1981 Atlanta mayoral election

1981 Atlanta mayoral election

← 1977 October 6, 1981 (general) October 27, 1981 (runoff) 1985 →
Turnout	61.26% (general) 64.04% (runoff)
Candidate Andrew Young Sidney Marcus A. Reginald Eaves Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan First-round vote 44,808 42,593 17,457 First-round percentage 40.92% 38.89% 15.94% Second-round vote 65,798 53,549 Second-round percentage 55.13% 44.87%
Mayor before election Maynard Jackson Democratic Elected Mayor Andrew Young Democratic

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v t e

The 1981 Atlanta Mayoral Election took place on October 6, 1981, with the runoff held on October 27. Mayor Maynard Jackson was ineligible to run due to term limits. The runoff featured two prominent Atlanta politicians: former Congressman and UN Ambassador Andrew Young as well as State Representative Sidney Marcus. Young won in the October 27th runoff by double digits. It became the first time an African American mayor of a major city (Jackson) handed over the keys to another African American.^[1]