At his March 26, 2022, rally in Commerce, Georgia, President Donald J. Trump namechecked Buckhead City and told the tens of thousands of his supporters there that Bill White was one of his best and oldest friends.
White told Neil McCabe of The Star News Network that the key factor driving the residents to leave Atlanta is the need for them to take over their own affairs, especially as the neighborhood suffers its current crime wave, and the Atlanta mayor does not provide the law enforcement officers they need.
Although Republican Party leaders blocked enabling legislation at the statehouse, White said organizers successfully placed the question on the statewide May 24 GOP primary ballot as a test of the effort’s support.
TRANSCRIPT:
McCabe: Former Senator David Perdue told The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network that Buckhead’s secession is part of his agenda and campaign to unseat Georgia Governor Brian Kemp in the May 24 Republican primary.
White: Look, this is a governor that has sold us out. He did it with a consent decree and no special sessions, as I said. But it’s beyond that. He actually denied or did not support the voters in Buckhead to have a vote, really, on how they were going to govern themselves going forward.
McCabe: Buckhead residents even got a shout-out from President Donald J. Trump at his March 26 rally in Commerce, Georgia.
(Trump clip plays)
I have to tell you a man that I knew in New York for a long period of time, a man who loved the police more than almost anybody I can think of other than me. Bill White, he’s your Mayor.
Where’s Bill White? Stand up, Bill. Great job, great job, and I hope you get it through, Bill, because you want to have a safe place and I think you probably will. Knowing Bill, I have a feeling it’s going to be very successful.
McCabe: Bill White, the chairman and CEO of Buckhead City, told The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network why Buckhead residents want out of Atlanta.
White: The way things are going with crime in Atlanta and a mayor that’s voted to defund the police, we’re going to change all that in Buckhead City. We keep the money we used to send to Atlanta, we get 90 cops right now.
We would have 250 cops. And by Joe Biden’s Department of Justice standards, we need 270 cops for Buckhead. And the mayor is promising police officers.
They never show up and crime is out of control. It feels like we’re living in a war zone in Buckhead, and it should be more like Beverly Hills than the O.K. Corral.
McCabe: Buckhead City independence has been blocked by the Republican leadership so far this legislative session. But the question is said to be on the statewide GOP primary ballot on May 24th. Reporting for The Star News Network, Neil W. McCabe, Atlanta.
