Kasim Reed is back
There are no boring news weeks in Atlanta
Welcome to my freemium newsletter by me, King Williams. A documentary filmmaker, journalist, podcast host, and author based in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a newsletter covering the hidden connections of Atlanta to everything else.
I had to take a hiatus, but now I’m back. A lot has happened in Atlanta since I stepped away let’s dig into the first thing—Kasim Reed rejoining the fray for the mayor of Atlanta.
Kasim Reed is running for mayor of Atlanta again
In a surprise to no one at this point, former Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed has officially filed paperwork and has officially announced that he will once again run for mayor of Atlanta. Reed was the former mayor of Atlanta from 2010-18, after winning a very tight runoff election in the fall of 2009 against then Atlanta City Councilwoman Mary Norwood.
The move for Reed’s third campaign comes as current mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (KLB) announced last month in a shocker that she will not be running for re-election. Since that time, the rumors have swirled about who would run again, with Reed’s name emerging in various political circles across the city.
If Reed were to win a third term, he would join a shortlist of only three people in the modern era (four-year terms vs the previous two-year term era) of Atlanta mayors to serve three or more terms in office. Reed, should he win, would join former mayors Maynard Jackson (the first Black mayor), who served 3 terms from (1974-82), and then again from 1990-1994. As well as all-time leader, William B. Hartsfield, who served a whopping 8 terms in total, (2 two-year terms in 1937 and 1941) including a record-setting, 5 consecutive four-year terms from 1942-1962 (Hartsfield won a special election in 1942).
Why Kasim? Why Now?
In one sentence, the backlash to KLB. This arises as a culmination of a few diverging paths of dissatisfaction, all of which have crested over within the last 12 months. Reed’s announcement comes at a moment in which Atlanta is on the precipice of rapid change. These changes include a rise in homicides, a lack of accountability towards law enforcement, a growing perception of lawlessness, and a growing housing affordability crisis. But the biggest challenge for the next mayor will be addressing a business community not happy with the current administration, and an ongoing secession effort by Buckhead.
The Backlash to KLB
KLB’s backlash, especially from many in Buckhead, police supporters, the business community, and Georgia Republican lawmakers, to name a few. This is in addition to the many ATLscoop-type of Instagram accounts, Facebook groups, metro Atlanta MAGA Twitter, and Nextdoor communities, that have levied criticisms against her. These criticisms are valid in some regards while others not, notably the lack of pressing of the police’s role in all of this by those same communities.
Some of the valid criticisms levied towards KLB include:
The lack of progress on affordable housing, considering her position as an Atlanta City Councilwoman who championed affordability.
The backlash to her administration aiding in giving California-based developer CIM a $1.9 billion dollar commitment to the building of The Gulch
Lack of any discernable progress on the expansion of public transit, in particular adding rail to the Atlanta Beltline.
The treatment of activists and protestors. This includes in the city during last summer’s protests and carrying over into this year.
Her administration being perceived as an extension of the Reed administration
Her administration not adequately addressing a growing homeless population, despite raising $50 million for efforts.
Activists concerned that her administration moving fast enough to close the Atlanta City Jail. Something which will now likely be opened once again by the next mayor, especially with the pressure of Buckhead seceding.
And the perception that KLB was more concerned with national press tours versus being an on-the-ground mayor.
While some criticisms of KLB have not been valid, such as:
The rise in crime solely attributed to her, but not the police. Nor accountability from the police regarding ‘the blue flu’ last year, nor adequately patrolling while actually on duty, or those who did physically harass thousands of people last summer.
The rise crimes (in particular, violence) at venues that already have private security as well as police presence such as clubs, lounges, and malls (hello Lenox!)
The rise in violent crime a direct relationship to lax gun laws passed by Georgia Republicans in both the Nathan Deal and Brian Kemp eras.
The re-opening of the state by the Kemp administration earlier than anyone else, prompting a wave of unwanted tourism
The backlash to the awarding of $1.9 billion in public financing towards The Gulch deal solely on KLB but not on the eight Atlanta City Councilmembers who voted ‘YES’.
The response to covid-19 being handicapped by current Governor Brian Kemp. Kemp not only made it illegal for cities to enforce mask mandates but also declared the state open for business in April of 2020. This included lying regarding the state’s own covid-19 data, in combination with opening a few testing and subsequent vaccine distribution facilities statewide, only to shut them down sooner than needed.
Kemp also overstepped his boundaries in an appeal to white and conservative Georgia voters by deploying The National Guard last summer on the Black Lives Matter protests. The move was a preemptive move in his 2022 re-election campaign. In addition to building an effective strategy of traditional ‘Us’ vs ‘Them’ politics.
Because of all of these reasons, KLB is no longer running and Reed’s team likely sees an opportunity for an easier victory, with KLB out of the race.
The Reed rollout
Reed’s campaign has been slowly building up anticipation of this announcement like a veteran rapper rollout. Within one month, Kasim Reed has gone from 0-100 in public awareness, awareness that his team has spent $0 to generate. Whether it’s love or hate, Kasim Reed is the box office draw, and the race for Atlanta mayor has really begun.
Kasim Reed’s rollout is similar to a music industry star, not a politician
The Kasim Reed rollout is something that is more akin to a top-tiered musician releasing a new album, it’s unexpected, well-timed, and builds off of a shift in the marketplace. The best example of this has been the 2013 release of Beyoncé’s self-titled album Beyoncé, which is hailed as the hallmark of this era.
That album was an example of the right place, right time, as it was released during the era of massive music industry consolidation and 2013 which saw a slew of successful quick album releases. That release built off of a direct-to-consumer music model that produced a newer industry turmoil by end of the iTunes-download business model quicker than expected.
The political campaign climate of 2021 is much better suited to this model as it requires less overhead, fewer middlemen, and less overhead for advertising. But what it does require is a well-known name (Reed) and a more established media ecosystem (Atlanta radio/news/television) to pull it off. And most importantly, it needs a robust amplification engine (Twitter), in combination with an echo chamber (Facebook) that can only be brought about because of the scale of the internet. In one month, we’ve seen the operation go from 0-100…Kasim 3.0 is here.
Kasim 3.0 as 2013 Kanye
Whether intentional or not, Reed’s return to Atlanta politics is off to a start similar to the Yeezus rollout. Yeezus was the highly divisive 6th album from rapper/celebrity Kanye West, who at that point perfected the art of the modern music release. West also began a full turn toward being both a member of the Kardashian clan and a pop culture antagonist.
Within that rollout, also beginning in May of 2013 with almost no initial warning, a slew of attention-grabbing maneuvers, a gated access strategy, and using social media echo chambers to do most of the promotion for him. The strategy worked, culminating in West’s 5th #1 album five weeks later in June of 2013.
The importance of the Yeezus rollout was that 1) Kanye (like Reed) was a star in his world (hip hop for West, Atlanta politics for Reed), and 2) the release strategy was strategic in taking the oxygen out of the room for any other competing releases. Yeezus won on the charts because it was controversial but also a lightning rod for conversation. Online or offline, you were engulfed on Kanye on Kanye’s terms until June 18th, 2013. Reed 3.0 if it plays its cards similarly, will take the election because it dominates the conversation.
For Team Reed this has been done via a slow but deliberate rollout. Allowing for journalists and social media rumors of him running to fester for nearly two weeks. While during that time Reed became much more active on Twitter, the place where journalists are most active. In addition to having more Atlanta-centric accounts such as Butter.ATL covers his announcement, allowing for public opinion to generate.
This included more public appearances of Reed on traditional local news who since the announcement of KLB began to run brief segments on whether or not Reed would be running. Not to mention a special interview feature on nearly every local evening news channel in Atlanta, which is now the #7 media market in the country. The importance of this rollout could also be seen as a defensive move by Team Reed.
By not formally announcing for an entire month since KLB’s decision, the move allows for the campaign to get back into the race on its own terms. But most importantly it slows down would-be donors to any of his rivals as they waited on whether or not he’d run. In the sports world, this would be known as eating time off of the clock.
But doesn’t Reed have charges?
Yes. Reed is still under investigation stemming from corruption charges. One former Reed staffer has been convicted for crimes related to bribery. While much of this controversy on Reed himself has stemmed from contracting at the Atlanta Airport, which has since become a lightning rod for thirsty state-level GOP leaders who desperately want to get total control over all of Georgia’s economic engines.
This is not a dismissal of Reed, but the GOP controls every other aspect of the state, so expect more of this to be levied against him on the campaign trail. The biggest test will be to see if supporters of Reed are actually motivated against him enough based on that to not vote for him.
The defining issues of this election
This election will be defined by two things: crime and Buckhead.
The response to both will likely be determined not only by who wins but where Atlanta is going next. Despite the evidence that overall crime was down double digits in 2020 and in 2021, the one stat that has gone up tremendously has been the murder rate.
Reed’s potential third term would be more comparable to that of Maynard Jackson, who served as mayor in the era of preparation for the upcoming 1996 Olympics. The third Jackson tenure also served as the beginning of a new era of slum clearance regarding Atlanta’s public housing projects, with the razing of Techwood Homes in downtown Atlanta and East Lake Meadows on the city of Atlanta-Decatur border would later come to define the next two decades in Atlanta.
Reed’s era of Atlanta was marked by its big deals and the end of public housing in Atlanta. Should Reed win, he will be equally tasked with finding a solution to the rising violence while also positioning the city for new economic growth.
What about the other candidates?
This is where it gets interesting, while Reed is the presumed frontrunner this race is in by means over. Reed faces much tougher competition than he did in 2009 or 2013. Instead of one main challenger like Norwood in 2009, Team Reed finds itself in a position to have to face a myriad of challengers. While Reed’s biggest opponent will be current Atlanta City Councilman Andre Dickens. Dickens has been a champion of affordable housing, alongside being one of the more well-received Atlanta politicians, and could be a formidable challenger to Reed.
Provided he’s able to fundraise to at least 1/5 the level of KLB prior to her departure, this could be a formidable challenge for Reed. Dickens, like Reed both, are Atlanta natives and also represents a continuation of the Black Atlanta political power structure.
But unlike Reed’s 2009 campaign, the former mayor faces a much broader set of challengers for the #3 positions well. Challengers who could make this election a much tougher time around. This includes current city councilman Antonio Brown, current City Council President Felicia Moore, and Sharon Gay. The times are big, and Reed is hoping to step back in as a big-city mayor, as the days of small town-esque Atlanta politics are over.
Thank you for the birthday wishes
Last week was my birthday, I really appreciate all of the good wishes. It’s good to be back.