Local

Vendors Target Reed With Mobile Billboards

October 28th, 2013

Atlanta street vendors are calling out Mayor Kasim Reed for refusing to issue vending permits, taking to the streets with mobile billboards just ahead of next week’s city election.As heard on the radio

One sign shows a man with two young kids next to the words, “Mayor Reed won’t let our grandpa work.” The other shows a vendor protest and the phrase “Mayor Reed: The right to earn a living is a civil right.”

“It’s election time, and we need the people to know that our rights are being violated and we’re not being able to work,” says Larry Miller, president of the Atlanta Vendors Association.

The city hasn’t issued any vending permits since the Georgia Supreme Court found the standing ordinance last December. That’s despite court order issued by a Fulton County judge earlier this month directing the city to issue vending permits under the ordinance prior to the one that was thrown out.

Miller called for the mayor’s ouster, though Reed is expected to sail through to re-election.

“Any council person or mayor who’s against free enterprise should not be re-elected,” Miller said.

Miller said the association will drive the billboards around the city through the end of the week.

Reed’s office had no comment about the billboards and maintained the old ordinance remains repealed, leaving the city without a process under which to issue permits.