Dustin Hillis
Dustin Hillis is a member of the Atlanta City Council in Georgia, representing District 9. He assumed office in 2018. His current term ends on January 5, 2026.
Hillis is running for re-election to the Atlanta City Council to represent District 9 in Georgia. He declared candidacy for the general election scheduled on November 4, 2025.[source]
Biography
Dustin Hillis was born in McMinnville, Tennessee. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 2011 and Georgia State University in 2012. Hillis' received a graduate degree from Valdosta State University in 2016. His professional experience includes working as an ICU nurse.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: City elections in Atlanta, Georgia (2025)
General election
The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.
General election for Atlanta City Council District 9
Incumbent Dustin Hillis and Charles Bourgeois are running in the general election for Atlanta City Council District 9 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Dustin Hillis (Nonpartisan) | |
| Charles Bourgeois (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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2021
See also: City elections in Atlanta, Georgia (2021)
General election
General election for Atlanta City Council District 9
Incumbent Dustin Hillis defeated Devin Barrington-Ward in the general election for Atlanta City Council District 9 on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dustin Hillis (Nonpartisan) | 67.9 | 4,721 |
 | Devin Barrington-Ward (Nonpartisan) | 31.8 | 2,210 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 24 | ||
| Total votes: 6,955 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
To view Hillis' endorsements in the 2021 election, please click here.
2017
The city of Atlanta, Georgia, held a runoff election for any race where no candidate received a majority (50 percent plus one) of the general election votes cast in the general election the month prior.[2] Dustin Hillis defeated Kwame Abernathy in the runoff election for District 9 seat on the city council.
| Atlanta City Council District 9, Runoff Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Dustin Hillis |
50.93% | 3,389 |
| Kwame Abernathy | 49.07% | 3,265 |
| Total Votes | 6,654 | |
| Source: City of Atlanta, GA, "Fulton County/DeKalb County ‐ Official and Complete Combined Results," accessed December 12, 2017 | ||
The city of Atlanta, Georgia, held a general election for mayor, city council president, three at large council members, 13 by district council members, and two city judges on November 7, 2017.[2] Dustin Hillis and Kwame Abernathy defeated William Harrison in the general election for District 9 seat on the city council.[3]
| Atlanta City Council District 9, General Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Dustin Hillis |
44.17% | 2,658 |
| Kwame Abernathy |
43.84% | 2,638 |
| William Harrison | 11.98% | 721 |
| Total Votes | 6,017 | |
| Source: Fulton County, Georgia, "November 7, 2017 Municipal General and Special Elections," accessed November 7, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2021
Dustin Hillis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hillis' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
Soon after moving to Atlanta, I became involved in my Riverside neighborhood and was appointed chair of neighborhood security patrol and code enforcement. From there, I became Vice President of the Riverside Neighborhood Association and later served as President. My focus while serving on behalf of the neighborhood was improving code enforcement and public safety. Because of my successes, I was appointed to the City of Atlanta's newly formed Code Enforcement Commission.
While completing my Masters in Public Administration and continuing my career as a nurse at Emory Hospital, I became a Code Enforcement & Special Projects Assistant to then-District 9 Council member Felicia Moore in February 2015. My focus was improving code enforcement in District 9 by working with various city departments and engaging citizens. I was elected to my first term in 2017.- Safer Neighborhoods - Hire 700 more police officers and firefighters to accomplish true community policing, proactive patrols, and better response times to crimes, fires, and medical emergencies. Add over 10,000 street lights to the city to make our streets and sidewalks safer. Expand the Operation Shield camera and license plate reader program to prevent and solve crimes.
- Better Infrastructure - Rebuild our ailing streets and sidewalks. Fully implement our ATLDOT Vision Zero Plan – the push to have zero vehicle-related fatalities on our streets. Push towards the goal of having every resident within a SAFE 10-minute walk to a park, with more sidewalks, crosswalks, and ADA ramps.
- Greater City Services - Take out the trash and get Public Works back on track to provide consistent weekly garbage collection and litter-free/trimmed City right-of-way. Answer calls for help and get every 911 call answered within 10 seconds and every 311 call answered within 30 seconds. Bring back the "Pothole Posse" and fill every pothole within 5 days of a complaint.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Note: Community Questions were submitted by the public and chosen for inclusion by a volunteer advisory board. The chosen questions were modified by staff to adhere to Ballotpedia’s neutrality standards. To learn more about Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection Expansion Project, click here.
2017
Hillis' campaign website included the following themes for 2017:
| “ |
Safe Neighborhoods Reduce Crime - Crimes have continued to plague our neighborhoods. Reducing crime begins with adding more police beats in our higher crime areas with an emphasis on community policing. We deserve to feel safe in our homes and around our neighborhoods. Support our Heroes - I will work hard to provide our firefighters, EMTs, corrections officers, and police officers with the pay and benefits they deserve. Atlanta brands itself as a world-class city; we should have world-class public safety departments to match that brand and protect our citizens and visitors. Prosperous Communities and People Code Enforcement - Due to the economic downturn almost ten years ago, thousands of vacant, blighted, and abandoned properties remain standing throughout Atlanta. Although the recession is long over, the city has failed to adequately address the blight in our neighborhoods. These blighted properties undoubtedly lead to more crime, as multiple drug markets, runaway children, and even dead bodies have been discovered in them. It is long past time to address these code enforcement issues in order to revitalize our neighborhoods and reduce crime. Support Small and Local Businesses - We are blessed with many small and local businesses in Northwest Atlanta. I will make it a priority to support the existing small businesses and make starting a new one easier. The process to start and maintain a local business should be streamlined and affordable. I will ensure the processes from permitting to licensing are accessible to all, and I will make sure economic development monies are available to small and local businesses, not just large corporations. A Sustainable City Balance Growth and Affordability - As the City of Atlanta and all of metro Atlanta continue to grow, we need to monitor our growth to verify the growth is healthy and universal. I will support reforming our long-outdated zoning codes and implement affordable housing initiatives. Our seniors, public servants, and other disadvantaged should have safeguards to protect them from displacement. This displacement can occur due to cost of living increases driven by unrestrained growth. Everyone who grew up in this great City and everyone who has chosen to make it their home should be able to afford living in the neighborhoods they call home. This is especially true for our teachers, firefighters, and police officers. Improve Parks and Urban Waters - Our communities are home to many wonderful parks, from Whittier Mill Park in Historic Whittier Mill Village, Jennie Drake Park in Collier Heights, Spink-Collins Park in Bolton, Lillian Cooper Shepherd Park in Lincoln Homes, and Underwood Hills Park in Underwood Hills. I will work to improve our established parks and work to create new ones. We also must work hard to rehabilitate and maintain our waterways in Northwest Atlanta, from Peachtree Creek to Proctor Creek to Sandy Creek, all which flow into the Chattahoochee River. We will work together to ensure these long-neglected waterways are something we can all be proud of.[4][5] |
” |
| —Dustin Hillis (2017) | ||
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 25, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Georgia Secretary of State, "2017 Elections and Voter Registration Calendar," accessed February 24, 2017
- ↑ City of Atlanta, "2017 General Municipal Election," accessed September 21, 2017
- ↑ Dustin Hillis 2017 campaign website, "Issues," accessed October 13, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Atlanta City Council District 9 2018-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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