The mayor of Atlanta is Andre Dickens, who took office in January 2022 as the chief executive of Georgia’s capital under a strong-mayor system that puts him in charge of every city department and agency. A former City Council member, Dickens has centered his administration on public safety, housing, and city worker pay, pointing to a 21 percent drop in homicides in 2023, the installation of 30,000 LED streetlights, a $58.7 million affordable housing bond, an infrastructure package with roughly $240 million in active projects, and annual raises for every city employee with a wage floor of $17.50 an hour.1City of Atlanta. Meet the Mayor
What the Mayor Actually Does
Atlanta’s charter concentrates executive authority in the mayor rather than splitting it with the City Council. The mayor runs the day-to-day operations of city government, represents Atlanta in legal matters and intergovernmental negotiations, and coordinates with state and federal officials on grants and shared projects.
Hiring and Firing
The mayor appoints and can remove department heads, including the Chief of Police and Fire Chief. Those appointments generally require City Council confirmation, which acts as a check on the office’s hiring power.
The Budget
The mayor prepares the city’s annual budget and submits it to the City Council no later than the Council’s first regular meeting in May before the new fiscal year begins.2City of Atlanta. Office of Budget and Fiscal Policy The Council can amend the proposal and must approve the final version, but the mayor sets the starting framework for how hundreds of millions of dollars are divided among public safety, transportation, housing, and other services.
The Veto
The Council writes and passes ordinances, but the mayor can veto any of them. An override takes a two-thirds supermajority, which on a 15-member council means at least 10 votes.3Atlanta City Council. How Your Council Works That threshold keeps the mayor at the center of every major policy fight.
Getting Elected and How Long You Can Stay
Mayoral elections in Atlanta are nonpartisan, with no party labels on the ballot. The general election falls every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. A candidate wins outright with 50 percent of votes cast plus one; if no one clears that line, the top two finishers go to a runoff. The qualifying period opens no earlier than the third Monday in August before the general election and runs for three to five consecutive days.4Justia Law. Georgia Code 21-2-132 – Filing Notice of Candidacy
To run, a candidate must be at least 18, must have lived inside Atlanta’s city limits for at least one year immediately before filing, and must be a registered voter in the city.5Atlanta City Council. Election Terms, Composition and Qualifications Those same qualifications have to hold throughout the term, not just on election day. Georgia’s Constitution adds that a person convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude cannot hold public office unless their civil rights have been restored and at least ten years have passed since they finished their sentence.6Georgia Secretary of State. Qualifications and Disqualifications for Holding State or County Office
Term limits apply. Under Charter Section 3-101, a mayor elected to two consecutive four-year terms cannot run for the next term.5Atlanta City Council. Election Terms, Composition and Qualifications After sitting out a cycle, a former mayor becomes eligible again. Maynard Jackson did exactly that, winning a third term in 1990 after an eight-year gap.
Pay
In early 2025, the Atlanta City Council voted to raise the mayor’s annual salary to $236,865, effective in 2026, up from $202,730. The qualifying fee for mayoral candidates has historically been set at 3 percent of the annual salary; in the 2021 cycle, that worked out to $5,529.7Atlanta City Council. Qualifying to Place Name on the Ballot A candidate who cannot afford the fee can qualify instead by filing a pauper’s affidavit with a petition signed by 1 percent of eligible voters from the most recent comparable election.
If the Seat Opens Up
When the mayor’s office becomes vacant through resignation, death, or other unforeseen circumstances, the President of the City Council immediately steps in as acting mayor and exercises all the powers of the office. What happens next depends on how much time is left in the term. If more than two years remain, the city holds a special election on the next available date allowed under Georgia law. If fewer than two years remain, the Council President serves out the rest of the term.
Ethics Limits on the Office
Atlanta’s Code of Ethics applies to the mayor like any other city official, with the Board of Ethics and an independent Ethics Officer handling complaints. A frequent flashpoint is the use of city resources: the mayor cannot use city funds, vehicles, staff, email systems, or websites for political campaigning or to solicit political support, and city uniforms, badges, and vehicles cannot appear in political advertisements.8Atlanta Ethics. Elections
Penalties have teeth. An intentional violation can bring an administrative fine of up to $1,000 from the Board of Ethics, a formal public reprimand, or prosecution in municipal court carrying up to $1,000 per violation and up to six months in jail.9City of Atlanta. View This Code of Ethics Complaints must be filed within two years of the violation being discovered, and the Board can order improper gifts returned and deposited into the city’s General Fund.
Who Has Held the Office
Atlanta’s modern political identity was shaped by a line of mayors going back to William B. Hartsfield, who served from 1937 to 1962 with a brief gap and whose name is on the city’s international airport. Ivan Allen Jr. followed from 1962 to 1970, through a period of rapid growth and civil rights tension.
Maynard Jackson made history in 1974 as the first African American mayor of Atlanta. Across his first two terms, from 1974 to 1982, he raised the share of city contracts going to African American-owned businesses from under one percent to roughly thirty-five percent, largely through the expansion of Hartsfield Airport, and reformed the Atlanta Police Department.10National Park Service. International Civil Rights Walk of Fame – Maynard Jackson He returned for a third term from 1990 to 1994.
Andrew Young, the former U.N. Ambassador and civil rights leader, served from 1982 to 1990 with a focus on international economic development. Bill Campbell held the office from 1994 to 2002. Shirley Franklin became the city’s first female mayor in 2002 and served through 2010, leading large infrastructure efforts including the Clean Water Atlanta program. Kasim Reed served from 2010 to 2018, and Keisha Lance Bottoms from 2018 to 2022, before Dickens took office.