Would "progressive" Atlanta ever elect a non-black mayor? (Jackson: neighborhoods, living)

[SCAN5TI84]

i have been following this forum for 4 years, but this is my first time for a post. i am a sociology major. we have discussed many issues, but one of my favorites is major american cities. major american cities are unique because there are many kinds of people living together in a dense area. one aspect we have discussed is how the diversity affects politics.

my class discussed how many major cities have had african american mayors in the modern era - chicago, philadelphia, houston, atlanta.

ive done more research on the subject of atlanta, and the research made me think: atlanta was often described as progressive, but based on history and past elections it seems unlikely that a non-african mayor will win an election in atlanta.

but why?

i am aware atlanta is different from chicago, houston, philadelphia in that it is majority african american. but why would that matter if atlanta is progressive?

would i, as a chinese american, hypothetically have a chance of winning a mayor election in atlanta?

do you think this will ever change?

thanks for catering to my interest with reponses!

[JasonPaul]

//www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...black-can.html

[atlantagreg30127]

In the last election a few months ago, candidate Mary Norwood (White Female) only lost by an extremely small margin once they did a recount. There was some controvery as to whether some of those who voted for the eventual declared winner (Reed - Black Male) were legally registered voters, but eventually after the recount, she conceded to Reed and he won. There still were obvious racial leans in the voting however, as one of the local news stations at one time had posted a map that showed voter's trends. The predominately Black neighborhoods voted almost entirely for Reed. The predominately White neighborhoods leaned toward Norwood but also had a fair number of White voters who voted for Reed as well.

But to answer your question, yes, it's possible that a White Mayor would someday be elected here. Other nationalities (Latin, Chinese, etc) would most likely take longer as while we have large populations of folks from those cultures, they have compared to other larger cities, remained predominately quiet in the elected officials arena in the City (so far).

Note: Normally I would defer to another topic if it existed such as the link Jason above points to, however, that thread was closed and cannot be added to due to the number of topics we had going on at that time and some comments made in it that were causing it to degrade. As long as folks remain civil and discuss the topic, this thread will stay open. If not, it will be closed as well.

[AlGreen]

since when does a black mayor equal non-progressive?

[waronxmas]

I don't think race is as big as an issue as people make it out to be.

For instance, in the last election, the areas of the city that lean majority black and went for Reed are also majority Democratic areas. The areas that lean majority white that went to Norwood were majority Republican areas. Norwood was perceived by many to be the more conservative candidate, and Reed the more liberal. That's why Reed ultimately won, since the parts of the city that are more racial mixed are also heavily Democratic areas.

So it's my contention that a popular liberal or progressive can easily become mayor of this town no matter what their race is. People tend to the vote for those that they like and appeal to their political beliefs.

And before we even go there, plenty of majority black cities have elected white mayors in the modern era. Just look at New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu was just elected mayor there with 66% of the vote in a 10 person field and carried the black vote by over 90%.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by SCAN5TI84

my class discussed how many major cities have had african american mayors in the modern era - chicago, philadelphia, houston, atlanta.

ive done more research on the subject of atlanta, and the research made me think: atlanta was often described as progressive, but based on history and past elections it seems unlikely that a non-african mayor will win an election in atlanta.

but why?

Again, I'll mirror the other poster and ask why would it be non-progressive of Atlanta to elect a black mayor?

There is also the case of political history. Many of the prominent Atlanta political families found themselves without a power base after segregation was over. Those whites who were against segregation ended up in the Jackson bureaucracy for the most part.

Then there is the fact that unlike those other cities you listed, the City of Atlanta has a very long toothed, and very old money, Black middle and upper class. City politics is as much about who you know as it is who you are.

[AlGreen]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

I don't think race is as big as an issue as people make it out to be.

For instance, in the last election, the areas of the city that lean majority black and went for Reed are also majority Democratic areas. The areas that lean majority white that went to Norwood were majority Republican areas. Norwood was perceived by many to be the more conservative candidate, and Reed the more liberal. That's why Reed ultimately won, since the parts of the city that are more racial mixed are also heavily Democratic areas.

So it's my contention that a popular liberal or progressive can easily become mayor of this town no matter what their race is. People tend to the vote for those that they like and appeal to their political beliefs.

And before we even go there, plenty of majority black cities have elected white mayors in the modern era. Just look at New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu was just elected mayor there with 66% of the vote in a 10 person field and carried the black vote by over 90%.

exactly. just like cities that aren't majority black have elected black mayors

great posts, waronxmas. in large cities, race doesn't have nearly as much to do with it as political and social views

[tonygeorgia]

Would Progressive Seattle or Boston ever elect a black mayor?

[cordtwo]

Originally Posted by AlGreen

exactly. just like cities that aren't majority black have elected black mayors

great posts, waronxmas. in large cities, race doesn't have nearly as much to do with it as political and social views

Exactly! Race would be more of a issue in smaller towns.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by SCAN5TI84

would i, as a chinese american, hypothetically have a chance of winning a mayor election in atlanta?

I don't know. When did Chicago last elect a Chinese mayor? Or Boston? Or what about the three cities with the largest Chinese populations, San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles?

Originally Posted by SCAN5TI84

ive done more research on the subject of atlanta, and the research made me think: atlanta was often described as progressive, but based on history and past elections it seems unlikely that a non-african mayor will win an election in atlanta.

Remember. Atlanta had non-black mayors prior to the election of Jackson in 74 (?). And it will have them again. Look at your population data more closely. City demographics have begun to change radically in the past decade. It's only a matter of time before the political interests that were dominant in the last decades of the 20th century are replaced with new and more fluid ones. So to answer your question: Yes, "progressive" Atlanta will (again) elect a non-black mayor. Eventually.