Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will not run for reelection
Keisha Lance Bottoms will not run for reelection as mayor of Atlanta.
Bottoms, who was elected in 2017 and was expected to cruise to a second term, announced her decision Thursday night in a video and statement.
The 51-year-old rose to national prominence in 2020, endorsing Joe Biden early in the presidential election cycle and helping the Democrat win Georgia in November. She was reportedly under consideration to be Biden’s running mate at one point.
Bottoms also drew national attention for her response to the police killing of Rayshard Brooks in the city and massive Black Lives Matter protests throughout last summer.
“That could have been any one of us,” she said of Brooks in June. “That could be any of our kids or brothers. In this case it was: It was someone’s father.”
Bottoms announced a reelection campaign in January, and held a fundraiser with Biden in March, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. It was the first such event headlined by Biden after his inauguration and raised $500,000.
While Bottoms plans to finish her term, her next move is unknown. She said she turned down a cabinet position in Biden’s administration.
As for Bottoms’ replacement, Atlanta City Council president Felicia Moore announced a mayoral campaign in late January, but the field remained somewhat shallow despite several rumored candidates, according to the AJC. Kasim Reed, the mayor from 2010 to 2018, has denied rumors that he’ll enter the race.
