Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens delivered his inaugural address Monday afternoon, marking the official start of his second and final term in office. The ceremony, which was held at Georgia State University’s Convocation Hall, brought together city leaders and community members for a speech outlining his vision for Atlanta’s next chapter.
Dickens, a native of the Adamsville neighborhood, secured a second four-year term with over 85% of the vote in November despite facing three challengers: Helmut “Love” Domagalski, Kalema Jackson, and Eddie Meredith. No mayoral candidate has unseated the incumbent since Maynard Jackson was elected Atlanta’s first Black mayor in 1973.
“As a 16 year old boy, I set my sights on a dream to serve the city that raised me, a city shaped by giants, Mayor Maynard Jackson, Ambassador Andrew Young, Congressman John Lewis, and none other than Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Dickens during his address to the city today. “I am honored to continue that calling for four more years.”
The mayor reiterated plans for concerns that defined his first term like public safety, affordable housing, and equitable economic growth.
“With the help of the Atlanta City Council, we have invested in people and neighborhoods at a historic scale. We opened 500 rapid rehousing units to address homelessness and started or completed more than 13,000 units of affordable housing in just four years,” said Dickens.
He also touted his achievements with the youth of the city.
“We invested over $40 million in young people from early childhood education and mentorship, to after school programming and college scholarships. But we didn’t stop there. We hired more than 19,000 young people and paid every single one of them a living wage.”
On public safety, Dickens cited significant progress, including one of the largest drops in violent crime in the nation and fewer than 100 homicides in 2025. He said that youth-related crime decreased by more than half and Atlanta Public Schools achieved the highest graduation rate in the city’s history.
He also highlighted expanded parks, growth of the Atlanta Beltline, reduced food deserts and the creation of the city’s first municipal grocery store.
Despite these achievements, Dickens made clear that he is “not satisfied.” He acknowledged persistent issues such as homelessness, poverty, and inequality.
“How can we be satisfied when too many of our neighbors still sleep on our streets,” said Dickens.
He pointed to his Neighborhood Reinvestment Plan, which aims to extend and expand eight tax allocation district funds, to tackle these issues.
He ended his speech urging residents to continue to stay united to work towards an “indivisible” community.
“We will close the book on a tale of two cities and build a brighter future for all Atlanta. Let’s continue to move Atlanta forward together,” he said. “Now let’s get to work Atlanta.”
Dickens’ inaugural swearing-in ceremony followed a weekend of service events, including a citywide volunteer day on Saturday where 61 community projects were held across Atlanta neighborhoods, and also included a televised interfaith service on Sunday.
Atlanta City Council President Marci Collier Overstreet will also be sworn in along with City Council members and Municipal Court judges today.
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