Andre Dickens Elected Mayor of Atlanta, Pledges to Combat Crime

Andre Dickens, who has spent the past eight years as a City Council member, won a runoff election Tuesday night and will become Atlanta’s next mayor in January. Dickens beat Felicia Moore, the current City Council president, by 63.7 to 36.3 percent. However, in the Nov. 2 general election, Dickens was behind Moore by 17 percentage points. A runoff election was required because Moore didn’t win over 50 percent of the vote. Since then, Dickens has quickly gained momentum and won some big-name endorsements. Both candidates are Democrats. Mayors in Atlanta have traditionally been Democrats. No Republicans have gained office since 1879. The current mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced in May that she wouldn’t seek a second term. “Atlanta influences everything,” Dickens said during his victory speech Tuesday night. “And it’s time that we use that influence to make some real change. Atlanta needs to show the world that we are leading, …