Improving economic outcomes for Black people living on the margins who were born and raised in Atlanta remains the top priority for Rohit Malhotra in his bid to become the next Atlanta City Council president.
The 38-year-old self-described “policy nerd,” who lives in Grant Park, is the founder of the Center for Civic Innovation, a nonprofit that works to improve community understanding of government to promote positive change.
Malhotra is a son of Indian immigrants with working-class roots. His father was a parking lot attendant. His mother earned a living at fast food restaurants.
Malhotra’s family moved to Atlanta from Chicago when he was in middle school. He graduated from Central Gwinnett High School and later earned a degree in philosophy from Emory University.
He’s spent the past 15 years working to improve the lives of the less fortunate in the city known as the Black Mecca, and remains frustrated with Atlanta consistently ranking among the worst cities in the nation when it comes to economic mobility.
He said the troubling state of democracy at the national level motivated him to announce his run for City Council president in May after learning earlier this year that the legislative body’s current president, Doug Shipman, isn’t seeking reelection.
“When Doug Shipman decided not to run [at] the top of this year, my phone rang a lot,” Malhotra told Capital B Atlanta during a recent phone interview. “We need some people inside of City Hall who can drive stronger, better public policy inside of the city in a moment where I think [we] need it more than ever. … We are in a moment of political crisis nationally, and I think the best defense for that is good public policy locally.”
Malhotra is competing against council member Marci Collier Overstreet to fill Shipman’s seat. He said policies that improve economic mobility of Black Atlantans are his biggest concern because they will provide a boost for other demographic groups as well.
“Policies that are good for Black folks are good for everybody,” Malhotra said. “When southside communities are thriving, all of the city is thriving.”
Malhotra’s plans to address stubborn inequality in Atlanta include pursuing the creation of universal basic income and baby bonds programs to ensure qualifying lower-income people have enough money to survive in the city.
He also wants to increase public transit options to make sure legacy Atlanta residents who can’t afford to live here anymore have ways to travel into the city to work and earn a living.
“Transit is not just a convenience issue, it is a civil rights issue for people,” Malhotra said. “If you cannot get from point A to point B, you cannot participate in the local economy.”
More than anything, Malhotra said he wants Atlanta government to be more accountable and responsive to its largely Black base of constituents.
“There are Black leaders that have been telling us for a long time what kind of change needs to be seen inside of [the] community,” he said. “What I think I’m able to do is to actually translate those concerns into actual policy outcomes.”
