1993 Atlanta mayoral election
The 1993 Atlanta mayoral election occurred on November 2, 1993, with a runoff election held on November 23, 1993.
Incumbent mayor Maynard Jackson declined to seek reelection to what would have been a fourth overall term, citing family and personal reasons.
Since no candidate received a majority in the general election, a runoff election was held between the top-two finishers. Bill Campbell won election in the runoff.
Candidates
Advanced to runoff- Bill Campbell, Atlanta city councilor
- Michael Lomax, former chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and 1989 mayoral candidate
- A. Amenra
- Bob Braxton
- James A. Coleman
- Myrtle Davis, Atlanta city councilor
- John Genins
- David Librace
- Lafayette Perry
- Nancy Smith Schaefer, activist
- Mark Teal
- Mitchell Williams
Campaign
General election
The election would determine who would, expectedly, serve as mayor during the upcoming 1996 Summer Olympics in the city. Among the issues that the individual elected mayor would inherit would be an Olympics that were considered significantly behind-schedule in regards to planning.Peter Applebome of The New York Times, on October 15, 1993, characterized the races being largely between Campbell, Davis, and Lomax, in which Campbell was leading, and Lomax was likely to place second. Applebome wrote, "the three have mounted a civilized, relatively low-key race in which polls show Mr. Campbell with a healthy lead" Applebome also wrote that the candidates had waged an "issue-oriented race".
Crime was a major topic of the campaign. Campbell proposed reorganizing the city's police department, placing more officers in the city's neighborhoods, and rehiring retired officers to give more staffing flexibility. Lomax proposed hiring 400 new police officers. Davis focused more on addressing the social causes behind crime.
Outgoing mayor Maynard Jackson endorsed Campbell.
Lomax had high name-recognition, but also had high disapproval in opinion polling.