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Keisha Lance Bottoms

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Keisha Lance Bottoms
File:Keisha Lance Bottoms (cropped).jpg
60th Mayor of Atlanta
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 2, 2018
Preceded byKasim Reed
Member of the Atlanta City Council
from the 11th district
In office
January 4, 2010 – January 2, 2018
Preceded byJim Maddox
Succeeded byMarci Collier Overstreet
Personal details
Born
Keisha Lance

(1970-01-18) January 18, 1970 (age 54)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseDerek Bottoms
Children4
Parent
EducationFlorida A&M University (BA)
Georgia State University (JD)
WebsiteOfficial website

Keisha Lance Bottoms (born January 18, 1970)[1] is an American politician and lawyer who is the 60th and current Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. She was elected mayor in 2017. Prior to becoming mayor, she was a member of the Atlanta City Council, representing part of Southwest Atlanta.[2]

Early life and education

Bottoms was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 18, 1970, to mother Sylvia Robinson and father R&B singer-songwriter Major Lance.[3][4] She was raised in Atlanta.[5]

Bottoms is a graduate of Frederick Douglass High School, Florida A&M University, and Georgia State University College of Law (1994).[6][7]

Career

She was elected as mayor in 2017, after receiving a plurality of votes (26%) in a crowded field of candidates on Election Day, then defeating fellow City Council member Mary Norwood in the subsequent runoff election.[8][9]

Bottoms was investigated during the mayoral election for several lump payments to campaign staff totaling over $180,000 that were not properly reported according to state law.[10] In October 2017, she voluntarily returned $25,700 in campaign contributions she had received from PRAD Group, an engineering contractor whose office had been raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation the previous month.[11] On November 4, 2017, she called on the attorney general of Georgia to investigate fake robocalls made in her name, which her campaign said were laden with racist overtones and were made primarily in white neighborhoods of Atlanta.[12]

The Atlanta Mayor declared the city was a "welcoming city" and "will remain open and welcoming to all" following President Trump's actions regarding refugees in the United States.[13] In 2018, Bottoms signed an executive order forbidding the city jail to hold ICE detainees.[14] In July 2019, Bottoms said: "Our city does not support ICE. We don't have a relationship with the U.S. Marshal[s] Service. We closed our detention center to ICE detainees, and we would not pick up people on an immigration violation."[15]

In June 2019, Bottoms announced her endorsement of Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[16] In March 2020, Politico reported her as a possible Vice Presidential pick for Biden.[17]

Bottoms strongly rebuked Georgia Governor Brian Kemp after he announced the reopening of Georgia businesses in April 2020, stating that it was too early in the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]

Atlanta City Hall in March 2019

When Atlanta experienced riots in the wake of the death of George Floyd, Bottoms condemned those involved in the riots,[19][20] but later expressed optimism while speaking to demonstrators at a protest in Atlanta saying: "there is something better on the other side of this."[21] She also repeatedly condemned Donald Trump for "making it worse" and stoking racial tensions,[21][22] and encouraged people to vote saying: "If you want change in America, go and register to vote. That is the change we need in this country."[23] In June 2020, many officers of the Atlanta Police Department went on strike to protest the charges brought against the officers involved in the killing of Rayshard Brooks.[24] Mayor Bottoms said that APD morale "is down ten-fold".[25]

Mayor Bottoms is the only mayor in Atlanta's history to have served in all three branches of government, serving as a judge and City Councilmember before being sworn in as Mayor.[26]

Personal life

In October 1994, Keisha Lance married Derek W. Bottoms at the Ben Hill United Methodist Church, in Atlanta. They had met three years earlier during their first year as fellow students at Georgia State University College of Law. After unsuccessful attempts to conceive biologically, they adopted their four children: three sons and a daughter.[27]

Derek Bottoms works as the vice president of employment practices and associate relations for The Home Depot, which is Atlanta-based. He joined the company in 2000, after spending over five years at the law firm Powell Goldstein. He has served as a board member for several foundations.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Atlanta City Council - Regular Meeting - Jan 19, 2016" (PDF). atlantaga.gov. p. 73. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  2. ^ "Class Actions". College of Law. April 8, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  3. ^ "Keisha Lance Bottoms". Keisha Lance Bottoms. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  4. ^ Jim Galloway, Political Insider. "Politics, parents and candidates with sabotaged childhoods". ajc. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  5. ^ Shah, Khushbu (May 17, 2020). "Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on the Arbery killing and Biden's vice-president pick". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  6. ^ "Keisha Lance Bottoms for Atlanta Mayor". Keisha Lance Bottoms. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  7. ^ "Mayor Bottoms (J.D. '94): 'Georgia State Helped Create a Work Ethic In Me'". Georgia State University News Hub. Atlanta, Georgia: Georgia State University. March 1, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  8. ^ "Bottoms, Norwood in runoff for Atlanta mayor". WAGA Fox 5. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  9. ^ Gehlbach, Steve (December 21, 2017). "Mary Norwood concedes defeat in Atlanta mayoral race". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  10. ^ Deere, Stephen; Klepal, Dan. "Atlanta mayoral race: Bottoms campaign disclosures under scrutiny". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  11. ^ "Atlanta mayoral candidate to return donation from embattled contractor". myajc. October 2, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  12. ^ "Lance Bottoms calls on Attorney General to investigate fake robocalls days ahead of election". WXIA. November 4, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  13. ^ "As Trump enacts ban on refugees, Atlanta doubles down as a 'welcoming city'". SaportaReport. January 30, 2017.
  14. ^ "Mayor signs executive order to remove ICE detainees from city jail". WSB-TV. September 6, 2018.
  15. ^ "U.S. Cities Prepare for Planned ICE Raids". NPR. July 13, 2019.
  16. ^ Branigin, Anne (June 29, 2019). "Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Endorses Joe Biden for President". The Root. Retrieved January 21, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ "Biden squeezed on his most critical decision: His VP pick". Politico. March 17, 2020.
  18. ^ Rahman, Khaleda (April 28, 2020). "Atlanta mayor rebukes Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for opening businesses: 'We can't sit by...while people die'". Newsweek. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  19. ^ "Mayor, police chief denounce 'anarchists' and 'terrorists' who destroyed city; curfew begins at 9 p.m." Atlanta INtown. May 30, 2020.
  20. ^ Seipel, Brooke (May 29, 2020). "Atlanta mayor condemns violent protests in fiery speech: 'If you love this city go home'". The Hill. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  21. ^ a b Cole, Devan (June 5, 2020). "Atlanta mayor to George Floyd protesters: 'There is something better on the other side of this'". CNN. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  22. ^ Duster, Chandelis. "Atlanta mayor on Trump: He should just stop talking". CNN. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  23. ^ Cohen, Seth. "Atlanta's Keisha Lance Bottoms Is the Mayor and Mother America Needs Right Now". Forbes. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  24. ^ Brumback, Kate (June 18, 2020). "Atlanta police call out sick to protest charges in shooting". AP News. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020.
  25. ^ "Atlanta police department morale "is down ten-fold," Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says". CBS News. June 18, 2020.
  26. ^ "Meet the Mayor | Atlanta, GA". www.atlantaga.gov. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  27. ^ a b Godwin, Becca J. G. "Who is Derek Bottoms, husband of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms?". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Atlanta
2018–present 		Incumbent

Template:Georgia (U.S. state) cities and mayors of 100,000 population

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