ARC Board Elects City of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens as Chair

Atlanta — Nov 08, 2023

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) Board today elected Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens to serve as Chair of the Board of Directors. His two-year term begins on Jan. 1, 2024.

Dickens becomes the first City of Atlanta Mayor to serve as ARC Board Chair. Dickens has served on the ARC Board since he became mayor in January 2022. He succeeds citizen member Kerry Armstrong, who served as board chair for the past 10 years.

“I am honored by the confidence the Board has put in my leadership as well as the City of Atlanta’s commitment to regional progress and success,” said Chair-elect Dickens. “Atlanta’s interests are best served if the issues that matter most to us—like public safety, transportation, housing, workforce development and so much more—are addressed with a comprehensive, cohesive strategy that involves our regional partners. Our challenges do not stop at city limits. Thank you to Kerry Armstrong for his leadership—especially through a particularly turbulent period when a pandemic forced leaders around the region to rethink how we could keep our residents safe while keeping our businesses healthy. I look forward to working with the entire Board and staff to move not just Atlanta, but the entire region, forward … together.”

“Mayor Dickens is a strong leader and fierce advocate for the Atlanta region,” said ARC Executive Director & CEO Anna Roach. “All of us at ARC look forward to working closely with him and the rest of our board to build a better, brighter future for all residents.”

The ARC Board also elected seven citizen members to serve four-year terms starting on Jan. 1, 2024. The citizen members elected are:

District 3 (Portions of Atlanta, Clayton, Fayette, Fulton): Robert “Bob” Reeves
District 5 (Portions of Cobb, Douglas, Fulton, Atlanta): Sara Ray
District 7 (Portions of Atlanta and DeKalb): Liane Levetan
District 8 (Portion of Gwinnett County): Greg Cantrell
District 9 (Portion of Gwinnett County): Kerry Armstrong
District 12 (Forsyth County, portion of Fulton): Thomas “Tom” Meinhart
District 13 (Portion of Cobb): Michelle Cooper Kelly

ARC is one of 12 regional commissions in Georgia. The agency’s responsibilities include regional transportation planning, community development, aging services, workforce development, mobility services, natural resources management, and homeland security under the federal Urban Area Security Initiative.

ARC is governed by a 41-member board consisting of both elected officials and citizen members. The board includes 11 county commission chairs, 13 mayors, 15 citizen members, a representative from the state Department of Community Affairs, and a representative from the Atlanta City Council.

Mayor Andre Dickens began his first term as mayor in January 2022. Prior to becoming mayor, he served as an at-large City Council member from 2013-2021. He also served on the boards of the Atlanta BeltLine, Invest Atlanta, and the Center for Civil and Human Rights.

City of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens (right) was elected ARC Board Chair, replacing outgoing Chair Kerry Armstrong (left).

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The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is the official planning agency for the 11-county Atlanta Region, including Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, and Rockdale counties as well as the City of Atlanta and 74 other cities. The Atlanta Regional Commission’s mission is to foster thriving communities for all within the Atlanta region through collaborative, data-informed planning and investments.

Contact Name: Paul Donksy
Contact Phone: 404-202-4662
Contact Email: pdonsky@atlantaregional.org