Atlanta City Council post runoff: Eshe Collins and Nikki Evans Jones go head-to-head

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Published  November 6, 2024 7:07pm EST
FOX 5 Atlanta
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Atlanta City Council Post 3 race heads to runoff

The Atlanta City Council Post 3 race is headed to a Dec. 3 runoff between Eshé Collins and Nicole "Nikki" Evans Jones.

The Brief

    • Eshe Collins and Nikki Evans Jones, both self-described as daughters of Atlanta, advanced to a runoff for the Post 3, at-large city council seat set for December 3.
    • The candidates are focusing on engaging the electorate to vote in the runoff, which occurs during the holiday season, a typically difficult time to attract voters.
    • Shared goals for both contenders include promoting more affordable housing, improving rapid rail connectivity, and supporting the opening of a new $109-million public safety training facility in December.
    • Collins, leveraging her 11 years of experience as a School Board member and a Civil Rights Attorney, emphasizes responsiveness and preparedness from day one if elected.
    • Dr. Nicole Evans Jones, who has a legacy extending over three generations in Atlanta, secures significant endorsements, including those from former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Andrew Young, and stresses the importance of neighborhood prioritization and government decentralization.

ATLANTA - There was so much attention on the top of the ticket that many down-ballot races were overshadowed. 

One of those is the Post 3, at-large city council race that will now result in a Dec. 3 runoff. Both Eshe Collins and Nikki Evans Jones consider themselves daughters of Atlanta. They have the difficult task of getting voters back to the polls between Thanksgiving and Christmas. "It’s been a big race, but I am happy to be in the runoff," Atlanta native Eshe Collins said with a smile. School Board member Collins says there is no time to slow down. The veteran Atlanta school board member and Civil Rights attorney says she is trying to touch as many voters as she can about her vision for Atlanta.

Collins and three-generation Atlantan, Dr. Nicole Evans Jones, were the top vote-getters out of a crowded field for the Post 3 at-large seat. Jones is a well-connected, former APS Principal turned entrepreneur. The two will face off in a runoff. "My vision, and I have talked about this around the city, is to put neighborhoods first again, so that we hear the needs and desires of the more than 240 unique neighborhoods," Evans Jones affirmed.

"I am just so excited about the opportunity to continue to fight for a city that thrives for all of us, Aungelique, honestly. No matter where you live in the city, no matter what your income, we all should be able to have an opportunity to thrive in Atlanta," Collins professed. Both candidates want to see more affordable housing and rapid rail connectivity. They both support the controversial $109-million public safety training facility that is scheduled to open its doors in December. Both candidates say they are ready on day one.

"Ensuring that Atlanta knows it has a City Councilwoman who is responsive, who is proactive, who is present, and who has done the work. I served on the school board for the last 11 years," Collins said. "My movement is to decentralize government, so I take it to the street. I take it to the Beltline. I take it to the corner of Monroe and North Avenue. I'm taking it to the corner of 285 and Cascade Road so people will see me out there between now and election day and then beyond," Evans Jones concluded.

Jones says she has won the high-profile endorsements of former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and former Ambassador and Mayor Andrew Young. Collins is being endorsed by state Rep. Jason Esteves, Kim Schofield, and Stacy Evans, among others