NOTE TO READERS:
Atlanta Civic Circle is publishing in‑depth looks at selected contenders for Atlanta’s 2025 municipal offices. We focus on candidates who have (1) officially filed campaign paperwork, and (2) demonstrated significant community interest or fundraising activity.
Check our continually updated voter guide for the latest news, and send questions you’d like us to ask to info@atlantaciviccircle.org. Our goal is to give you clear, unbiased information so you can vote with confidence.
Kelsea Bond (they/them), labor organizer and Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) former co-chair, is running to represent Atlanta City Council District 2, centering their campaign on policies aimed squarely at improving the lives of the city’working class.
Bond, 31, is running against William Jacob Chambers, Alex Jones, Courtney Smith, James White and Ocean Zotique. Incumbent Amir Farokhi is not seeking re-election.
Bond’s platform prioritizes affordable housing, environmentally responsible infrastructure, and workers’ rights–positions shaped by their experiences as an activist and union organizer.
“A lot of people run simply to build a career for themselves. A lot of people run who have a business background or a real estate background, and they see city council as part of a larger career path for them,” said Bond. “Running for office as an organizer, my approach is to work with unions and coalitions to really bring the movement to city hall. Because I look at city hall, and I don’t see any renters represented.”
As the first candidate to enter the race for the open District 2 seat, Bond positions as an outsider with a clear vision for Atlanta’s future––one that prioritizes ordinary residents over corporate interests or real estate developers.
Atlanta Civic Circle spoke with Bond to gain a better understanding of this vision, their background and the status of the campaign.
Housing and transit as workers’ issues
Bond’s platform includes racial justice, green infrastructure, and public transit. While they acknowledge some key policy issues are shaped at the state level, Bond emphasizes the city’s role in alleviating housing and transit burdens, which significantly impact low-wage workers.
“The biggest costs for workers are housing and transit, right? So when we’re talking about the standard of living, it may very well be that the city can’t impact the minimum wage, but we can impact how expensive housing and transit are,” said Bond.
Bond highlights the disproportionate rise in rent compared to wages as an urgent issue. They are especially aware of this rent inflation as a resident of Midtown.
“Since 2019, rent prices in Atlanta have increased around 36%, which is just absurd. While wages have only increased by 12% during that time,” said Bond. “Championing truly affordable housing will make a huge impact in the standard of living for low-wage workers.”
This disparity forces many service workers into lengthy commutes, adding significant transportation costs. “A service worker who has to commute 30–40 minutes because they can’t afford to live in Midtown, again has more money coming out of their pocket because Georgia is one of the more expensive states to own a car,” Bond noted. “That’s why I’m an advocate for BeltLine Rail. If we don’t begin to invest in transit alternatives now, we’ll continue to be decades behind.”
A Green New Deal for Atlanta
Central to Bond’s vision is the local implementation of a Green New Deal, promoting a shift toward renewable resources and away from fossil fuels.
“The Green New Deal is the idea that we can transition our economy from one that is wholly dependent on polluting fossil fuels to a green economy that uses renewable resources,” said Bond.
Bond encourages the curious to read about the Green New Deal to gain a better understanding of their belief system and the vision at the center of their campaign. From their perspective, the combination of the Green New Deal and a city that protects the rights and standard of living of a multiracial working class, is the crux of the campaign.
“Our city was built by working people’s labor, and our elected officials need to work for working people. And we can do this in a green way,” said Bond. “We can do this in a way that uplifts unions and increases the standard of living for everybody in the city. This is possible.”
Grassroots momentum
Recent successes in local politics bolster Bond’s optimism. As campaign manager for Gabriel Sanchez’s historic 2024 win in the state legislature—the first Democratic Socialist elected to that body—Bond sees a path forward.
“I felt that it was really historically important to get him elected,” said Bond. “Getting Gabriel elected validated a lot of the things we talk about as democratic socialists. Like universal healthcare, a Green New Deal, trans rights, and other deeply important issues.”
Bond’s campaign rejects corporate funding, relying on individual donors and grassroots contributions. To date, Bond has raised $89,005, with nearly two-thirds of that amount raised in the first quarter of this year alone, much of it from small-dollar donors and union members.
“It’s typical to go through other candidates’ disclosure and, even if they aren’t totally funded by corporations, you’ll see dozens of contributions from attorneys, real estate agents, and developers,” said Bond. “A lot of my contributions are just anecdotally from union members I’ve worked with, and that warms my heart.”
Background in organizing
Bond’s community activism and union organizing began in earnest during the Starbucks Workers United drives in 2022, supporting unionization efforts at Ansley Mall and Howell Mill Starbucks locations.
The Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America chapter was key in organizing “sip-ins”, flyering drives and fundraisers that helped drive the unionization effort. Bond points to this work as giving them a foothold in Atlanta’s activist and coalition building scene.
“I grew up in the South, and labor unions and organizing are not so familiar to people who grow up here. I don’t come from a union family. So it felt very big when Starbucks workers filed for a union here in Atlanta,” said Bond. “So I got involved helping them organize, and soon I came to build a lot of relationships with local labor unions, like Teamsters [Local] 728.”
Bond then went on to organize with Amazon Warehouse workers, the Painter’s union, Delta ramp workers and more.
“Through working with Starbucks workers and other local unions, I came to understand the very important role labor plays in building a movement. While elections are very important, working people’s real power and leverage comes from organizing in the workplace.”
Sounds like a reasonable, common-sense approach that we can all get behind.
How refreshing to hear from a candidate that won’t accept donations from developers. Our tree canopy is disappearing due to developers’ interests and Council Members and the Mayor refusing to protect our trees and give free rein to developers to clear-cut our trees. Maybe Kelsea will do better. She has my vote.
Sandra,
Some of that tree canopy needs to be maintained! I feel sorry for people waiting for the bus underneath buggy, jungles hanging over the sidewalk. Also, so many homes (usually the smallest ones) have trees that should not have been planted so close or at all, and its sad when the homes belong to senior citizens that can’t do the work and apparently, can’t afford to pay a tree trimmer either.