Mayor-elect Dickens meets with president to talk infrastructure, Build Back Better plan

ATLANTA — Atlanta’s mayor-elect met with President Joe Biden to talk about infrastructure and the Build Back Better plan.

Andre Dickens and nine other newly elected mayors met with the president at the White House Tuesday.

Current mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has been a strong Biden supporter since early on in her campaign.

Tuesday’s meeting signals there will be a handoff between the Bottoms and Dickens administration and the White House.

Dickens and the other mayors talked with Biden about infrastructure and other issues affecting their cities.

“The meeting with the president was amazing, actually. It was great to be able to have a conversation with the President of the United States, the Commander in Chief, to be able to talk with him as well as Vice President Harris about the needs of the city of Atlanta,” Dickens said.

Dickens said it was a lot more than just a meet and greet. He said they talked about issues affecting Atlanta and other cities, including crime and infrastructure dollars that could be headed here.

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“I’m looking forward to be able to do lots of things with infrastructure money. One is related to our Beltline, to be able to build out light rail on the Beltline and also down to Campbellton Road,” Dickens said.

The Biden administration is making a big push on infrastructure.

On Monday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo visited Atlanta to talk about it and to name Georgia Tech and a coalition of other Atlanta colleges as finalists for a $100 million infrastructure grant.

Dickens said he also wants to use infrastructure dollars for small projects.

“Use this money for bicycle lanes, for sidewalks around senior centers and around schools, but also to do below groundwork, like sewer improvements and infrastructure in our parks,” Dickens said.

Georgia Republicans issued a statement Monday that reflected their worry the infrastructure plan will lead to higher inflation and won’t address what they call a staffing crisis and higher prices.

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