Atlanta City Council, GA
Home MenuMatt Westmoreland
Post 2 at Large
Councilmember Matt Westmoreland was elected to the Post 2 At-Large seat on the Atlanta City Council in November 2017. His work has focused on housing affordability, inclusive economic growth, and investments in infrastructure and greenspace.
Matt currently serves as Chair of the Community Development & Human Services Committee, which oversees issues including housing, planning, economic development, and parks. He also serves on the Transportation Committee, Zoning Committee, and Finance & Executive Committee.
Since first taking office in January 2018, Matt has authored or helped craft legislation that:
==
- Created the City’s first-ever Affordable Housing Trust Fund and adopted $275 million in bonds to support housing affordability and helping Atlanta’s unsheltered residents.
- Advanced a $750 million investment plan for transportation infrastructure, public safety facilities, and parks, green space, trails, recreation centers, and outdoor pools.
- Launched the Southeast's First E-Bike Rebate Program, which provided residents making 80% or below of the region’s median income with alternative transit choices.
- Conducted the First Trails Master Plan in a Generation by partnering with the PATH Foundation to work with residents, nonprofits, and philanthropic partners to develop and adopt the City's first trails master plan since the 1990s.
- Created a $7.5 million Small Business Recovery Fund to support small businesses and their employees impacted by the water main breaks in May 2024.
- Established a Smoke-Free Atlanta, joining every other major American city in adopting a comprehensive Smoke-Free ordinance, which included highlighting the dangers of vaping to teens.
==
Prior to his City Council election, Matt was the District 3 Representative on the Atlanta Board of Education. During his tenure, the board recruited and partnered with a new superintendent to rewrite and revise its strategic plan, adopt a new operating model that pushed decision-making down to schools, develop a turnaround strategy for chronically struggling schools, and deliver on a $545 million capital projects plan. As Chair of the 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. By the end of 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.
Matt previously served as Program Director for educational nonprofit Horizons Atlanta and has also worked for the Atlanta Regional Commission, D.C. Public Schools, in the D.C. Office of Congressman John Lewis/ Additionally, he has served on the Atlanta Regional Commission, Georgia Commission on Service and Volunteerism, Emory University Board of Visitors, Atlanta Speech School Board of Advisors, and Hosea Feed the Hungry Board of Directors.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Hope Atlanta, Invest Atlanta, the Atlanta Beltline Inc, and the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library Foundation, the Junior League of Atlanta Community Advisory Board, and also chairs the City of Atlanta’s first Artificial Intelligence Commission.
He is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta, Regional Leadership Institute, LEAD Atlanta, NLC-Atlanta, and the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
An Atlanta native and proud product of Atlanta Public Schools, Matt earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University, where he served as editor-in-chief of The Daily Princetonian. After graduation, he returned to Atlanta as a Teach for America corps member, teaching history at Carver Early College High School in Southeast Atlanta.
Matt is a lifelong member of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church and lives in Midtown.