Buckhead cityhood movement is dead -- for now

Efforts to split up Atlanta will not move forward in 2022

The movement to break up the city of Atlanta has been put on hold — for now.

On Friday, Georgia House Speaker David Ralston announced that the House will not take up any legislation relating to the Buckhead cityhood movement during the 2022 legislative session.

Claire Simms @Claire_FOX5

NEW: The effort to split Buckhead from the City of Atlanta will not move forward at the Capitol this session. @SpeakerRalston said he is "looking for some forceful, vigorous action on the part of the city to tackle" the crime problem. @FOX5Atlanta #gapol

“It takes two chambers to pass a bill,” the Speaker told State Capitol press on Friday. But he went on to say that the problem that inspired the movement has not been solved, presumably referring to the rise in violent crime. “I’m going to be watching to see what actions are taken by the leadership of the city of Atlanta.”

Ralston’s announcement comes one day after Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who serves as President of the Georgia Senate, publicly expressed his opposition to the movement. He had previously assigned Buckhead cityhood legislation to a Democratic-led Senate committee.

NEW: LG Duncan stalls Buckhead cityhood legislation

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens thanked state legislative leaders for giving his administration more time to address the crime problem before considering the legislation. “We will continue in our work to move Atlanta forward,” the mayor’s office said.

The development follows a string of controversies surrounding Bill White, the leader of the Buckhead cityhood movement. He has come under fire for linking to white nationalist accounts on social media and spreading conspiracy theories about the recent death of MARTA’s CEO.

Opposition from both Ralston and Duncan brings the Buckhead cityhood movement to a screeching halt, at least for the 2022 session. However, other cityhood bills are moving full steam ahead: lawmakers are considering legislation to create as many as four new cities in Cobb County alone.