City of Atlanta Advisory Roundtable with Councilmember Matt Westmoreland, Post 2 At-Large, Atlanta City Council

Councilmember Matt Westmoreland

Post 2 At-Large
Atlanta City Council

Matt Westmoreland holds the Post 2 At-Large seat on the Atlanta City Council.

First elected in 2017, Matt has authored or helped craft legislation to adopt Atlanta's first economic mobility plan, create the Middle Wage Jobs Fund to connect residents from underserved communities with high-quality jobs, pass a $100 million housing bond to build and preserve 3,500 units, create an affordable housing trust fund, invested in our city's parks, streets, and sidewalks by updating impact fees for the first time in 30 years, create a funding stream to complete Beltline construction by 2030, develop the 2022 TSPLOST project list totalling $750 million in investments across the city, create the Community Park Fund for greenspace improvements, outlaw predatory investing to help thwart gentrification, establish a Smoke-Free Atlanta, and begin health benefits for city employees on their first day of employment. 

Prior to his City Council election, Matt was the District 3 Representative on the Atlanta Board of Education, serving as chair of its Budget Commission and legislative liaison to the Georgia General Assembly. 

During his tenure, the board recruited and partnered with a new superintendent to rewrite the school system’s mission and vision, revise its strategic plan, define equity, adopt a new operating model that pushed decision-making down to schools, develop a turnaround strategy for chronically struggling schools, and develop a $545 million capital-projects plan. 

As chair of the Board’s Budget Commission, Matt led efforts to cut waste from the central office, increase teacher pay, allocate funding based on student need, and direct more dollars to classrooms. During his tenure, the system’s graduation rate increased 19 points from 58 percent to 77 percent, and the district saw improved SAT, ACT, and Advanced Placement test scores systemwide.

An Atlanta native, Matt attended Morningside Elementary School, Inman Middle School, and Henry W. Grady High School. He received his bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, where he served as editor-in-chief of The Daily Princetonian. After graduation, Matt returned to Atlanta as a Teach for America Corps Member and taught history at Carver Early College High School in southeast Atlanta.

Matt previously served as program director for Horizons Atlanta, an educational non-profit serving low-income students across Metro Atlanta through summer enrichment programs. He also worked for the Atlanta Regional Commission, the Washington, D.C. Public Schools System, in the D.C. office of Congressman John Lewis, and was an Urban Leaders Fellow with Colorado Senator Mike Johnston.

A lifelong and active member of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, Matt lives in Midtown.