Candidate for Atlanta mayor, former mayor Kasim Reed, says the level of crime is turning the city into a national embarrassment.
Reed spoke via phone with Audacy Atlanta's Maria Boynton Sunday during the Grand Opening of his campaign headquarters at 568 14th Street in northwest Atlanta.
According to Atlanta Police Department statistics the number of murders in the city is almost double the level it was shortly before Reed left the mayor's office in 2018.
Reed says the level of crime and violence is "tearing Atlanta apart", adding, "right now 20 percent of the citizens of Atlanta want to leave the city."
Leaders in the upscale community of Buckhead want residents to be allowed to vote on splitting from Atlanta and becoming its own municipality. There has been a 40% increase in violent crime in the wealthy enclave.
Kasim Reed says Atlanta needs steady tested leadership that has done this before
Reed's two terms as mayor began in 2010.
He says he had no intention of running for the city's highest office again until current mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, announced that she would not seek reelection.
Bottoms' contentious relationship with Georgia's Republican Governor Brian Kemp has played out publicaly during her 4-year term. They have disagreed on several issues, including whether masks should be mandated for residents during the coronavirus pandemic and also about how best to protect citizens from escalating crime. Atlanta is Georgia's capitol city.
Reed says the relationship with the governor, whether republicans or democrats, is all about job creation. "The economic development relationship", according to Reed, "should be between the mayor and the governor to help make sure that everybody has a job."
Kasim Reed says you get more done through person to person diplomacy
With nearly $2 million dollars so far, Reed's campaign continues hosting high-profile events to help increase his chances of being Atlanta's next mayor. Actor Tyrese Gibson and Tyler Perry Studios recently hosted fundraising events for Reed.
The election will be held on November 2, 2021.
Listen to the full interview below.