Marie Mott / Submitted photoActivist Marie Mott is running for Chattanooga City Council to address community safety and opportunity disparities across the city and in District 8.
Mott, leader of this summer’s I Can’t Breathe protests in Chattanooga, is opposing District 8 Councilman Anthony Byrd in the hopes that she can bring new life to the fight against inequality.
“I feel that Chattanooga needs a desperate change. We have seen a lot of longstanding issues exacerbated during the tornado and then following COVID-19,” Mott said, noting how she’s seen gaps in opportunity, access to resources and wage disparities worsen in her lifetime. “So I want to bring resources and opportunity back to the district.”
One such resource, which Mott considers a top priority in her district and the city, is affordable housing.
“It is getting very, very difficult for people to rent, which a good portion of my district are people who rent,” she said. “So I’m very, very concerned about where we’re headed with the improvements that are going to be made in the district how that can impact housing.”