Buckhead neighborhood to vote in a referendum on whether to annex it from Atlanta and create its own city.
The measures are SB114, was shot down by all Democrats and 10 Republicans in a 33-23 vote. This was a disappointment to Buckhead City’s movement leaders, who had worked for years toward a referendum by ballot, largely because of Atlanta’s crime problem.
The Buckhead City Commission, which has led lobbying and fundraising for the referendum, released a statement after the vote, pledging to “never give up” on their cause.
The Commission wrote:
Thank you for your unwavering support, resources, volunteerism and love, especially to those of you who have reached out to members of Congress in recent weeks.
Also, thank you to the legislators who voted to support the VOTE on Buckhead City. Special thanks to Lieutenant Governor Bert Jones for his leadership and for leading us to where we are today. Also Senator Randy Robertson, today’s great vocal senator Senator Ed Seltzer, Senator Greg Drefle, Senator Carden Summers, Senator Colton Moore, and original sponsor Brandon I also want to send my congratulations to Senator Beach.
Of course, I’m disappointed with the outcome of today’s Senate vote, but I will never give up until Buckhead votes.
He also shared a photo of the final ballot tally highlighting the names of all state legislators voting for and against the bill.
Official statement on today’s Senate vote on SB 114.
More to come.#buckhead city pic.twitter.com/Ix41CZnYXq
— Buckhead City GA OFFICIAL (@BuckheadCityGA) March 3, 2023
The bill’s failure is particularly disheartening after it passed a Senate committee on Tuesday. It was a tangible demonstration of the important progress of the urbanization movement, which was finally in full swing.
The movement saw its first signs of real momentum in 2021, when residents of Buckhead, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the South, faced a surge in violent crime in Atlanta. White and others formed a city commission, emphasizing that Buckhead had its own police station.
“There is no leadership here in Atlanta,” White told Breitbart News at the time. “No one is taking corrective action on police resources and allowing them to do their job.”
Crime in Atlanta was certainly on the rise at the time, with a report from local outlet 11 Alive stating: indicates Much has improved under current Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens (Democrat), with 170 gruesome murders in 2022, the third consecutive year of murder increases.
Dickens, who has made crime his first priority since he took office last year, is adamantly opposed to cutting Buckhead out of Atlanta. This effectively reduces city revenues and has raised concerns among some about impacting the state’s bond rating.
Dickens’ stance strengthened ahead of Thursday’s vote by Gov. Brian Kemp’s administration after the governor’s attorney release According to the memo Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJCMore), lining up many of the questions he asked were left unanswered about the logistics of creating a new city.
of AJCMore Thursday’s vote was a significant setback, but not a fatal blow given how vocal and methodical Buckhead’s supporters have been.
Please contact Ashley Oliver ([email protected]). Follow her on Twitter. @asholiver.
