Fundraising hits high gear for Atlanta elections, as early voting kicks off 

The latest campaign finance disclosures for Atlanta elections are out.The mayor’s race, plus several city council and school board races, have attracted big bucks, as candidates make their final push before Election Day on Nov. 4.

Several open races, where no incumbent is running, have hit six figures in total fundraising, according to the latest three-month disclosure reports for July 1 to Sept. 30 from the Municipal Clerk’s Office. Some of the most hotly contested races, judging by the fundraising, are for the open seats for Atlanta City Council president, city council Districts 2, 7, and 11, and the Atlanta Board of Education At-Large Seat 8. 

Find out below how much money your city council and school board candidates have raised – and whether it’s from small-dollar individual donations or real estate and business interests. Atlanta Civic Circle is also tracking candidate endorsements.

Early voting kicks off Tuesday and runs through Oct. 31. Check your sample ballot and confirm your voting location via the Georgia My Voter Page.

Atlanta Mayor and City Council president

As the incumbent, Mayor Andre Dickens dominated fundraising for the mayor’s race, collecting over $527,000 for the three-month reporting period, with nearly $1.8 million in cash on hand. That dwarfs the fundraising of his three opponents, Helmut “Love” Domagalski, Kalema Jackson, and Eddie Andrew Meredith, who have raised about $2,000 combined.

 Donations poured in for the contentious race for Atlanta City Council president between District 11 Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet and Rohit Malhotra, founder of the Center for Civic Innovation. Malhotra has raised about $490,000 to date, compared with $402,000 for Overstreet, which included a $2,500 contribution from the mayor. 

Atlanta City Council races

All 15 city council seats are up for election, but seven incumbents are running unopposed: Matt Westmoreland (Post 2 At-Large), Eshé Collins (Post 3 At-Large), Jason Winston (District 1), Liliana Bakhtiari (District 5), Alex Wan (District 6), Mary Norwood (District 8), and Andrea Boone (District 10).

The open seats for Districts 2 (Midtown), 7 (Buckhead), and 11 (Southwest Atlanta) have attracted crowded, well-funded fields, as have a few races with strong challengers to the incumbent.

Post 1 At-Large (citywide)

Incumbent Michael Julian Bond, a council member since 1993, has far outraised challengers Juan Mendoza and Matthew Rinker. Bond raised about $17,000 this period with $42,000 in cash reserves. Mendoza brought in just under $8,000 with $3,000 in reserves, while Rinker reported raising about $7,000 this period with $5,400 in reserves.

District 2 (Midtown)

Six candidates are running to replace Amir Farokhi, who resigned earlier this year. The race has already topped half a million dollars in total fundraising. Filings for the two frontrunners, Kelsea Bond, and Courtney Smith, show sharply contrasting fundraising bases in the open Midtown district.

Bond, a labor organizer and Democratic Socialist didn’t accept any PAC or corporate contributions. They raised about $102,000 this period, for a total of $217,000, largely from small-dollar individual donors. They have $137,000 in cash reserves

Smith, a former NPU-E chair, raised $69,000 for a total of about $215,000, with $130,000 in cash on hand. She’s drawn support from real estate and business interests, including $3,300 each from the Atlanta Realtors PAC, Benchmark Management, Perennial Properties president Aaron Goldman and developer George Wells. The Atlanta Professional Firefighters union also contributed $3,300. 

Alex Bevel Jones is a distant third, raising $30,000, for a total of $95,000, with nearly $65,000 in cash reserves.

James White raised about $13,000, for a total of $52,000, with about $9,000 in cash reserves. 

Jacob Chambers raised $3,000 this period, for a total of $11,000, with $4,600 in cash reserves. Meanwhile, Rod Mack reported no fundraising. Mack was disqualified in October by the Municipal Clerk because his address had been redistricted to District 4.

District 3 (Westside)

Incumbent Byron Amos faces challenger Perrin Bostic in a race where both told Atlanta Civic Circle centers on responsiveness to constituents. Amos has far outraised Bostic so far, with $102,253 to date, compared with $58,451 for Bostic.

Amos’s campaign has drawn support from real-estate and business interests, including Sylvan Airport Parking LLC ($3,300), Portman Holdings ($2,500), Infrastructure Engineering Inc. CEO Michael Sutton ($2,000), Prestwick Development ($1,500), and engineering and construction firm HNTB Holdings’ PAC ($1,000).

Bostic’s disclosure shows a more grassroots campaign with dozens of contributions under $100 from local residents. His top donor is Scott Satterwhite ($1,500), president of the William Josef Foundation, which focuses on anti-poverty initiatives.

District 4 (Southwest Atlanta)

Councilmember Jason Dozier has raised about $34,000 this period with about $35,000 in cash on hand. His challenger, “Sister” DeBorah Williams, has filed an affidavit stating she will not raise nor spend more than $2,500 on her campaign.

District 7 (Buckhead)

Five candidates are running to succeed retiring Councilmember Howard Shook. It’s a competitive race, with the candidates raising over $420,000 combined.

Thomas Worthy, Piedmont Healthcare’s government relations director, is the fundraising frontrunner, raising about $263,000 total. His contributors include attorneys from Troutman Pepper Locke and Greenberg Traurig, as well as former House Speaker Terry Coleman’s consulting firm and political strategist and media personality Tharon Johnson.

Attorney Jamie Christy has raised nearly $76,000, including donations from Cushman Wakefield executive Robert Stickel and State Rep. Deborah Silcox (R–Sandy Springs).

Thad Flowers, the only candidate self-identifying as a Democrat in the otherwise nonpartisan race, has raised about $52,000, primarily from small-dollar contributors.

The other candidates in the race are: Allen Daly, who has raised $15,000 this period, and Rebecca King, who raised $17,000. 

District 9 (Northwest Atlanta)

Incumbent Dustin Hillis faces a strong fundraising challenge from his opponent Charles Bourgeois, who has raised about $207,000. That’s mostly in small to medium dollar contributions from individual donors in law, finance, healthcare, and tech. Notably, Bourgeois hasn’t received any PAC donations. 

That compares with $232,000 for Hillis, including contributions from Delta Air Lines’ PAC, the Southeastern Carpenters Regional Council PAC, and several real estate developers and business executives.  Longline Westside Holdings and Metro Green Recycling CEO Mitchell Stephens have each contributed $3,300. Dentons law partner Steve Labovitz, who was former Mayor Bill Campbell’s chief of staff, donated $1,000.

Hillis also has received contributions from several of his colleagues on city council: $3,175 from Councilmember Matt Westmoreland, $1,800 from Councilmember Andrea Boone’s campaign, and $1,500 from Councilmember Jason Winston.

District 11 (Southwest Atlanta)

This year’s most crowded Atlanta race is for the seat opened up by Overstreet running for council president There are eight candidates on the ballot after two were disqualified in September.

Wayne Martin, who’s raised about $223,000 total, and Nate Jester, who’s raised $181,000, are leading the fundraising. Martin has received contributions from former state Rep. Calvin Smyre, state Rep. El-Mahdi Holly (D–Stockbridge), and Fulton County Solicitor General Keith Gammage. Jester has attracted donations from State Rep. Omari Crawford (D–Decatur) and former Atlanta airport general manager Ben DeCosta.

Toni Belin-Ingram is the third-highest fundraiser, raising nearly $85,000, while Andre Burgin has raised about $29,000. Steven Dingle has raised $7,500, followed by Curt Collier with $3,600.

Harold Hardnett has not yet filed a Sept. 30 disclosure report. He’s financed his campaign largely through self-loans totaling $60,000, plus about $30,000 in contributions as of his June 30 filing. Reginald Rushin has not filed a campaign finance disclosure since April. 

District 12 (South Atlanta)

Incumbent Antonio Lewis raised over $15,000 this period, with $10,000 in cash on hand. Challenger Delvin Davis raised $3,400, plus a $1,300 loan, while Stephanie Flowers was the top fundraiser for the period, raising $18,000, with $14,000 in cash on hand. 

Atlanta Board of Education races

District 2

There are three contenders for this open seat, led in fundraising by Tony Mitchell with more than $104,000 total, including a $2,000 donation from Howard Franklin, the CEO of Democratic lobbying firm Ohio River South. Stephen Owens raised $9,700, while Marlissa Crawford raised $2,500.

District 4

Incumbent Jennifer McDonald and her challenger, Sanjay Mendonca, were neck-and-neck in fundraising. McDonald raised just over $22,000, with contributions from Councilmember Matt Westmoreland, former Councilmember Amir Farokhi, and Buckhead Coalition CEO Jim Durrett. 

Mendonca reported roughly $22,500, including a donation from former school board member Mark Riley, who held the At-Large Seat 8 from 2002 to 2009.

District 6

Incumbent Tolton Pace is facing four challengers: Michael Hopkins, Patreece Hutcherson, Jonathan Leon, and Tyrese Miller. Pace has raised nearly $11,000, including a $250 contribution from State Rep. Phil Olaleye (D–Atlanta). Leon, a former Atlanta Public Schools teacher, is leading the fundraising field with $41,000 total.

Hopkins has raised about $3,000, while Hutcherson reported a $1,000 loan and a negative campaign balance of over $10,000. Miller’s campaign appears almost entirely funded by a $1,000 contribution from Councilmember Antonio Lewis, who has also endorsed him.

At-Large Seat 8

There are three contenders for this open seat. Kaycee Brock has raised nearly $63,000, with donations from Councilmember Andrea Boone, city of Atlanta CFO Mo Balla, and advocacy group Equity in Education. Royce Mann has raised about $40,000 with endorsements from former Mayor Shirley Franklin and Councilmembers Liliana Bakhtiari and Antonio Lewis. Aisha Stith has raised $10,000.

Note: Fundraising figures for Post 1 At-Large City Council candidate Matthew Rinker were updated to reflect his amended campaign finance disclosure filing. This post was also updated to reflect the disqualification of Rod Mack.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the money raised to date by Dustin Hillis’ campaign.