Closed-door meeting thwarts bid to let Atlanta residents vote on Cop City

Top aide to mayor objected to referendum measure’s wording just before city official was to introduce it

A back-room meeting between local power brokers in Atlanta, including a top aide to the city’s mayor, led to the last-minute scuttling of an ordinance that could have helped people get to vote on whether to build a controversial police and fire department training center known as “Cop City”.

Mounting a referendum campaign allowing voters to decide on Cop City is one of many strategies opponents to the center have adopted in a movement that has gained worldwide attention while taking on concerns ranging from police militarization to environmental racism and deforestation in an era of climate crisis. The center is planned for a 171-acre footprint in a forest south-east of Atlanta.