By Paul Bolster
On November 4, NPU-W precincts went overwhelmingly to Democratic candidates Peter Hubbard and Dr. Alicia Johnson.
Both Democrats won their seats on the Public Service Commission (PSC) with 63% of the vote state-wide. Notably, it is the first time Democrats have elected one of their candidates to a statewide government position in more than 20 years. Many expected them to win in a year where only municipalities were having elections, but nobody predicted the landslide results.
Voters in NPU-W and the Porch Press distribution area, made a significant contribution to the results. In those precincts Johnson/Hubbard received 10,287 votes and the Republican incumbents only 416. That is 96% of the votes cast. There was a very small variation between candidates but not enough to note. Some Republican neighbors crossed party lines because the area usually votes 88% to 92% Democrat. (See the chart for how your precinct voted.)
In the city election, Mayor Andre Dickens received overwhelming support throughout the city, and our part of town was no different. But the election of the City Council President deserves some close attention. Our part of town gave strong support to Grant Park resident Rohit Malhotra, but he lost the election to former Council Member Marci Collier Overstreet, a resident of southwest Atlanta. She ran with the strong support of Mayor Dickens. It was a 49% to 51% final total.
Analysis by the Atlanta Journal (November 16, 2025) points to Overstreet’s 60%+ vote in southwest Atlanta where she lives, as would be expected, but also highlights her winning vote totals in all of the northern neighborhoods and especially in the six precincts is Buckhead where she averaged 61% of the vote. Buckhead district Council Member Mary Norwood was a strong supporter. Except for Council District 12, Malhotra won the eastside neighborhoods, Midtown, and the area along I-75 after it splits from the connector. He won the precincts in the Atlanta section of DeKalb with 70% of the vote. This analysis of voting patterns shows that political control of the city rests with the voters in Southwest Atlanta in coalition with voters in the northern neighborhoods.
Personal note: Maybe we in the southeast neighborhoods have or should have a little political chip on our shoulder. None of the three at-large members of City Council live in South East Atlanta, and four of our most recent mayors have come from a southwest base of support. The area has only Council Members from Districts 1. 5, and 12 living among us. There is certainly a need for those who hold public office in Atlanta City Hall to think clearly about the equitable distribution of city services.
The Atlanta Journal article suggests that the population is growing more quickly in the neighborhoods won by Malhotra than in the areas of the city won by Overstreet. This close election for Council President hints that control of city policy may change in the future.
