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, focusing on underserved communities, attracting middle-wage jobs, and building wealth in communities of color.
• Create the first-of-its kind Middle Wage Jobs Fund to connect residents from underserved communities to high-quality jobs with salaries between $40-80K and that don’t require a bachelor’s degree.
• Pass a $100 million housing bond to build and preserve 3,500 units of affordable housing citywide.
• Create an affordable housing trust fund with a recurring local funding stream
• Invest in our city's parks, streets and sidewalks by updating impact fees for the first time in 30 years, generating millions of new dollars every year for infrastructure.
• Create a funding stream to complete construction of the Atlanta BeltLine's full 22-mile trail loop by 2030.  
• Send a project list to Atlanta voters in May 2022 for $750 million in improvements to transportation infrastructure, public safety facilities, and parks, green space, trails, recreation centers, and outdoor pools.  
• Creation of a Community Park Fund, with an initial $2 million allocation -- to be matched by the philanthropic community – for greenspace improvements in underserved communities.
• Outlaw predatory investing, banning the tactics of investors who harass longtime residents in gentrifying residents into selling their homes-- often for far below fair market value.
• Establish a Smoke-Free Atlanta, joining every other major American city in adopting a comprehensive Smoke-Free ordinance, including highlighting to our teens the dangers of vaping.
• Begin health benefits for city employees on their first day of employment—as opposed to day 90.

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 JohnLewis, 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.