The Atlanta City Council Is Scared Of Direct Democracy

By Maria Esch, Jacobin

The City of Atlanta has bent over backward to quash the popular citizen-driven ballot initiative campaign to halt the construction of a police training facility known as Cop City. One year ago, Atlanta activists turned in 116,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot. Today the government continues to stall organizers’ efforts. More than just a defense of Cop City, the efforts of the Atlanta city government are a direct attack on the core principles of democracy.

Cop City was always a top-down affair, conceived without community input. On June 7, 2021, Atlanta councilmember Joyce Shepard introduced a city ordinance to support the construction of a $90 million police training facility on roughly 380 acres of Atlanta’s Weelaunee Forest. The project was officially confirmed by Atlanta City Council on September 8, 2021, despite opposition from local residents. While city officials support Cop City, the communities living in and around the proposed construction site have fought against the project. Starting in 2021, residents in Atlanta and allies from around the country have mobilized under Defend the Atlanta Forest, citing environmental harm, gentrification, and an increased threat of police presence and violence in a primarily black community as reasons to denounce the project.

Protesters gathered on 5th Avenue and march to JP Morgan Headquarters in New York to rally against Atlanta Cop City on March 9, 2023

While Atlanta activists calling themselves f orest defenders continue to occupy the land through direct action amid ongoing police violence, supporters of the Vote to Stop Cop City campaign are fighting to enforce popular will through electoral means.

On June 7, 2023 — just one day after the city council voted to appropriate $67 million for Cop City’s construction — Vote to Stop Cop City launched a referendum campaign seeking to reverse the council’s decision. This campaign has since faced major backlash from the city government, including several instances of outright institutional sabotage.