Growing Atlanta further
that his 20-student political science class hadn’t seen a televised attack ad that took over news channels during the election season.
“If you were watching news shows you were going to see it, but the fact that they didn’t [see it] underscored the fact that they didn’t watch TV. If you want to reach the millennial voters, you’ll probably have to go to social media,” he said.
Though having a campaign office and manager can be important parts of running for office, Bullock said candidates must not “spend too heavily” in that regard.
“Inexperienced campaigns, that’s how they dig themselves into a hole,” he said. “It comes time to get the message out, and [the money] has all been sunk into amenities.”
Wan wouldn’t reveal his campaign budget to Georgia Voice, but did say he plans to stick to a fairly traditional strategy. In a lot of ways, this race will be similar to ones he’s won before, just on a grander scale.
“Now, beyond talking about one district, we’re talking about the city as a whole and talking to people city-wide,” Wan said. “I think the cost of a city-wide campaign is very different and a lot larger.”
Wan also has an active contributions report for District 6, but said those funds can only be used in the district and cannot be used for the council president campaign.
“I have been using those to make donations, event tickets and other minor expenses,” he said.
One of Wan’s main motivations for running this year is that he’s still got a lot to give, and feels he can make broader progress on his ideas and improvements from the pres- idency than a Council seat. Giving is also a reason Rich wants his name on the ballot.
“I’ve done well in my life and Atlanta’s the reason I’ve done well. It’s been a city that gave back more than I could be given,” Rich said. “I saw firsthand that there just aren’t people within the city’s structure that really do completely understand how to speak to a developer and to understand kind of the complexities of what they do.”
According to his campaign literature, Whiteside’s priorities include protecting the LGBT community’s rights, HIV prevention and ending the much-discussed corruption at City Hall. Bakhtiari plans to fight for the developing Eastside community and economic equality for all of her constituents, as well as improved infrastructure.
Wan said though it’s a turning point moment to have the LGBT community well-represented in municipal elections, he can’t wait for the day when it’s not a novel occurrence.
“I think it speaks volumes that we have so many candidates running this year. [Atlanta mayoral candidate] Cathy Woolard was the first to be elected in Georgia and she was the only one. And now you have candidate up and down the ballot seeking office,” he said. “I think that shows a lot of progress.”