Ceasar C. Mitchell: As a 40 year old native Atlantan and long time resident of District 4, I meet the minimum age and residency requirements to seek the office of President of the City Council. My background as a transactional attorney with a national law firm and a degree in economics gives me a particular capacity to understand and address the complex legal and fiscal issues facing city government. My hands on legal work with small community-based organizations as well as large businesses that routinely interact and partner with government has provided me with a great deal of awareness of the work and responsibility of city government to deliver city services and address taxpayer and ratepayer needs in a responsive and efficient fashion. As a citizen who actively volunteers a significant amount of my time to a number of impact-driven grassroots community and civic organizations, I am intimately aware of city government’s opportunity to help address the critical needs facing everyday citizens.

Ceasar C. Mitchell: First and foremost, public safety is an issue with which every citizen grapples. Our families, homes and communities are under attack by those who are not vested in the future success and prosperity of Atlanta. We can address long term and academic public safety policy, but right now our citizens demand to feel safe, secure and confident.

The second challenge facing the next City Council President is a clear need to pursue and maintain a fiscal reform agenda, which must include identifying new revenue sources, developing an enhanced ability to collect on delinquent and/or outstanding obligations to the City while also improving city agency budgeting processes.

The third issue facing Atlanta is economic development.Atlanta must fully leverage existing development assets,identity new opportunities for growth and reduce poverty. Within a 21st global economy, our city must be poised to attract and retain local, national and multi-national companies who offer competitive salaries.

Ceasar C. Mitchell: I believe the City must be forward thinking on how we balance the budget. We cannot and should not rely on taxation to balance the budget. Fortunately, we can control how we spend public dollars. We must establish stronger checks and balances such that the Atlanta City Council can consistently provide the necessary oversight and guidance needed to prevent wasteful spending. As Atlanta City Council President, I would call for setting clear budgeting priorities to shift existing resources to charter-mandated services, a reopening of a discussion about managed competition and privatization, and I will advocate for long-term structural fiscal reforms that emphasize accountability, transparency and strategic spending like zero-based budgeting, joint purchasing arrangements across jurisdictions and mandated caps on annual budget growth.

Clair McLeod Muller: I have a BA from Agnes Scott College and am a former high school teacher (DeKalb County) and neighborhood leader (North Buckhead Civic Association). My business experience includes real estate property management and I am former bank director (Bank of Crestview, Florida.) The voters of Council District 8 have elected me as their City Council representative five times. I have served on every committee of City Council and have served as a committee chair for 17 of 20 years on Council. Having chaired committees, including those on city utilities and transportation, provides me the expertise and credibility to lead the Council as it faces some very pressing challenges in the upcoming term. My fellow Council members have elected me to the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) board for the last 14 years. I also serve on the Advisory Board of Sustainable Atlanta and served on the board of the Regional Leadership forum, forerunner to the Civic League of Metro Atlanta.

Clair McLeod Muller: The next administration of Atlanta’s City government faces a number of diverse challenges. These challenges are all similar, however, in that they require forward-thinking long-term solutions. We cannot afford to find ourselves in the same situation four years from today. The job of City Council President calls for a convener – a person who has the respect of the Council, the ability to work with the new Mayor and the ear of our state and regional partners. My immediate priorities are: to fix the city’s finances and put a stop to the short-sightedness and flawed budget process that has resulted in a painful tax-increase; to improve public safety services (police and fire); to break up the transportation logjam that is deterring businesses from Atlanta and threatening our quality of life; and to move Atlanta in a direction of sustainability – in regards to both our environmental resource consumption and the manner in which we pursue effective long-term economic and human capital growth.

Clair McLeod Muller: Frankly, there is no single silver bullet issue. The key issues are 1) improved budgeting and management control, 2) a retooled financial organization, 3) leadership and 4) balanced financial management. The City of Atlanta has to improve its ability to produce and maintain an effective budget. This requires better forecasting, better tools for tracking and reporting, and better execution. As City Council President I will push the administration to see that the restructuring of our financial organization recommended by Deloitte & Touche is successfully and speedily brought to conclusion. The Council will need to ensure that the replacement of our retiring interim CFO will be with a top-caliber CFO, who will improve short-term accountability and control departmental spending. Atlanta will need economic growth to sustain its future revenues balanced with significant improvement in government efficiency.