Atlanta, August 19, 2021 – Former Atlanta City Council member Alex Wan, a long-time Morningside homeowner and civic leader, has announced his bid to again represent Council District 6. This follows the recent announcement by District 6 Council member Jennifer Ide that she will not seek reelection in November; Ide succeeded Wan after his two successful terms representing the District.
He officially qualified for the District 6 run earlier today.
“It’s exciting to take this step, and I appreciate supporters old and new who reached out and asked if I would again consider representing District 6,” Wan says. “With their help and the support of others across the District, I look forward to again serving the City and Council District I love. With Election Day – Nov. 2 – approaching quickly, I’m eager to get out there, safely listening to voters and working hard to earn their support, not taking anything for granted.”
Wan was first elected to the City Council District 6 post in 2009 and easily earned a second term in 2013. He is the first Asian American and first openly gay man to serve on Atlanta City Council. Raised in Atlanta and a District 6 and Morningside homeowner for 27 years, Wan was perhaps best known before his Council wins for deep roots in the community and long-time civic leadership.
“Certainly, during my public service on City Council, as well as before and after, I have worked alongside friends and neighbors across the district, tackling our community’s challenges,” he says. “I look forward to continuing to fight for our shared issues, including public safety, city service delivery, and quality of life initiatives, again on City Council.”
Wan is Executive Director of Horizons Atlanta, a nonprofit that provides tuition-free summer enrichment programs for children from traditionally underserved communities. His professional experience includes the private, public, non-profit and higher-education sectors.
In February 2021, Wan was appointed by the Fulton County Commission to the role of Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Registration & Elections. Noting his appreciation for the opportunity to serve Fulton County voters, Wan resigned that role in a letter to the Fulton County Board of Commissioners Wednesday in accordance with their bylaws.
“Voters know my values, my commitment to service and the brand of hands-on, coalition-building leadership I represent,” Wan says. “They know I’m accessible and that my prior experience on the Atlanta City Council and relationships I have developed with state and national elected officials will be invaluable, especially as our City is tackling a diverse slate of issues, from crime to trash pickup and infrastructure and permitting to COVID, voting rights, transportation, affordable housing, operational efficiency, sound fiscal stewardship, public safety, individual and collective economic prosperity, a healthy environment and so much more.”
Six of 15 City Council seats are up for election in addition to races for City Council President and Mayor.
In his bid to again represent District 6, Wan says he will continue to leverage his business acumen and his record during eight years at city hall, including many roles in council leadership, such as President Pro Tempore (2015), Chair of the City Utilities Committee (2017), Chair of the Finance/Executive Committee (2014-2016), Chair of the Zoning Committee (2012), Vice Chair of the Community Development/Health Services Committee (2010-2011), Member of the City Budget Commission (2010, 2012-2016), and Member of the Commission on Waste and Inefficiency in Government (2014).
The former small business owner holds a Bachelor’s in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech, a Finance MBA from Wharton Business School, and has completed educational programs at Dartmouth and Harvard. Wan is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta, Leadership DeKalb, and the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education’s Education Policy Fellowship Program. He serves on the Boards of the Piedmont Park Conservancy and Live Thrive Atlanta (a recycling and sustainability focused nonprofit) and serves on the Summer Learning Council Greater Atlanta and the Creating Connected Communities Advisory Council. He also served as the Fulton/Atlanta citizen representative on the Atlanta Regional Commission Board and is a member of the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board.
Atlanta City Council District 6 includes much of intown northeast Atlanta: Ansley Park, Atkins Park, Brookwood Hills, Druid Hills, the Emory University corridor, Lindridge/Martin Manor, Lindbergh/Morosgo, Midtown, Morningside/Lenox Park, Piedmont Heights, Sherwood Forest and Virginia-Highland. District 6 spans four Neighborhood Planning Units: NPU-B, NPU-E, NPU-F and NPU-N.
