Atlanta City Council District 11 candidates face residency challenges

Atlanta City Council candidate controversy

Two candidates running for the Atlanta City Council District 11 seat face residency challenges just weeks before voters head to the polls. Candidates Sherry Williams and Keith Lewis contend they do live in the district. The issues in both cases center around where the candidates are registered to vote.

ATLANTA - Two candidates for Atlanta’s District 11 City Council seat are fighting to prove they live in the district as a residency challenge heads toward a decision next week.

What we know:

Community advocate Sherry Williams and candidate Keith Lewis both testified before city officials that they reside in District 11. At issue, however, is not only where they live but where they are registered to vote.

Atlanta City Attorney Patrice Perkins Hooker read from the state requirements, which say candidates must live in the district for more than a year before filing to run. Williams filed her notice of candidacy on Aug. 22, 2025.

The municipal clerk will issue a ruling on both challenges Monday. Ten candidates are running for the seat, but that number could shrink to eight depending on the outcome.

District 11, which covers much of Southwest Atlanta including Cascade and Campbellton roads, has long been a political power base. Former mayors Andrew Young, Shirley Franklin, Kaseem Reed and Keisha Lance Bottoms all have ties to the area.

What they're saying:

Advocate James Finley, acting on behalf of voter Donna Cook, argued that Williams is not qualified to run because she has long voted in District 10 using her mother’s address. "She’s voted there, as recently by her own admission, as recently as 2025," Finley said. "When you vote you have to fill out a certificate stating this is my domicile."

Williams countered with a lease, utility bills, and testimony from multiple witnesses that she lives on Campbellton Road in the heart of District 11. Her attorney, Curt Thompson, told city officials, "Domicile is where you lay your head at night. It is where you intend to be."

Cook also challenged Lewis, who acknowledged his voter registration was tied to his parents’ home in East Point. He insisted he has lived in a Southwest Atlanta house and has voted at his neighborhood church for years.

Lewis says his voter registration was tied to his parent’s house years ago. He says he has not voted in East Point for 17 years. 

Timeline:

The municipal clerk is expected to decide whether Williams and Lewis remain on the ballot.