Courtney Smith - Midtownatlanta.org

Meet District 2 Atlanta City Council Candidate Courtney Smith

Courtney earned her bachelor's degree in management from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She lives in Midtown Atlanta with her husband.

Courtney is a financial analyst and business owner. She started her professional career as an investment banking analyst in the health care industry, working at SunTrust Bank, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, and Raymond James. She later transitioned to running her own boutique print media production company.

Atlanta Municipal Elections: Who's Running and Fundraising ...

Courtney's campaign for Atlanta City Council Member, District 2 is her first entry into politics. 

Supports modernizing licensing to benefit businesses and the community.

Supports modernizing Atlanta's alcohol licensing program to benefit businesses and the community.

Proposes exploring legislation to allocate special event permit fees from large-scale ticketed events for discretionary infrastructure improvements.

Supports expanding nighttime experiences in Atlanta.

- Supports modernizing Atlanta's alcohol licensing program to benefit businesses and the community.
- Proposes exploring legislation to allocate special event permit fees from large-scale ticketed events for discretionary infrastructure improvements.
- Supports expanding nighttime experiences in Atlanta.

Economy

Supports expanding partnerships with programs like GOODR to provide choice-based fresh food and household supplies to those in need.

Supports creating urban gardens in each District 2 neighborhood for direct food access, education, and community connection.

- Supports expanding partnerships with programs like GOODR to provide choice-based fresh food and household supplies to those in need.
- Supports creating urban gardens in each District 2 neighborhood for direct food access, education, and community connection.

Public Services

Supports expanding building incentive programs to deliver affordable housing.

Supports exploring new housing models to address diverse population needs.

Supports modernizing zoning laws for clarity and future growth.

Supports properly resourcing the planning department to improve efficiency and accuracy.

Supports expanding zoning incentive programs to increase funding for mixed-income social housing in targeted growth areas.

Supports using city-owned property for mixed-use, mixed-income housing projects with private developers and ensuring affordable housing units through lease conditions or deed restrictions.

Supports innovative housing solutions, such as pairing college students with senior citizens in subsidized housing, to address multiple housing challenges.

Supports updating the Short Term Rental ordinance to reduce the impact on long-term housing, especially in high-demand areas.

Supports targeting older multi-family buildings for revitalization, using Community Development Block Grants to sustain below-market rent.

- Supports expanding building incentive programs to deliver affordable housing.
- Supports exploring new housing models to address diverse population needs.
- Supports modernizing zoning laws for clarity and future growth.
- Supports properly resourcing the planning department to improve efficiency and accuracy.
- Supports expanding zoning incentive programs to increase funding for mixed-income social housing in targeted growth areas.
- Supports using city-owned property for mixed-use, mixed-income housing projects with private developers and ensuring affordable housing units through lease conditions or deed restrictions.
- Supports innovative housing solutions, such as pairing college students with senior citizens in subsidized housing, to address multiple housing challenges.
- Supports updating the Short Term Rental ordinance to reduce the impact on long-term housing, especially in high-demand areas.
- Supports targeting older multi-family buildings for revitalization, using Community Development Block Grants to sustain below-market rent.

Housing & Urban Development

Supports community-centered policing practices, including youth programs, athletic leagues, and discussions between citizens and zone officers.

Supports maintaining a strong partnership with the Atlanta Police Department to ensure high standards in training, service delivery, professional development, and mental health resources for officers.

Supports exploring the use of AI and camera technologies to automate event permitting and licensing processes, freeing up sworn officers for higher priority needs.

- Supports community-centered policing practices, including youth programs, athletic leagues, and discussions between citizens and zone officers.
- Supports maintaining a strong partnership with the Atlanta Police Department to ensure high standards in training, service delivery, professional development, and mental health resources for officers.
- Supports exploring the use of AI and camera technologies to automate event permitting and licensing processes, freeing up sworn officers for higher priority needs.

Public Safety

Supports expanding and maintaining bike lanes.

Supports improving budget transparency, project status reporting, and accountability for timely project delivery and safety improvements with MARTA.

Supports public transit expansion and the development of an uninterrupted radial transit corridor along the Beltline.

Supports improving public transit by prioritizing accessibility, reducing costs, and connecting underserved communities to economic centers.

- Supports expanding and maintaining bike lanes.
- Supports improving budget transparency, project status reporting, and accountability for timely project delivery and safety improvements with MARTA.
- Supports public transit expansion and the development of an uninterrupted radial transit corridor along the Beltline.
- Supports improving public transit by prioritizing accessibility, reducing costs, and connecting underserved communities to economic centers.

Transportation & Infrastructure

Plans to address the multi-year backlog of arborist requests to improve tree canopy growth.

- Plans to address the multi-year backlog of arborist requests to improve tree canopy growth.

Energy & the Environment

LinkedIn

Courtney Smith

Courtney Smith has maintained a love for Midtown Atlanta since 1996 when she moved into her Harrison dorm room at Georgia Tech. Along with her husband, she has owned property in Midtown for over 20 years. After living in Nashville, New York and Singapore, Courtney returned to the Midtown Neighborhood permanently in 2012. She lives on Mentelle Drive in the historic home of renown Atlanta architect and founder of the Midtown Neighbors’ Association, Henri Jova.  Courtney started her professional career in corporate finance as an investment banking analyst in the health care industry working for SunTrust Bank, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and Raymond James where she advised clients on venture capital fundraising rounds, M&A opportunities, and capital markets transactions.  In 2005, after a one-year sabbatical where she attended the International Center of Photography in New York City, Courtney transitioned careers. For the following eight years, she used her skills in financial analytics, business strategy and project management to own and operate a boutique print media production company helping to create large scale corporate ad campaigns and stock image collections for large national companies.  Courtney enjoys working alongside Midtown neighbors on special projects including investigating a Midtown historic overlay designation and supporting the development of the Midtown Garden District Master Plan through to adoption. Her passion for being a part of the MNA Board of Directors stems from a lifelong call to service ingrained in her by her family’s history of military, civil and faith-based service. Her dedication to MNA is sustained by her love of Midtown’s intense energy and welcoming community vibe.  For Courtney, the fact that Midtown is the most dense and fastest growing neighborhood simply makes the work for our community all that much more intriguing and critical. Courtney joined the MNA Board of Directors in 2018 as Marketing Chairman and oversaw the rebranding of the organization, website evolution and worked alongside other dedicated Board members to re-envision the structure, programming and future vision of MNA’s service to the community.  As President of the Midtown Neighbors’ Association, her focus has been on opening channels of communication for residents to connect to their community, creating sustainable practices for growth, strengthening bench depth, and bolstering the reputation and influence of the organization. Courtney represents MNA on the City of Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Unit-E Board as Vice Chairman and also serves on the Midtown Alliance Board of Directors.  In 2021, Courtney joined other neighborhood leaders in creating a citizen advocacy group – CLEAR – to bring about much needed reform and modernization of our City of Atlanta Alcohol Code of Ordinances. Since inception, the group has gathered the support of over 300,000 Atlanta residents and successfully supported positive legislative changes. Courtney is appointed to the City’s Alcohol Technical Advisory Group III which will convene this year and she also served on the 2021 Mayor’s Anti-Violence Advisory Council.  Courtney serves on the Board of Directors for the Atlanta Preservation Center, Georgia Tech Alumni Association, and Our House. Her family supports the Piedmont Park Conservancy, Midtown Assistance Center, HOPE Atlanta, Atlanta Food Bank, and Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute. They are members of the High Museum of Art and the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

Courtney is a financial analyst and business owner. She started her professional career in corporate finance as an investment banking analyst in the health care industry, working at SunTrust Bank, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, and Raymond James. After a one-year sabbatical in 2005, she transitioned to running her own boutique print media production company for eight years, where she used her skills in financial analytics, business strategy, and project management to create large-scale corporate ad campaigns and stock image collections for national companies.

Supports legislation to allocate council district funding from special event permit fees for infrastructure improvements.

Supports partnering with others for faster delivery of permanent affordable housing on city land.

Supports prioritizing long-term housing while allowing short-term rentals.

Supports preserving "naturally occurring affordable housing."

Supports using special event permit fees for infrastructure improvements.

- City council members work together with the rest of city council to set and implement city policy. 
- City council is tasked with ensuring the health, comfort, and safety of residents of the city 
- City council members work with the mayor to govern city departments, such as the police department, fire department, transportation department, and parks and recreation department. 
- City council members represent either the whole city or residents of a specific district. 
- Most city council members in Georgia are elected in odd years to four year terms. Elections are nonpartisan. 