The Atlanta Voice has learned that the 60th Mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms will not run for re-election next year. On a phone call to supporters, Bottoms will finish her term and will continue to fight for Atlanta and the principles she believes in.
In 2017, Bottoms became the second Black woman to serve as Atlanta’s mayor, after beating Mary Norwood in a contentious race. Eleven people ran for Mayor.
There is a 10:00 AM press conference scheduled for Friday morning, however, the Mayor’s office has remained mum regarding details.
Rumors on social media and in Atlanta’s political circles have ran rampant that former Mayor Kasim Reed is considering running again for his old post. He said in an interview on KISS 104.1 FM radio that he was not planning to run. However, it is unclear if Bottoms’s decision has changed Reed’s outlook.
During her tenure, Bottoms combated the coronavirus, criticized Georgia Governor Brian Kemp for his executive actions regarding the state’s handling of the pandemic, even beat back a lawsuit from the Governor’s office, oversaw a successful staging of Super Bowl LIII, and in her first year, signed an executive order stopping the acceptance of detainees from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Bottoms is the only mayor in Atlanta’s history to have served in all three branches of government, serving as a judge and City Council member before being sworn in as Mayor.
Bottoms is a product of Atlanta Public Schools and graduated from Frederick Douglass High School. She received her undergraduate degree from Florida A&M University. She earned her Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University College of Law.
