Habemus Papam Americanum!

After just two days of conclave, the College of Cardinals elected Robert Francis Prevost to lead the Catholic Church on May 8. Taking the name Leo XIV, Prevost is the first pope to be a US citizen. He’s also a naturalized Peruvian citizen, who served as a missionary in Peru for nearly 20 years. 

American Catholics shared surprise at his election and cautious optimism he could unify a politically divided church, while continuing Pope Francis’ reforms. A couple of Atlanta Catholics whom I spoke to had hoped the first US pope might be Atlanta’s own Wilton Gregory, the longtime Archbishop of Atlanta who then became Archbishop of Washington, before retiring in January. As a cardinal, Gregory participated in the papal conclave. 

But Atlanta has its own elections to focus on.

Voting mural in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn community. Photo credit: Tammy Joyner

đŸ€‘ All about the money

The latest round of financial disclosures was due April 30 for municipal candidates running for mayor, city council president, all 15 city council seats, and even-numbered school board seats for Atlanta Public Schools. 

Let’s dig in. 

Incumbent Mayor Andre Dickens is far and away the biggest fundraiser so far, raising $735,336 – nearly as much as the candidates for all other municipal offices combined.

Of his five declared challengers, only one, Helmut Love, has raised any money so far, and it’s less than $1,000. 

đŸŽ« Why does a relatively popular incumbent with no apparent serious challenger need all that cash? It’s enough money to buy over 3,600 tickets to Beyoncé’s July shows at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Can I get one?

Fundraising activity could be an indicator of which elections will be the most competitive. As a reminder, the maximum contribution a candidate can receive from an individual or company for the general election is capped at $3,300. 

Here’s a glance at what’s happening in some of the other races.

CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT

District 11 Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet has raised just over $111,000 for her bid for council president. The current president, Doug Shipman, has announced he’s not running for reelection, and until last week Overstreet, who’s backed by Dickens, had no declared challenger. 

That changed on Friday when Rohit Malhotra, the founder of the Center for Civic Innovation, filed his declaration of intent. Malhotra has taken a leave from his post as the center’s executive director to run for council president. We won’t know what kind of money he has raised until the next disclosure deadline on June 30. 

(Disclsosure: CCI and Atlanta Civic Circle are civic engagement partners, including on #ATLbudget.)

CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 11

With Overstreet running for city council president, this open seat has attracted the most candidates and fundraising so far, after the mayoral race. The eight candidates vying for the seat (Andre Burgin, Steven Dingle, Harold Hartnett, Toni Belin-Ingram, Nate Jester, Wayne Martin, Reginald Rushin and Sherry Williams) have raised a combined total of $266,135, according to their disclosure reports, and four (Hartnett, Belin-Ingram, Jester and Martin) have raised over $20,000 apiece. 

CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 9

Councilmember Dustin Hillis appears to be one of the few incumbents facing a serious challenge. According to his disclosure reports, Hillis has raised just shy of $60,000, including a $25,000 self-loan. While his challenger, Charles Bourgeois, has raised just over $92,000. 

CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 2

With Councilmember Amir Farokhi retiring to become the head of The Galloway School, this open seat has attracted six challengers so far (Kelsea Bond, Williams Jacob Chambers, Alex Bevel Jones, Courtney Smith, James White, and Ocean Zotique). Four of them (Bond, Chambers, Jones and White) have raised a combined $101,230. Leading the pack is Bond, a young Democratic Socialist looking to buck the establishment, who has raised $58,600. 

CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS 3 & 12

Some other city council races that caught our eye were District 12, where incumbent Councilmember Antonio Lewis is head to head in fundraising dollars with one of his challengers, Stephanie Flowers, each having raised a little over $9,000 a piece. Lewis has more cash on hand. The other, Delvin Davis reported raising $250.

In District 3, incumbent Councilmember Byron Amos has not reported any fundraising figures yet, but his opponent, Perrin Bostic, has raised nearly $32,000. 

ATLANTA SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICTS 2 & 6

School Board District 2: Incumbent board member Arretta Baldon hasn’t yet reported any fundraising, but her two challengers have. Tony Mitchell has raised about $46,700 and Stephen Owens has raised about $7,400. 

School Board District 6: Similarly, incumbent board member Tolton Pace hasn’t yet released fundraising figures — nor has he filed a declaration of intent to run, but his opponent, Jonathan Leon, reports raising just over $14,000. 

Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum provides a departmental presentation during the Fiscal Year 2026 budget hearings. Credit: Atlanta City Council

Atlanta’s budget process is underway

Atlanta City Council’s budget hearings kicked off May 1, as the council assesses the mayor’s proposed FY 2026 budget and departmental requests. Now is the time to weigh in with any requests or objections: The sooner you do, the more likely your voice will be heard. For a full schedule of hearings, check Atlanta City Council’s website.

For some tips from city council leaders on how to get your voice into the budget process, check out our explainer. 

For reporting on specific budget hearings, check out Canopy Atlanta’s Documenters Program.

Go deeper at atlbudget.org

đŸ—“ïž Put on your calendar: The city will host its FY 2026 tax millage rate public hearing on Wednesday, May 21 at 6 p.m. An interactive budget hearing will follow at 6:15.

Can’t make either event? Email written comments or questions to budgettalk@atlantaga.gov by May 20th. You can also submit a 15-second video or call (404) 330-6043.

💡 Chicago, Boston, and Providence are three cities that let residents vote on where public funds are allocated in their communities. The process is called participatory budgeting, and it could be a way for Atlanta to boost resident engagement in the budget process.

KSU commencement goes viral for ‘Black Studies Matter’ incident

đŸȘ§ At Kennesaw State University’s May 9 commencement, in one viral moment the university cut its video livestream and escorted a graduating student off the stage for holding a sign that read “Black Studies Matter: I am a product of Black studies.”

KSU cut its Black Studies and philosophy majors earlier this year, a decision that’s caught flak from students and faculty alike. The Sentinel, KSU’s student newspaper, identified the student as Brandon Moore, whom it says runs an Instagram account, College World Inc., for Atlanta-area students.  

A video of the incident first shared on TikTok has been circulating on social media, and was re-posted by the KSU Young Democrats and Young Democratic Socialists of America on Instagram. 

A student-led petition against the cuts has garnered hundreds of signatures so far. Several professors have added their voices, holding a virtual news conference May 10 to oppose the cuts.

Today’s Democracy Digest newsletter was written by Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon and edited by Meredith Hobbs. As always, thank you for reading. Have tips, corrections, or questions? Just reply to this email.