Meet the Atlanta City Council candidates: Jamie Christy for District 7

Tomorrow, the entire Atlanta City Council is up for election, including the District 7 position, from which longtime Council Member Howard Shook is retiring. This article focuses on Jamie Christy, a personal injury and business lawyer who was a clerk for Georgia’s Northern District. Her answers to Atlanta Community Press Collective questions about her background, District 7 and priorities if elected are below. 

Answers are condensed for space.

How would you describe District 7 in its qualities and challenges?

District 7 is a beautiful area: quiet neighborhoods, strong schools, a mature tree canopy and civic-minded residents. It also has a strong commercial core, with Lenox Mall and Phipps Plaza in the heart of District 7. 

Public safety, traffic, infrastructure and development are District 7’s challenges. Residents are concerned about crime, nightlife management and code enforcement. Sidewalks and roads are in disrepair. Redevelopment risks eroding neighborhoods’ character and affordability.

District 7 contributes heavily to city revenue through taxes, yet is often overlooked for other parts. This district needs a strong voice to advocate for it so residents feel safe, infrastructure is maintained and redevelopment does not change the character of each neighborhood.

How does your career in business and personal injury law, and as a clerk for Georgia’s Northern District, inform your candidacy?

As a lawyer, I advocate for my clients to achieve the best outcome. I study the law, anticipate opposing arguments and present clear, persuasive reasoning. I also work with opposing counsel to reach settlements. I never leave a case unfinished, ensuring each client is satisfied.

My experience as a federal judicial clerk taught me to remain impartial and examine every case from all sides. I learned to weigh strengths and weaknesses of each argument and provide balanced recommendations to help the judge reach a fair decision.

If elected, I will bring these same principles to public service. I will review every proposal carefully, evaluating benefits and potential harm to District 7. I will explain my reasoning transparently. My constituents are my clients, and I will zealously advocate for their interests—not special interests or donors. I will collaborate with my colleagues while ensuring District 7 maintains a strong, independent voice.

What are the wastes in spending you’d curtail to further enhance police spending, and why are hotels a key police focus?

In general, every department has waste. My platform focuses on balancing the budget through smarter spending, ensuring savings are redirected into core services like public safety and infrastructure.

I will lead a citywide waste-reduction initiative to identify inefficiencies, enforce performance standards and reinvest savings where they are needed most. This includes auditing and merging overlapping consultant contracts across departments such as Finance, Procurement and IT. Consolidating redundant systems and vendors would net millions in savings that can fund park maintenance, firefighters and building inspectors.

Atlanta often hires costly consultants for audits and planning documents that could be completed in-house or through partnerships with Georgia State or Georgia Tech. I will require cost-benefit reviews for all consultant contracts exceeding $250,000 and advocate to terminate those that can be handled internally.

I will also improve capital project transparency. Programs like Renew Atlanta and Moving Atlanta Forward have suffered delays and overruns due to weak reporting. I will advocate for monthly public dashboards and create an independent infrastructure oversight committee of civil engineers and residents to monitor progress and prevent waste.

Hotels are a key police focus because of recurring trafficking and narcotics activity. Crime at hotels erodes citizens’ perception of safety and undermines legitimate businesses. This past April, a woman was arrested for having three guns in her Buckhead hotel room, one reported stolen, and two equipped with switches that could turn them fully automatic. I will continue my effort to increase the number of police officers from 1,700 to 2,000 for a larger police presence in District 7.  With more police patrols, crime should decrease, giving residents and visitors to Buckhead an increased sense of safety.

Ethics and greenspace are elements of your campaign. What are your thoughts on city government handling these issues this year, related to the inspector general and the new tree ordinance?

The City poorly handled both. Since the beginning, I have campaigned being accountable to the constituents, and the Office of the Inspector General was independent oversight the City needed. The Office was created because of former Mayor Kasim Reed’s procurement scandal. And, ironically, the former inspector general felt she had to resign because of threats by targets of these investigations! The city has not done enough to protect the Office’s independence or foster a culture of ethical accountability, especially because there was discussion about creating a mayoral oversight committee to oversee the Office. City Council must strengthen safeguards so that the inspector general can operate free from political interference or intimidation.

Likewise, the tree ordinance does not offer enough protection. The fines do not cover the cost of replanting one tree. These fines must be steeper to discourage developers from violating the ordinance. I would advocate to amend the ordinance to introduce more severe fines for violations, so that residents or the City will not bear the cost of replanting. 

How has your political experience leading groups such as the Buckhead Young Republicans shaped your policy positions?

I have learned to work effectively with people who hold differing views. As president of the Buckhead Young Republicans, I’ve met with state representatives, senators and other officials, gaining insight into what approaches work in government—and which do not. I’ve organized events on timely topics that engage young professionals and reflect their priorities. Many members have expressed frustration over how their tax dollars are spent and the lack of transparency in government. Their feedback reinforces my commitment to performance dashboards, measurable results and smarter budgeting across every city department.

This role also taught me that integrity must guide every decision, regardless of politics. That drives my belief that the Office of the Inspector General must be strengthened to ensure transparent and accountable governance.

Likewise, my experience as the Buckhead Forest representative in the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods has deepened my understanding of how collaboration creates progress. Bringing together people with different viewpoints is essential to advancing shared goals such as improving public safety, balancing the budget and ensuring responsible development. 

On a policy level, how would your approach differ from outgoing District 7 Council Member Howard Shook? 

Council Member Shook provided District 7 with stability, and his service will be missed. His tenure reflected a fiscally conservative approach to city governance, which I will build upon, expanding it toward data-driven accountability, greater resident engagement and proactive investments in infrastructure and quality of life.

Like Council Member Shook, I oppose wasteful spending and support budget discipline. I will modernize this approach through transparency by requiring monthly audits, measurable performance goals and public dashboards so residents can see where every dollar goes and what outcomes are achieved.

I also share his support for police funding and retention, but would broaden it to include Code Enforcement and nightlife regulation. I will push for public reporting on nightlife-related calls, focus on high-crime hotel corridors and adjust the Atlanta Police Department’s budget to include community-based prevention strategies and needed technology upgrades.

For infrastructure, I will move from a reactive to a proactive approach. I’ll advocate for a district-level maintenance plan that tracks project timelines, inspection schedules and progress through public dashboards. Oversight committees, composed of residents, a civil engineer and a departmental representative, will ensure accountability and timely completion.

Finally, I will expand accessibility to this role. I intend to meet with people where they are—phone, email, monthly newsletter or in person at my monthly Saturday in-person meeting.

For more information on Christy and her platform, visit jamiechristy.com.