Election 2026

Independent, source-first accountability

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Issue record

Cost of living and housing

What each candidate says on this issue, and what their own official record shows.

Campaign positions

What each campaign says.

Rick Jackson

Would freeze property taxes, cut the state income tax in half, end state taxes on tips and energy, pause the gas tax when fuel prices spike and freeze public college tuition.

Keisha Lance Bottoms

Would let cities and counties drop sales taxes on groceries and essentials, speed up housing permits and start an affordable housing trust fund.

Evidence timeline

What the record shows.

  1. official action

    Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim

    Bottoms’s FY2019–FY2022 General Fund budgets were balanced at adoption; year-end results and her no-tax-increase claim remain outside this check.

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    Bottoms said she balanced Atlanta’s budget four years in a row. Each FY2019–FY2022 budget ordinance states the budget was balanced. The adopted books show equal general-fund revenue and spending totals. Limit: This checks only balance at adoption, not year-end results or her no-tax-increase claim. Atlanta enacted a separate 2-mill levy within the BeltLine district in March 2021.

  2. campaign position

    Keisha Lance Bottoms: record does not settle this

    City reports counted about $500 million and 6,000 homes in 2020-2021, including unspent money and unfinished homes. No end-of-term count was found to check her figures.

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    Her campaign says she raised more than $700 million and helped build or preserve more than 7,000 affordable homes. In 2019 she pledged $1 billion toward 20,000 affordable homes by 2026. The city's December 2020 report counted $497 million in city-controlled funds and 6,007 homes since January 2018, about half still in the pipeline. In March 2021 she said nearly $500 million in locally controlled public funds had gone to affordable housing, with more than 6,000 new or preserved homes. Why there is no verdict: We could not find an official count of the money and homes at the end of her term, so the $700 million and 7,000 figures were not checked. Limit: The $1 billion goal counted private and charity money as well as public money, so a total raised is not the same as city spending. The city's counts include money committed but not yet spent, and homes not yet finished.

  3. official action

    Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated direction

    Atlanta’s FY2021 budget kept the city property-tax rate unchanged. This checks one year, not every tax or four balanced budgets.

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    Bottoms said she balanced four budgets without raising taxes. Atlanta’s certified ordinance records FY2021 budget adoption on June 19, 2020, with a $673 million general fund. The council reported no city property-tax-rate increase. Limit: This checks one year’s rate, not tax bills, other taxes or four balanced budgets.

  4. official action

    Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim

    Her 2019 city budget paid for raising city workers' pay floor to $15 an hour; Mayor Kasim Reed set that goal in 2017, and it covers city workers only.

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    Full detail

    In the October 6 debate she said Atlanta raised the minimum wage for its own employees to $15 an hour, and that as governor she would bring that wage to the state and urge private employers to follow. Her budget for fiscal 2020, passed unanimously by the council in June 2019, paid for raising city workers' minimum wage to $15 an hour from July 1, 2019. The goal was set in June 2017, before she was mayor, when Mayor Kasim Reed announced a rise to $13 that year and to $15 over two years. Limit: The $15 floor covers city employees only. Mayor Reed set the goal in 2017; her budget paid for the last step.

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Sources23 source records

How we use sources

  1. Rick Jackson for Governor, action planhttps://rickjackson.com/action-plan/

    Jackson for Governor, Inc. · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Captured 2026-09-23. His platform, about 1,400 words across 17 headings. It links a fuller nine-page plan (jackson-action-plan-pdf).

    candidate statement

    For: Rick Jackson: campaign position

  2. The Jackson Action Plan (document)

    Jackson for Governor, Inc. · Published Sep 4, 2026 · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Nine pages, linked from his action plan page. The file was made on Sept. 4, 2026. Adds his Medicaid expansion plan, tax cuts on tips and energy, and data center standards. sha256 562e6ee30e68.

    candidate statement

    For: Rick Jackson: campaign position

  3. Keisha for Governor, issueshttps://www.keishaforgovernor.com/issues

    Keisha for Governor · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Captured 2026-09-23. Her platform, in ten sections.

    candidate statement

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: campaign position

  4. Atlanta Press Club Georgia governor debate, October 12, 2026, at 6:43https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x8O5cq2I_k&t=403s

    Atlanta Press Club · Published Oct 12, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 30, 2026

    Saved native captions, 6:43–7:02. Paraphrase of the budget-balance clause; no second matching transcript. The no-tax-increase clause is outside this assessment.

    candidate statement

    Atlanta Press Club debate, 2026-10-12

    Atlanta Press Club · Published Oct 12, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 29, 2026

    Paraphrase from saved native captions; timestamp links to surrounding statement.

    candidate statement

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim; Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated direction

  5. Atlanta ordinance 18-O-1204, FY2019 budget adoption, certified copy, pages 2–3 (document)

    Atlanta City Council · Reviewed Oct 30, 2026

    Council adoption 2018-06-18; Mayor Bottoms’s approval 2018-06-26. Recites that the annual budget was balanced; not audited year-end results. Online publication date unestablished.

    official legislative record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim

  6. Atlanta ordinance 19-O-1223, FY2020 budget adoption, certified copy, pages 2–3 (document)

    Atlanta City Council · Reviewed Oct 30, 2026

    Council adoption 2019-06-17; Mayor Bottoms’s approval 2019-06-24. Recites that the annual budget was balanced; not audited year-end results. Online publication date unestablished.

    official legislative record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim

  7. Atlanta ordinance 20-O-1260, FY2021 budget adoption, certified copy, pages 1–2 (document)

    Atlanta City Council · Reviewed Oct 30, 2026

    Council adoption 2020-06-19; Mayor Bottoms’s approval 2020-06-24. Recites that the annual budget was balanced; not audited year-end results. Online publication date unestablished.

    official legislative record

    Atlanta ordinance 20-O-1260, certified copy, pages 1–2

    Atlanta City Council · Reviewed Oct 30, 2026

    Certified copy: council adoption June 19, 2020; Mayor Bottoms’s approval June 24. The council’s June 20 release describes Saturday’s approval; exact vote timing remains unresolved.

    official legislative record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim; Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated direction

  8. Atlanta ordinance 21-O-0250, FY2022 budget adoption, certified copy, pages 1–2 (document)

    Atlanta City Council · Reviewed Oct 30, 2026

    Council adoption 2021-06-07; approval under City Charter Section 2-403 2021-06-16. Recites that the annual budget was balanced; not audited year-end results. Online publication date unestablished.

    official legislative record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim

  9. Atlanta FY2019 adopted budget, General Fund, printed page 67 (PDF page 69) (document)

    City of Atlanta · Reviewed Oct 30, 2026

    FY2019 adopted column: printed General Fund revenue and spending totals are each $661,392,792. Adoption ordinance dated 2018-06-18; online publication date unestablished. FY2019’s book is $72,000 above its ordinance’s revenue total; the difference is unreconciled. Three component sums differ $1 from printed totals; the cause is unknown. This check uses reported balance, not reconciled dollar amounts.

    official office record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim

  10. Atlanta FY2020 adopted budget, General Fund, printed page 63 (PDF page 64) (document)

    City of Atlanta · Reviewed Oct 30, 2026

    FY2020 adopted column: printed General Fund revenue and spending totals are each $677,628,773. Adoption ordinance dated 2019-06-17; online publication date unestablished.

    official office record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim

  11. Atlanta FY2021 adopted budget, General Fund, printed page 64 (PDF page 66) (document)

    City of Atlanta · Reviewed Oct 30, 2026

    FY2021 adopted column: printed General Fund revenue and spending totals are each $673,407,452. Adoption ordinance dated 2020-06-19; online publication date unestablished.

    official office record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim

  12. Atlanta FY2022 adopted budget, General Fund, printed page 63 (PDF page 65) (document)

    City of Atlanta · Reviewed Oct 30, 2026

    FY2022 adopted column: printed General Fund revenue and spending totals are each $710,036,753. Adoption ordinance dated 2021-06-07; online publication date unestablished.

    official office record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim

  13. Atlanta ordinance 21-O-0052, BeltLine special service district levy, certified copy, pages 3 and 9 (document)

    Atlanta City Council · Reviewed Oct 30, 2026

    Council adoption March 15, 2021; approval under City Charter Section 2-403 March 24. Section 2 adds a separate 2-mill levy on taxable real property within the BeltLine district. No mayoral signature or citywide application inferred. Online publication date unestablished.

    official legislative record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim

  14. Keisha for Governor, track record: affordable housinghttps://www.keishaforgovernor.com/issues/affordablehousing

    Keisha for Governor · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Captured 2026-09-23. The detail page behind the housing item on her track record page.

    candidate statement

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: record does not settle this

  15. Mayor Bottoms Announces $60 Million in Funding for Affordable Housinghttps://www.investatlanta.com/impact-insights/mayor-bottoms-announces-60-million-in-funding-for-affordable-housing

    Invest Atlanta · Published Apr 26, 2019 · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Dated April 26, 2019. Says her pledge was $1 billion for 20,000 affordable homes by 2026, and that the administration had reached 20 percent of that goal.

    official office record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: record does not settle this

  16. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Releases Housing Affordability Action Planhttps://www.investatlanta.com/impact-insights/mayor-keisha-lance-bottoms-releases-housing-affordability-action-plan

    Invest Atlanta · Published Jun 25, 2019 · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Dated June 25, 2019. The plan's goals include investing $1 billion from public, private and philanthropic sources in affordable housing.

    official office record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: record does not settle this

  17. One Atlanta Housing Affordability Action Plan: Progress Report, December 2020 (document)

    City of Atlanta · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Dated December 2020. Says the city and its agencies committed or invested over $497 million in city-controlled funds for 6,007 affordable homes since January 2018: 2,859 created or preserved and 3,148 in the pipeline. Archived copy; the city's site blocks this desk. sha256 841cc05a3248.

    official office record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: record does not settle this

  18. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Delivers 2021 State of the City Addresshttps://web.archive.org/web/20230606001503/https://www.atlantaga.gov/Home/Components/News/News/13655/1338

    City of Atlanta · Published Mar 31, 2021 · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Her March 31, 2021 address. Says nearly $500 million in locally controlled public funds had gone to affordable housing since she took office, and more than 6,000 homes were new or preserved. Archived copy; the city's site blocks this desk.

    official office record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: record does not settle this

  19. Atlanta council FY2021 budget adoptionhttps://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2138/175?npage=2

    Atlanta City Council · Published Jun 20, 2020 · Reviewed Oct 29, 2026

    Council adopted 20-O-1260 without increasing the city millage rate; the general fund was approximately $673 million.

    official office record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated direction

  20. Passage of FY21 Budgethttps://justicereform.atlantaga.gov/article/passage-of-fy21-budget-2

    City of Atlanta · Reviewed Oct 29, 2026

    Official page identifies Bottoms’s FY21 budget; previously verified in the published diversion card.

    official office record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated direction

  21. Atlanta News First governor debate, October 6, 2026 (at 10:27)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7CnmPxFCdw&t=627s

    Atlanta News First · Published Oct 6, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 10, 2026

    The host's full video of the town hall debate. Bottoms says Atlanta raised its employees' minimum wage to $15 an hour and that she would do the same for the state. Described from YouTube's English captions of the video, read October 10, 2026; not quoted, because a second transcript to check the wording against was not available. GPB's report of the debate gives the same account.

    candidate statement

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim

  22. Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Submitted by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Unanimously Approved by City Councilhttps://web.archive.org/web/20190718141607/https://www.atlantaga.gov/Home/Components/News/News/13055/1338

    City of Atlanta, Mayor's Office of Communications · Published Jun 17, 2019 · Reviewed Oct 10, 2026

    Her office's release. Lists funding to raise the city's living wage to $15 an hour; the budget took effect July 1, 2019. Archived copy; the city's site blocks this desk.

    official office record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim

  23. Mayor Kasim Reed Raises Minimum Wage to $15 per Hour for City Workershttps://web.archive.org/web/20170702151632/https://www.atlantaga.gov/Home/Components/News/News/5010/672

    City of Atlanta, Mayor's Office of Communications · Published Jun 21, 2017 · Reviewed Oct 10, 2026

    Mayor Reed's release. City workers' minimum wage goes to $13 on July 1, 2017, and to $15 over the next two fiscal years. Archived copy; the city's site blocks this desk.

    official office record

    For: Keisha Lance Bottoms: Matches stated record claim