*Some folks will say they didn’t see it coming, while others will say it came as no surprise. We’re talking about the sudden, shocking Thursday evening announcement from Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms that she will NOT seek a second term.
Bottoms revealed that she will not seek a second term as Atlanta’s 60th mayor 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.
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Here’s more via AJC.com:
The mayor has scheduled a 10 a.m. press conference Friday at City Hall, though her office did not provide any details about the subject. A spokesperson for the mayor did not respond to requests for comment Thursday evening.
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.
On the other hand, in spite of her popularity, it may time to move on because she’s received a lot of incoming 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.”
