Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will not seek reelection.
The Democratic official, who is a supporter of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, did not specify a reason for her departure but said Thursday she is “not yet certain of what the future holds” pertaining to another bid for public office.
“My faith teaches me that to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose,” Bottoms said in a statement. “Nearly five years ago, I entered a season of seeking to become Mayor of Atlanta — the city that generations of my family have called home for over 100 years.”
ATLANTA MAYOR GOES FROM STAR TO SCAPEGOAT AS VIOLENCE SURGES
“As Derek and I have given thoughtful prayer and consideration to the season now before us, it is with deep emotions that I hold my head high, and choose not to seek another term as Mayor,” she continued.
Bottoms listed her accomplishments during her five-year tenure, including barring local police from assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, and campaigning for Biden before he assumed office Jan. 20.
She was slated to be reelected mayor, she argued, citing “multiple credible polls,” and said she has never “cowarded from the competition.”
The move came as a shock to many, as she accrued over $500,000 during a joint fundraiser with Biden in March.
“For our state, it means doing all in my power to work against the backwards policies pushed by some of our state leaders, including to restore the integrity of what some have tried to strip from us all, the sacred right to vote,” she said of her choice to resign. “For our country, it means working to advance the agenda of the Biden-Harris Administration.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Bottoms has faced backlash for rising crime in the Atlanta area and past statements in which she vowed to defund law enforcement following the May 25, 2020, death of George Floyd.
