The Atlanta mayoral elections will be held on Nov. 7 and numerous candidates have already declared their intent to succeed Mayor Kasim Reed, who is term limited.

Candidates seeking the job include ….

– Peter Aman, Atlanta’s former chief operating officer 

“As COO, Peter oversaw all city operating departments, including the police and fire departments as well as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport,” his campaign website says. “He helped build a better-trained and larger police department with the latest technology, improved fire response times, guided the city to a financially-sound operating position and focused on improving neighborhoods, from parks to recreation centers.”

– Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta City Council member

Bottoms represents southwest Atlanta and joined the council in 2010.

“Over the course of her service, Keisha has sponsored groundbreaking legislation that has addressed the city’s $1.5 billion unfunded pension liability and helped grow the city’s reserves from $7.4 million to nearly $150 million, in just over five years,” her website says. “She has also authored the toughest Panhandling legislation in the history of the city, which combines empathy with enforcement, and has resulted in offenders receiving often-needed social services to help break the cycle of recidivism.”

– Vincent Fort, state senator 

Fort was elected to represent the senate’s 39th District in 1996. His district includes the city of Atlanta, East Point, College Park, Union City and unincorporated Fulton County. He is currently the Democratic Whip in the state senate.

According to his biography, “Senator Fort authored the first hate crimes law in 2001. This legislation was designed to provide for enhanced penalties for defendants who intentionally select their victim due to bias or prejudice.”

– Kwanza Hall, Atlanta City Council member 

Hall is currently serving his third term on the City Council and represents District 2, which includes Midtown, Downtown, Inman Park, Poncey Highland, Candler Park, and the Old Fourth Ward.

“Hall has been recognized for his leadership in many arenas,” his biography says. “In 2013, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation recognized his ‘Year of Boulevard’ initiative to improve public safety and expand opportunities for families along District 2’s Boulevard corridor. In 2012, Georgia State University honored him with the Pioneer Award, its highest recognition for leadership promoting arts and culture in downtown Atlanta. In 2011, Atlanta’s Park Pride honored Hall for governmental leadership in parks and greenspace advocacy; he was voted by an independent media panel as one of the 100 Most Influential Atlantans; and Atlanta’s American Institute of Architects chapter created the Kwanza Hall Award for civic leadership in architectural design. In 2009, Creative Loafing named him Atlanta’s ‘Best Local Political Figure.’ In 2008, he was named one of Georgia Trend magazine’s ’40 Under 40.'”

– Ceasar Mitchell, Atlanta City Council president 

Mitchell is an attorney and the seventh president of the City Council.

“As a public official, Mitchell advocates for safer communities through specific initiatives including police foot patrols,” his biography says. “He has championed key legislation facilitating economic revitalization in underdeveloped areas by authoring measures to create four of the city’s 10 Tax Allocation Districts and supporting legislation for community input in the Beltline Project. In 2004, Mitchell stepped up his efforts to make Atlanta clean, green, safe and thriving by creating a Parks Advisory Group to provide recommendations for Atlanta to achieve and sustain a world-class parks and recreation system with a governance structure.”

– Mary Norwood, Atlanta City Council member

Norwood currently holds the council’s Post 2 At-Large seat. She lives in Buckhead and ran for mayor in 2009. She lost to current Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed in a runoff election.

“Atlanta is a wonderfully diverse, vibrant, energetic city,” her campaign website says. “We need leadership that has the experience, passion, and commitment to address a multitude of issues and join us all together to resolve them. In different parts of our multi-faceted city, the importance of a particular issue is different. All over our city, safety is the top concern. When we don’t feel safe, nothing else matters. Other issues are important to our citizens–whether it’s transparency in government, blight in our neighborhoods, traffic congestion, pot-hole filled streets, broken sidewalks, or preserving the unique character that is our Atlanta. Making certain that the issues of all Atlantans are addressed is Mary Norwood’ s commitment to you.”

– Michael Sterling, former Executive Director of the Atlanta Workforce Agency 

In addition to being the former executive director of the Atlanta Workforce Agency, Sterling is also a former advisor to the mayor. He is an attorney who worked as a federal prosecutor.

“I’m running for Mayor because I don’t think this is the time to sit on the sidelines and spectate,” his campaign website says. “I am running for all of the true believers who refuse to accept the status quo and believe that we can ask for more, achieve better and include everyone in the promise of Atlanta. I am running for the people who have been turned off or never paid attention to politics before because they didn’t think it would make a difference. I am running for those who have been disappointed, but still remain hopeful that we can achieve a better tomorrow. People that believe that we can achieve growth in our most troubled neighborhoods, reduce income inequality, and help small business thrive. I am running for the folks that care about the future of our city and all the residents in it.

– Cathy Woolard, former Atlanta City Council member and president 

Woolard was the first woman to serve as City Council president, and served in that role from 2002 to 2004. She was a council member representing District 6 from 1998 to 2002.

“As President of the Atlanta City Council, the first woman to hold that position, Cathy championed the Atlanta BeltLine, a project transforming abandoned rail-corridors circling the city into mixed-use recreational trails,” her campaign website says. “She founded the “Dirty Dozen,” a pilot program to fix the worst code violations in the city to improve neglected neighborhoods.  She also made sustainability a priority, and her Energy Conservation Program cut emissions while saving the city’s facilities more than $470,000.”

Editor’s note: Portions of this story were obtained via Reporter Newspapers.