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Atlanta
Mayor
Keisha
Lance
Bottoms
won’t
run for
reelection
By
J.D.
Capelouto,
Wilborn
Nobles,
Greg
Bluestein
ajc.com
ATLANTA,
GA - In
a
stunning
announcement
Thursday
night,
Atlanta
Mayor
Keisha
Lance
Bottoms
said she
will not
run for
reelection
this
year.
Bottoms
announced
she will
not seek
a second
term
during a
private
call
with
friends,
staffers
and
allies,
according
to two
people
who were
on the
call and
several
others
who were
told
about
it. She
released
a
statement
and
video
around
10:30
p.m.
elaborating
on her
decision
and her
record
as
Atlanta’s
60th
mayor.
“As
(husband)
Derek
and I
have
given
thoughtful
prayer
and
consideration
to the
season
now
before
us, it
is with
deep
emotions
that I
hold my
head
high,
and
choose
not to
seek
another
term as
mayor,”
said
Bottoms,
who has
scheduled
a 10
a.m.
press
conference
Friday
at City
Hall.
The
move is
a
shocking
reversal
for
Bottoms,
a mayor
with a
rising
national
profile
who had
launched
her
reelection
campaign
and held
a
fundraising
event
featuring
President
Joe
Biden.
The
decision
creates
a
wide-open
mayor’s
race
this
year,
and is
likely
to open
the door
for a
slew of
new
candidates.
The
March
fundraiser
with
Biden,
which
was the
first
headlined
by the
president
since
taking
office,
raised
over
$500,000
for
Bottoms’
reelection
bid — a
sign of
her
strong
financial
standing
and
national
political
connections.
ExploreMedia,
Biden
endorsement
raises
Atlanta
Mayor
Bottoms’
national
profile
Although
widely
popular,
Bottoms
has
received
criticism
over her
handling
of
public
safety
following
a rise
in
violent
crime in
the
city.
“People
are
entitled
to their
opinions,
but
don’t
ever
question
whether
or not I
care,”
she said
at a
press
conference
this
week
focused
on
crime.
“My love
for this
city is
deeper
than
probably
many
others
standing
here
because
my
family
goes
back 100
years in
the
city. So
whether
I am
mayor of
this
city or
not, I
will do
everything
that I
can
possibly
do to
keep our
communities
safe.”
Mayor
Keisha
Lance
Bottoms
speaks
during
the
ribbon
cutting
ceremony
for a
new
At-Promise
Center
on
Thursday,
April 1,
2021.
CHRISTINA
MATACOTTA
FOR THE
ATLANTA
JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION.
Mayor
Keisha
Lance
Bottoms
speaks
during
the
ribbon
cutting
ceremony
for a
new
At-Promise
Center
on
Thursday,
April 1,
2021.
CHRISTINA
MATACOTTA
FOR THE
ATLANTA
JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION.
Credit:
Christina
Matacotta
Credit:
Christina
Matacotta
City
Council
President
Felicia
Moore
and
Dentons
attorney
Sharon
Gay
launched
campaigns
for
mayor
earlier
this
year,
and
Councilman
Antonio
Brown
could
also
run.
Four
years
ago, 11
candidates
vied to
replace
two-term
Mayor
Kasim
Reed, a
race
that
cost
over $10
million.
Rumors
have
swirled
that
Reed is
considering
running
again
for his
old
post. He
said in
an
interview
on KISS
104.1 FM
radio
last
week
that he
was not
planning
to run,
but it’s
unclear
if
Bottoms’
announcement
will
change
that
decision.
Bottoms
wrote in
the
letter
she is
“not yet
certain
of what
the
future
holds,”
and she
is
confident
she
could
win if
she ran
for
reelection.
“It
is my
sincere
hope
that
over the
next
several
months,
a
candidate
for
mayor
will
emerge
whom the
people
of
Atlanta
may
entrust
to lead
our
beloved
city to
its next
and best
chapter,”
she
wrote.
Bottoms,
who
served
on the
City
Council
for
eight
years,
was
elected
in 2017
in a
razor-thin
runoff
against
Mary
Norwood.
Atlanta
Mayor
Keisha
Lance
Bottoms
talks
with
then-President-Elect
Joe
Biden
following
his
remarks
during a
rally in
December
2020.
(Alyssa
Pointer
/
Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com)
Atlanta
Mayor
Keisha
Lance
Bottoms
talks
with
then-President-Elect
Joe
Biden
following
his
remarks
during a
rally in
December
2020.
(Alyssa
Pointer
/
Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com)
Credit:
Alyssa
Pointer
/
Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com
Credit:
Alyssa
Pointer
/
Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com
Her
national
profile
rose
last
year
after
she was
seen as
a
possible
contender
to be
Joe
Biden’s
vice
presidential
candidate.
After
his
election,
advisers
said she
was
offered
a
Cabinet
post,
but
turned
it down
to
continue
serving
as
mayor.
During
her
tenure,
Bottoms
heralded
her
administration’s
work on
social
justice
and
affordable
housing
issues.
Months
into her
term,
City
Hall was
hit with
a
massive
cyber
attack,
all
while a
federal
corruption
investigation
into
members
of
Reed’s
administration
widened.
Her
term was
also
marked
by the
coronavirus
pandemic
and
widespread
protests
over
racism
and
police
brutality.
She
received
widespread
praise
for
remarks
she made
last May
after
demonstrations
turned
violent
in
downtown
Atlanta.
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