Kwanza Hall | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 5th district | |
| In office December 3, 2020 – January 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | John Lewis |
| Succeeded by | Nikema Williams |
| Member of the Atlanta City Council from the 2nd district | |
| In office 2005–2017 | |
| Preceded by | Debi Starnes[1] |
| Succeeded by | Amir Farokhi[2] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 1, 1971 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Website | Campaign website |
Kwanza Hall (born May 1, 1971)[3] is an American politician and businessman who briefly served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district. He previously served as a member of the Atlanta City Council for the 2nd district. He was first elected in 2005 and re-elected in 2009. He represented the neighborhoods of Atlantic Station, Castleberry Hill, Downtown, Home Park, Inman Park, the Marietta Artery, Sweet Auburn and the Martin Luther King Historic District, Midtown, Poncey-Highland, and the Old Fourth Ward.[4][5] He opted to not run for re-election in 2017, and was a candidate in the 2017 Atlanta mayoral election.
In the runoff for mayor, he endorsed Keisha Lance Bottoms. In 2018, he was hired as senior political advisor in her administration, violating a city charter provision that bars elected city officials employment for one year after leaving office, followed by the position of director of development for Procter Creek for Invest Atlanta, which also came under scrutiny.[6] He chose to run for Georgia's 5th congressional district in the 2020 special election, following the death of incumbent congressman John Lewis. He finished first in the first round of voting on September 29, but did not receive a majority, and thus the race was decided in a runoff against Robert Michael Franklin on December 1, which Hall won by nearly nine points. Hall was sworn in two days later and served the final month of Lewis's term; Nikema Williams had been chosen by the Georgia Democratic Party to run in the general election in Lewis's stead.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - Atlanta City Council - District 02 Race - Nov 08, 2005". www.ourcampaigns.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - Atlanta City Council - District 02 Race - Nov 05, 2013". www.ourcampaigns.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress - Retro Member details". bioguideretro.congress.gov. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- ^ "Atlanta City Council Bio". Atlanta City Council. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2009.
- ^ "Meet Kwanza Hall". Hall for Council. Archived from the original on August 24, 2010. Retrieved July 30, 2009.
- ^ Klepal, Dan; Deere, Stephen. "Former council member's $137k City Hall job violated Atlanta charter". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.