New Vision for a New City.

REDUCING CRIME

PictureComputer Coding Class for Urban Youth
We can bring down our crime rate without locking up more young people by seriously investing in our youth and discouraging criminal behavior before it begins.
  • khalid will establish a Truancy Taskforce to coordinate police, court & school staff to keep at-risk youth and those suspended from school from wandering our streets, unsupervised.
  • Restorative Justice programs that focus on community service can give young & first offenders life skills instead of criminal records that block them from future employment and educational opportunities.
  • Career training focused on new technologies and timeless vocational skills can give those most at-risk of committing crime new choices for employment & entrepreneurship.

Reformed "Gang" Leaders
​Endorse KHALID

South Fulton faces the same police staffing shortages as all the other cities in the metro area. We will not be able to out-pay wealthier cities like Atlanta or Sandy Springs, or get new officers "on the street" in less than 18-months (the average time it takes to screen, hire & graduate a new officer from the Police Academy).

Supporting organizations like the Street Groomers gets our neighborhoods the help they need immediately, and reaches young people in ways police cannot. As a testament to his ability to bring unlikely participants into the political process, the #StreetGroomers have endorsed KHALID -- their first ever endorsement of a political candidate.

EQUITABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

We can grow our economic base by growing our own entrepreneurs.
  • Every dollar we spend on tax breaks to attract big business should be matched by investment in our own, local businesses.  
  • Small business incubators and shared workspaces can support millennial start-ups more likely to stay in the communities where they begin. Urban Farms legislation mirroring Atlanta's Local Food Initiative Zoning can provide fresh, organic food for local restaurants and free/reduced lunches for Fulton County students.

​No one who works 40 hours a week should live in poverty, or struggle to find affordable housing.
  • Increasing the minimum wage of South Fulton city workers will attract more quality employees and encourage higher wages throughout the city. 
  • Ensuring "responsible bidders" get city contracts raises the quality of life for our citizens and reduces reliance on taxpayer-funded social services.
Picture
Small Business Incubator in Harrisburg, PA

QUALITY AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Picture
Harvard University's Joint Center of Housing Studies Show Single Mothers are the Face of Eviction Epedimic
Property values in South Fulton are still recovering from the Housing Crisis of 2007-09. Ninety-five percent of all apartments built in Atlanta from 2012-14 were luxury units, requiring an income of at least $18/hr to afford. According to a recent Harvard University study, most people evicted are women with children. Such financial instability is a primary factor in the poor school attendance and performance of South Fulton's at-risk youth.

​After months of protests and petitions by the Atlanta Housing Justice League (of which khalid is a member), the City of Atlatna now requries all developers receiving tax breaks or subsidies to set aside 10 to 15 percent of new development for working class families. ​
  • The City of South Fulton can adopt these same requirements, as well as ordinances for transit-oriented development.
  • Partnering with county officials to create a Land Bank similar to Chicago's Cook County Landbank can help homeowners purchase & redevelop abandoned lots in their neighborhoods.
  • Increased code enforcement can hold bad landlords accountable and prevent them from evicting tenants in bad weather or without notice while raising property values for homeowners.

Clarkston Mayor Ted Terry
​Endorses KHALID

Ted Terry, Mayor of the town TIME Magazine calls "the most diverse square mile in America," endorses Black Lives Matter activist-turned Politician KHALID for City Council in District 6 (Old National) of the new City of South Fulton, GA. Click the video above to learn why.

POLITICAL EDUCATION & EMPOWERMENT

Picturekhalid explains delegate process & floor procedures to crowds outside 2016 Democratic Nat'l Convention.
Government fails to work for the people only when the people fail to understand how government works. As a lifelong political educator and activist, making sure people understand HOW this city is being formed and how it works is a top priority for khalid. Bookmark the ​Updates page for news on upcoming information sessions, hearing dates, planning meetings & more.  
​
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT
No city can thrive without planning for its future, which begins with its young people. The BEST way to fight crime, to improve educational outcomes and attract employers, is to engage our young people and get them involved in our community.  And the best way to do that is to allow them to have a voice in it.
  • By lowering the Voting Age in City Elections to 16 -- the very age Fulton County Schools teach how government works -- we encourage young people to feel enfranchised and be engaged.
  • We can enhance the civics curriculum already taught in our city schools by using South Fulton as our case study.
Imagine South Fulton families learning together how their local government works through their high school children's homework. Cities that have made this change, like Hyattsville, Maryland, have seen increased voter participation across all ages.
These are some examples of the kind of outside-the-box thinking, based on best practices used in award-winning cities, that I will bring to City Council to make our new City of South Fulton a fairer, safer, richer place to live.
​
​Please join our movement today.
Help make Renaissance, GA the Largest Progressive City in the South.
Help khalid continue his fight for political education & progressive policies for South Fulton's working families.
New Vision for a New City.