Atlanta Business Coalition Releases City Candidate Evaluations
October 1,2013
The Committee for a Better Atlanta (CBA), a nonpartisan committee representing more than 20 of Atlanta’s influential businesses and civic organizations, released its Consumer Reports-style evaluations today of the candidates running for Mayor and City Council. The CBA Voter Guide rates candidates on business issues important to the community-at-large.
CBA is empowering constituents to make better voting decisions by providing clear evaluations of each candidate. CBA is an independent organization comprised of members from Atlanta-focused business organizations and large employers in the area engaged in city hall and industry issues. Notable committee members include the Atlanta Board of Realtors, the Georgia Beverage Association and Delta Airlines.
CBA members screened all candidates with a focus on issues including economic development, infrastructure, homelessness and public safety. Addressing these business and civic issues will help Atlanta maintain business and create a sustainable community.
“The role of business in the government is important to Atlanta and we want to make sure that is reflected in November’s elections,” said A.J. Robinson, chair of the 2013 CBA process. “The issues that impact businesses, impact residents and the CBA wants to ensure that the 2013 elections result in what is best for the city. We evaluate the candidates and their platforms with the goal of helping all voters make informed decisions when they step in the voting booth.”
CBA is pleased to report that 30 out of 40 candidates participated in our process. Each candidate in the race received a questionnaire to fill out based upon the issues identified. The candidates also participated in an in-person interview held at the Marriott Marquis. The candidates were scored on the interviews and that score was combined with questionnaire responses for a total score.
Committee members used a scale for scoring the responses to the questionnaires and the interviews, and an average was calculated for each candidate: 88 or higher is considered “excellent;” 79 to 87 is “well qualified;” 70 to 78 is “average;” and below 70 is “not qualified.”