Buckhead cityhood movement calls it quits ‘for now’
The leaders of the effort to split Atlanta into two municipalities have called it quits “for now” after their Buckhead secession movement was crushed in the Georgia Senate.
The Buckhead City Committee announced its “farewell” to supporters in a late Sunday email that assailed Gov. Brian Kemp and other Republicans who raised concerns about the breakaway push.
“In a nutshell, Governor Kemp and his team coordinated behind closed doors to kill the Buckhead City bills before they even had the chance for an honest vote in the Senate,” wrote the committee, which is led by Bill White, a wealthy New York transplant.
“Unfortunately, now that Governor Kemp has displayed that he does not support our right to vote, there is no path forward for a cityhood referendum while he remains governor until the end of his term in 2026.”
The Senate’s 33-23 vote on Thursday to put down the pro-Buckhead rebellion was a humiliating defeat for supporters of the divorce, who contended that they’ll be better able to fight crime and provide services by splitting the wealthy, white neighborhood from the rest of Atlanta.
