Mayor Bottoms reflects on terms as Atlanta mayor, looks to the future during final press conference
ATLANTA - As her time in office draws to a close, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms now turns her attention to the 2022 Election and two key state races.
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"I will do everything in my power and my ability to make sure Senator Warnock is re-elected and Stacey Abrams is elected governor," Mayor Bottoms told reporters during a news conference Monday.
As Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Bottoms will spend the next year working on the two high-profile races but hasn't ruled out a return to politics down the road.
"We will see what the future holds," Bottoms said. "I will never say never."
Bottoms, considered a rising star in Democratic politics, campaigned heavily for President Joe Biden and was considered a contender for Vice President.
Bottoms said she passed on an opportunity to join the Biden administration during her tenure, but noted the city has benefited from her relationship with the president.
"I am very thankful I was able to finish my term as Mayor. That was a huge part of my consideration. Stepping out of my term and who would lead our city, and I'm grateful I've been able to see it to the end."
Bottoms said she leaves office having achieved everything she set out to accomplish and praised her team for shepherding the city through the pandemic.
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The mayor leaves office amid an effort by a faction of Buckhead residents and business leaders to break off from the city of Atlanta. Bottoms believes the effort is politically motivated, a personal attack by Republican operatives.
"I know it's not this new notion," said Bottoms, "but you have this outsider who has come in and worked every single day and raised money to divide our city, someone who has not even been in our city five years. I think the seeds of it were politically driven, and I think the seeds of it had a lot to do with my pushing back against Donald Trump and his administration."
Monday evening, Buckhead City Committee CEO Bill White sent FOX 5 a response to the mayor's remarks writing:
"Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will go down as the most ineffective, unqualified, and yes, most dangerous mayor in City of Atlanta history. First, she blamed the former President for the deadly crime spike in Buckhead and the rest of Atlanta. When that didn’t stick, the mayor blamed COVID-19. Then, Mayor Bottoms made a final embarrassing swat at Governor Kemp for opening Georgia too early.
"The Buckhead City movement started well before I was asked to be involved in April 2021. Mayor Bottoms announced her decision not to run again in May 2021. If our goal was to get her out, why would we still be working 24/7 for cityhood?
"Mayor Bottoms’ comments regarding my motivations are absurd. Saying our efforts are about punishing her and not about improving the overall quality of life in Buckhead to what it was when I first met Bryan here 21 years ago, respecting our law enforcement, enforcing laws, paving our roads, lowering our taxes, and protecting our tree canopy, goes beyond insulting me. It’s yet another slap in the face to the 70% of Buckhead residents who have had enough of Atlanta City Hall.
"Mayor Bottoms, like Mayor-Elect Andre Dickens, resoundingly lost Buckhead in their elections and have no interest in addressing the issues going on here. Governor Kemp already had to come in and do Mayor Bottoms’ job by providing safety and security with the Georgia State Patrol, DNR and the Georgia Guard, while she kept City Hall closed and vacationed on Martha’s Vineyard.
"Support for Buckhead City continues to surge because of Mayor Bottoms’ failed policies and unkept promises. I’m not surprised that on her way out the door she’s more focused on herself and taking cheap shots at me instead of doing the job she was elected to do."
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