Elijah Porter

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Elijah Porter

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Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 2, 2021

Education

Bachelor's

Fort Valley State University, 2015

Law

Howard School of Law, 2019

Personal

Birthplace

Decatur, Ga.

Profession

Law firm founder, business co-founder

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Elijah Porter ran for election to the Atlanta City Council to represent District 3 in Georgia. He lost in the general election on November 2, 2021.

Porter completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Elijah Porter was born in Decatur, Georgia. Porter earned a bachelor's degree from Fort Valley State University in 2015 and a J.D. from Howard School of Law in 2019. His career experience includes being the founder of Benjamin Porter Law Group and co-founder of Sneaker Asylum. Porter has been affiliated with the following organizations:

• Kappa Kappa Psi, Inc.
• Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
• NAACP
• Fort Valley State University Alumni
• Howard School of Law Alumni

Elections

2021

See also: City elections in Atlanta, Georgia (2021)

General runoff election

General runoff election for Atlanta City Council District 3

Byron Amos defeated Erika Estrada in the general runoff election for Atlanta City Council District 3 on November 30, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Byron Amos (Nonpartisan)	50.8	1,464
		Erika Estrada (Nonpartisan)	49.2	1,419

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,883
= 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.
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General election

General election for Atlanta City Council District 3

The following candidates ran in the general election for Atlanta City Council District 3 on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Byron Amos (Nonpartisan)	32.9	1,100
✔		Erika Estrada (Nonpartisan)	25.2	844
		Keona Jones (Nonpartisan)	17.2	575
	Submit photo	Elijah Porter (Nonpartisan)	10.2	341
	Submit photo	Brandon Graham (Nonpartisan)	10.0	335
	Submit photo	Ken Wainwright (Nonpartisan)	4.2	140
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	12

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,347
= 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.

Campaign themes

2021

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Elijah Porter completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Porter's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Elijah was born and raised in metro Atlanta. He’s an alumni of Fort Valley State University, where he obtained his Bachelor's Degree in English summa cum laude. Elijah then relocated to the nation's capital, Washington, DC, to attend the historic Howard University School of Law, where he graduated cum laude. Trained as a corporate attorney with a focus on startups, small businesses and multinational corporations at Fenwick & West LLP, he made the decision to return to Georgia’s capitol in the Historic Vine City of District 3. He is a co-founder of Sneaker Asylum Inc., the first marketplace for Black-owned sneakers and international footwear and apparel brands from around the world. He then focused on helping entrepreneurs by establishing the Benjamin Porter Law Group LLP, which is a law firm focused on business development, asset protection, and intellectual property. He recognizes the critical need to bridge the wealth gap through jobs, skills-based training, apprenticeships, and, most importantly, ownership.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Strengthen communities between the police and the communities they serve.
• Better elderly and disability services.
• Improve renting, strengthening tenant protection, and encouraging economic wealth building

Community Question Featured local question

How important is it to involve residents in the government’s decision-making process? What plans do you have regarding resident involvement in this process?

The strength of our district resides solely in the collective power of our community members. There is power in both numbers and dedication to social change. Communal empowerment requires each one of us to invest in the vision that we can truly make our community what we want it to be — a reflection of our rich history and our radiant future. Our moment of reclamation is here, the time for dynamic action is now. Together, We Will.

Community Question Featured local question

How would you address crime and public safety? Do you have a different stance than current city council policy?

Policing alternatives should play a larger role in Atlanta’s public safety strategies. As articulated, crime is a result of circumstance – one of the largest of which being poverty. Resolving and decreasing crime directly increases public safety.40 percent of Georgians have a criminal record. Georgia also leads the nation with over 200,000 individuals on probation, which is 321 percent higher than the national average. Moreover, two out of three people that are released from prison in Georgia are rearrested in three years. Data indicates that this is largely due to collateral consequences that hinder formerly incarcerated individuals. Studies demonstrate that formerly incarcerated individuals are less likely to re-offend if they happen to be released at a time when the local low-skilled labor market is strong and when well paying entry-level jobs are available. In fact recidivism rates decrease by 63 percent. Employment decreases crime – meaning meaningful jobs reduce the impact of poverty. If elected I will support legislation that does the following: (1) decreases recidivism rates by creating pathways to employment; (2) diversion strategies for convicted youth; and (3) eliminating barriers to employment for low-income communities.

Atlanta needs legislation that: requires civilian review boards to review and sanction police misconduct; creates partnerships between local law enforcement and community organizations; and makes civilian complaints against officers visible to the public.

With the national publication of police brutality and police related killings, there is currently a large distrust of law enforcement officials – which negatively impacts law enforcement duties to carry out essential functions. Elijah Porter will: support civil review boards of police misconduct; support making civil complaints against officers visible to the public; and sponsor partnerships between local law enforcement and community lead organizations to include community monitoring and safety watches, etc.

Community Question Featured local question

What do you think about the transit options currently available in Atlanta? Would you make any changes?

I think we need to provide increased options and increased accessibility. The most used transit option in Atlanta is personal vehicle. We would invest more funding in a robust transportation system to make it more accessible to all citizens. We would decrease wait times and improve routes

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Economic Stability is an issue that is key to my platform. Pragmatically, the city must look to non-traditional forms of education to improve income opportunities for the workforce. Elijah Porter will support city initiatives that: invest in apprenticeship programs that create a pathway to occupational licensure; support CTE certification programs being introduced to schools in the district and make occupational licensure requirements accessible to residents - licensure gives students meaningful employment opportunities – entry level positions starting at $60,000 a year; and support public funding for job training at the local level similar to funding in Massachusetts, Texas and Washington.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, integrity, transparency, accountability, and empathy are the most important characteristics for an elected official.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

On January 20, 2009, I was fortunate enough to attend the inauguration of 44th President of the United States, President Barack Obama. This galvanized my spirit and allowed me to realize my calling to people and to the community. Having an opportunity to be exposed to someone who looked like me; someone who started as a community activist and grassroots organizer like me; someone who also surpassed challenging circumstances; inspired my connection to change. It ignited my heart with the possibility of what could come. It affirmed my decision to be a public servant. I was 15 years of age at the time.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The 50th Law of Power by Robert Greene.

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.

See also

2021 Elections

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Candidate

Atlanta City Council District 3

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