1993 Atlanta mayoral election

1993 Atlanta mayoral election

November 2, 1993 (general) November 23, 1993 (runoff)
Turnout	44.52% (general) 36.40% (runoff)
Candidate Bill Campbell Michael Lomax Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan First-round vote 39,997 18,900 First-round percentage 48.98% 23.15% Second-round vote 48,600 18,155 Second-round percentage 72.80% 27.20%   Candidate Myrtle Davis Nancy Schaefer Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan First-round vote 12,779 9,057 First-round percentage 15.65% 11.09%
Mayor before election Maynard Jackson Democratic Elected mayor Bill Campbell Democratic

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 (and second consecutive) 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

Eliminated in general election

• 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 (while costing less to train then new officers). 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.

Runoff

Observers considered the runoff campaign between Campbell and Lomax as having been ugly. Instead of being issues-focused, the campaign became focused on questions that Lomax made regarding Campbell's ties to a federal corruption probe and questionable expenditures at Hartsfield International Airport.

Results

General election (November 2)

Atlanta mayoral general election, 1993

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	[[Nonpartisan|Nonpartisan]]	Bill Campbell	39,997	48.98
	[[Nonpartisan|Nonpartisan]]	Michael L. Lomax	18,900	23.15
	[[Nonpartisan|Nonpartisan]]	Myrtle Davis	12,779	15.65
	[[Nonpartisan|Nonpartisan]]	Nancy Smith Schaefer	9,057	11.09
	[[Nonpartisan|Nonpartisan]]	A. Amenra	230	0.28
	[[Nonpartisan|Nonpartisan]]	James A. Coleman	216	0.27
	[[Nonpartisan|Nonpartisan]]	Bob Braxton	124	0.15
	[[Nonpartisan|Nonpartisan]]	David Librace	83	0.10
	[[Nonpartisan|Nonpartisan]]	Mark Teal	72	0.09
	[[Nonpartisan|Nonpartisan]]	John Genins	69	0.09
	[[Nonpartisan|Nonpartisan]]	Lafayette Perry	66	0.08
	[[Nonpartisan|Nonpartisan]]	Mitchell Williams	62	0.08
Turnout			81,655	44.52

Runoff (November 23)

Atlanta mayoral runoff election, 1993

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	[[Nonpartisan|Nonpartisan]]	Bill Campbell	48,600	72.80
	[[Nonpartisan|Nonpartisan]]	Michael L. Lomax	18,155	27.20
Turnout			66,755	36.40