LGBTQ Agenda: Gay Atlanta councilmember discusses challenges for Southern metropolis 

Alex Wan, the first gay and the first Asian American member of the Atlanta City Council, has seen first-hand how Georgia’s largest city has grown into an economic powerhouse in a journey along with the rest of the South.

Wan, 58, is an Atlanta native who is running for his fourth term on the council and is unopposed for the November 4 election.

“I did not have a challenger this cycle, so I will be back in office in January,” he told the Bay Area Reporter in a phone interview. 

He said the 1996 Summer Olympics being held in Atlanta was a pivotal moment for the city’s evolution.

“I grew up in Atlanta, so I’ve watched the city really evolve in terms of being a small Southern, but still major, city, to a large metropolitan international hub, and so even with the last census, we’ve seen that population growth continue,” he said. 

The South – which long lagged behind the Northeast, having lacked a strong industrial base and hobbled by the legacy of the Civil War – has quickly caught up and exceeded the traditional heart of the American economy. The Mississippi Center for Public Policy reports that except for Louisiana, every Southern state is in the top 25 states in terms of economic outlook. 

Bloomberg reported in 2023 that the six fastest-growing Southern economies – Florida, Texas, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee – contribute more to the national gross domestic product than the Northeast. And last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that the number of students leaving the North to go to universities in the South increased by 30% from 2018 to 2022. 

As a policymaker, the boom presents its challenges, Wan said.

“What’s interesting for Atlanta though – and this is certainly true for other large metro areas – is the people who live within the city limits is probably only a fraction of what the city population swells to during the day, when people come in from the outer area suburbs and other jurisdictions for work, for play,” he said. “I think that’s the kind of a critical dynamic within the system – you have to learn to support that larger population on a smaller tax base.”

Indeed, nearly 543,000 people live in Atlanta proper as of April, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission, though the 11-county metro region is estimated at having a population of 5.28 million people.

The City Council includes 12 district seats, three at-large seats, and the council president, who is elected citywide. Wan represents District 6, on the northeast, which is adjacent to Midtown, the LGBTQ neighborhood. He was first elected in 2009, and served until 2018. Wan has been serving a third, nonconsecutive term since 2022.

While he was the first LGBTQ on the council back when he was first elected, now there are three. The councilmembers marched together in the Atlanta Pride celebrations October 12.

“Atlanta is kind of a blue island in a very red state and so folks seem to be insulated in terms of progressive values and viewpoints and acceptance of the LGBTQ community,” Wan said. “It’s safe here to walk hand-in-hand with your same-sex partner down the street – especially in Midtown – and that dynamic starts to change a little bit when you get further and further away from city central.”

The other queer councilmembers are Matt Westmoreland, a gay man who is one of the at-large members, and Liliana Bakhtiari, who is nonbinary and represents District 5. 

Westmoreland told the B.A.R. he has known Wan since the latter was campaigning for the first time. “He knocked on my family's door during his first political campaign,” he said.

“Four years ago, Alex and I became direct colleagues,” Westmoreland stated. “I'm also fortunate to call him a friend and mentor, and have learned so much from watching his service and leadership. He does an excellent job of balancing his role as an elected official as well as his role as a vice president at Emory University. He is incredibly accessible and responsive to the residents of District 6, and does an excellent job of advocating for the needs and desires of his constituents while also focusing on important issues – especially around finances – that impact and affect the entire city.”

Westmoreland also stated that Wan is a dog lover and a beekeeper.

Bakhtiari did not return a request for comment.

Wan has long-standing relationships with the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and Georgia Equality. The Victory Fund, which works to elect LGBTQ people, endorsed his reelection. Neither organization returned comment for this report by press time.

Wan said that in Georgia the Legislature “chipping away at the humanity of the trans community.”

Indeed, Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed legislation earlier this year effectively banning trans student athletes from participating on sports teams aligning with their gender identity. Gender-affirming surgical operations for minors have been illegal since 2023. 

“We are no different from the national landscape in that regard, as a lightning rod issue for a conservative base,” he said.

Asked what he hopes to accomplish in his next term, Wan said, “Atlanta is in fairly good shape, but there seems to be a need and a focus on infrastructure – both transportation and water infrastructure – maintenance, repair, and upgrade, like in a lot of municipalities across this country.” 

Federal help has dried up, he said, citing the fact that Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport lost $37.5 million in federal funds because it refused to capitulate to Trump administration demands to drop diversity, equity and inclusion requirements. 

“Looking back, I’ve built a reputation of strong fiscal stewardship, turning the city around financially post-Great Recession, but also through a lot of economic expansion and growth, making sure we’re managing our budget and funding revenues, taxes, bonds, debt, all of that in a responsible way,” Wan said. “That’s kind of unsexy – but the reality of what we have to focus on going forward.”

LGBTQ Agenda is an online column that appears weekly. Got a tip on queer news? Contact John Ferrannini at [email protected].