Andre Dickens: Get to know Atlanta’s next mayor

ATLANTA — Next month Atlanta will have a new mayor: Andre Dickens.

Dickens, a native Atlantan, beat City Council President Felicia Moore in Tuesday’s election. He will be inaugurated as the 61st mayor in a ceremony in January.

Here’s what you need to know about Atlanta’s next mayor:

The 47-year-old is a product of Atlanta Public Schools and a graduate of Mays High School. He went on to earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s of public administration degree in Economic Development from Georgia State University.

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“I said I was 16, she said I was 12 years old that I wanted to be mayor of the city of Atlanta one day, and look at us now,” Dickens said.

At the age of 28, he co-founded City Living Home Furnishings, which grew into a multi-million dollar retail business with two locations. Dickens ran the company for nine years until 2011.

The 47-year-old Dickens, an Atlanta native and engineer by training, joined the council in 2013 and was re-elected in 2017. While on Council, he has served on the boards of the Atlanta BeltLine, Invest Atlanta, and the Center for Civil and Human Rights.

Dickens said he enjoys spending time with his daughter, experiencing live music, attending church services, and traveling the world. He is an avid Atlanta sports fan and enjoys supporting the Falcons, Hawks, Braves, United, Dream and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Dickens is the third straight mayor whose mother is named Sylvia.

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