Atlanta Democratic Mayor Andre Dickens drew criticism Thursday after telling constituent Jonathan Brimer to "shut up" when Brimer pressed the mayor on voter-approved transit and pedestrian-safety commitments.The exchange began after Dickens posted a video on his Instagram last Friday showing his visit with Nature Gurlz, an Atlanta group that encourages Black women to spend time outdoors.Brimer responded to the post by pressing the mayor on transportation priorities."Have some fun by restoring Peachtree St’s pedestrian-centric design in downtown and by delivering what we voted for with extra sales taxes for MARTA by getting Beltline rail done," Brimer said.VIOLENT TRANSIT ATTACKS IN ATLANTA, NEW YORK AND CHARLOTTE FUEL CALLS FOR TOUGHER TRACKING OF REPEAT OFFENDERSAtlanta Mayor Andre Dickens faced criticism after his Instagram account told constituent Jonathan Brimer to "shut up" over a request involving pedestrian improvements and Beltline rail.(AP Photo/Ben Gray)"Shut up and respect our legacy Black women residents that made this city that you get to enjoy freely," Dickens replied.In a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Thursday, Brimer said he was surprised Dickens responded and even more surprised by the nature of the reply."I wasn’t expecting him to agree with me, but I also wasn’t expecting the mayor to tell a constituent to ‘shut up’ for raising a policy concern," Brimer said.Fox News Digital asked Dickens' office on Thursday whether the mayor personally posted the response, whether he stood by it and whether he planned to apologize.
The office declined to comment."Not weighing in on that at all," a spokesperson for the mayor’s office told Fox News Digital.MAN FACING FEDERAL CHARGES AFTER ATLANTA TRAIN PASSENGER STABBED ABOUT 20 TIMES, FBI INVESTIGATINGDickens’ Instagram video showed him visiting Nature Gurlz before Brimer questioned the mayor’s transportation priorities in the comments.(AP Photo/Ben Gray)Brimer said his comment was ai...