October 08, 2021
Iranian-American Liliana Bakhtiari has announced she is running for a seat on the Atlanta City Council this November; if she wins she will become the second Iranian-American to hold a seat on the 16-member City Council.
Amir Farokhi won a seat on the council four years ago and will be running for re-election this year.
Bakhtiari was born and reared in Atlanta. She is the daughter of Iranian and Azeri immigrants. She has been an activist on many local issues and on behalf of her LGBTQ community.
She first ran for the City Council four years ago and came in 247 votes short of upsetting the incumbent council member, who is retiring this year, leaving the seat as an open one.
The election is non-partisan. The salary is $60,300 a year.
She has said the biggest issue facing the city is the availability of affordable housing, a major issue among liberals in urban areas all across the country.