Andre Dickens

Andre DeShawn Dickens (born June 17, 1974) is an American politician and nonprofit executive who is the 61st and current mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. He was a member of the Atlanta City Council and defeated council president Felicia Moore in the second round of Atlanta's 2021 mayoral election. He is the chief development officer at TechBridge, a nonprofit technology organization. He served as the chairperson of the transportation committee and chaired on the Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee.

Personal life
Mayor Andre Dickens was the chief development officer for Tech Bridge; this non-profit offers affordable technology and business expertise to other nonprofits in underserved areas. In 2018, Dickens co-founded a Technology Career Program for the unemployed to be able to learn new tech skills and other IT training to take advantage of the booming tech jobs market. Mayor Andre Dickens also serves on the Georgia Tech Alumni Board, the Alumnus Leadership Atlanta, Diversity Leadership Atlanta, United Way VI, and Regional Leadership Institute. Dickens is also a Brother of Kappa Alpha Psi that he joined when attending Georgia Tech.

Dickens is a deacon at the New Horizon Baptist Church in Northwest Atlanta. He has one daughter, Bailey.

Early life and education
Dickens was born on June 17, 1974, in Atlanta. Raised by his mother Sylvia Dickens and stepfather who adopted him and his other two siblings at the age of 7. While spending time with his step-father they often bonded over taking things apart and rebuilding them which birthed Dickens' passion for engineering. He grew up in Southwest Atlanta, and attended Benjamin Elijah Mays High School before enrolling at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he received his degree in Chemical Engineering in 1998. Dickens received his Master's of Public Administration in Economic Development from Georgia State University.

Early career
While enrolled at Georgia Tech, Andre Dickens began his professional career in 1994 as a part-time chemical engineer for BP-Amoco. Immediately after getting his degree, the position at BP-Amoco became full-time. In 1999, Dickens was employed at DSM Engineering and Plastics where he was a sales engineer. As a sales engineer, his contribution to the company were recognized as he was named the first Black salesman of the year. After his time spent as a sales engineer at twenty-eight years old Dickens alongside his older sister co-founded City-Living Home Furnishing. The furnishing company was around for nine years from 2002 to 2011 and became a multi-million dollar business in only two locations. Unfortunately due to the housing crisis Dickens was unable to keep the company alive and in 2010 he filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy.

In 2013 Andre Dickens, was elected as an at-large City Council member. From 2014 to 2021 he mainly advocated for the improvement of Atlanta's public safety, the need for affordable housing, having programs for citizens, and creating more opportunities to students in Atlanta's Public School system. One of his most important contributions to the city while on City Council was his sponsorship of legislation that made the minimum wage for city employees fifteen dollars an hour. In addition to changing the minimum wage he created the Department of Transportation, the BeltLine Inclusionary Zoning which increased affordable housing in the area, and the Atlanta Youth Commission.

Mayor of Atlanta
On February 25, 2022, Dickens lifted the indoor COVID-19 mask mandate in Atlanta, ending a near 2 year restriction on restaurants, hotels, and other venues.

During his first year in office, Mayor Andre Dickens made one of Atlanta's largest-ever, single-housing investments, committing more than $100 million to new and updated housing. The Dickens administration continues to partner with and leverage tools such as inclusionary zoning to assist with this investment. In order to offer affordable housing alongside increasing interest rates, new developments in areas with major public interest such as Westside Park and the BeltLine will take precedence. Mayor Dickens' early accomplishments in office include the city's first-ever investment in early childhood education and the creation of a Nightlife Division to combat establishments with a history of violent crime.

During Mayor Dickens' term, over $13 million in funding has been set aside to combat homelessness, with the help of the LIFT 2.0 homeless response plan. By the end of 2024, the City hopes to achieve its goal of providing 1,500 housing placements for impoverished families by collaborating with local government, corporations, nonprofits, and community members.

In October 2022, Mayor Andre Dickens appointed Darin Schierbaum as Atlanta's 26th Chief of Atlanta Police Department

Dickens condemned the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, saying Israel "has the right to defend itself."

Atlanta Public Safety Training Center
Dickens has supported the city's funding the construction of a controversial police and fire department training center, dubbed "Cop City" by environmentalists and community activists.

In June 2020, Dickens voted to withhold $73 million in police funding, which was criticized by a former Atlanta mayoral campaign opponent as Mayor Dickens' attempt to contribute to the "low morale within the Atlanta Police Department."

Amid controversy, more than 1,300 climate, justice, and community groups urged the resignation of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens due to his perceived support for law enforcement following the police killing of anti-"Cop City" activist Manuel "Tortuguita" Terán on January 18, 2023. The groups expressed strong disapproval of Dickens' refusal to condemn the killing and criticized his alignment with law enforcement, particularly in the context of Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp deploying the National Guard to quell protests, escalating tensions and threats against demonstrators. Dickens stated protests as unpeaceful while non Georgia residents were arrested on domestic terrorism for traveling into the state with explosives as a means to protest the construction site of a new public safety training center — dubbed “Cop City.”

In September 2023, Dickens expressed a commitment to prioritize residents' voices in the citywide vote on a $90 million police training facility. However, his administration faced criticism for not moving forward with the signature verification process, prompting concerns raised by Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., particularly regarding the practice's past criticism by Georgia Democrats. As of September 2023 activists had turned in more than 116,000 signatures in an effort to get a referendum on the ballot regarding the future of the planned training facility.

Taxpayer funds
In 2022, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) determined nearly $121,000 used for Dickens Senior Citizen Ball celebrating Atlanta's residents 65 and older, did not follow procurement guidelines, ultimately using taxpayers dollars to fund the party. The OIG has referred its findings to the City of Atlanta Ethics Office for review of potential violations of the city's Ethics Code. The Office of Mayor Dickens responded to the OIG report by saying they are committed to compliance with rules and regulations and would ensure to follow proper procedures for the 2023 Senior Ball. Dickens also said he intended to reimburse the city for hotel room costs for himself and his family, the report said.

Affordable housing
In relation to Atlanta's housing policy, critics have raised concerns about the initial plans for the Civic Center, citing them as 'far too little deeply affordable housing.' This refers to homes priced for households earning less than half of the area median income. Furthermore, housing advocates have expressed the need for additional anti-discrimination safeguards in the new resolution, particularly regarding renters using Section 8 vouchers, to prevent landlords from refusing to rent to them. In response to these issues, Mayor Dickens faced criticism for advocating a change in the law that would require the Georgia Legislature to revise statewide laws. These laws currently prohibit local governments from enacting fair housing laws that are more expansive than the state's regulations.

In February 2023, Mayor Dickens struck a deal between the city's housing authority and developer Integral Group, calling for the housing authority to sell 81 acres to develop affordable housing units.

In May 2022, Mayor Dickens faced criticism from housing advocates when his initial budget proposal omitted a contribution to the "Building the Beloved Community Affordable Housing Trust Fund." Responding to the backlash, he later announced a $7 million addition to the proposed budget, increasing the total affordable housing investment from $58.7 million to about $65 million.

Electoral history
A member of the Democratic party, Andre Dickens first served for the Atlanta city council in 2013. In 2017, as an incumbent he ran unopposed in the general election for the At-Large Post 3 seat for city council. After two terms on city council, Andre ran for mayor of Atlanta. Throughout his campaign he captured numerous endorsements ranging from state senators to local influential leaders in the community. Dickens captured 23% of the vote in the general election to edge Kasim Reed for the second spot in the runoff race. Although Dickens did not win the 2021 Atlanta mayoral primary election (coming in second place), he won the following runoff election by a wide margin.