The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
National spotlight follows Bottoms
Coronavirus pandemic, protests over police brutality test mayor’s leadership skills as challenges continue to mount.
The coronavirus pandemic and the protests against police brutality
helped cement Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as a national figure worthy of Joe Biden’s con
sideration as a potential running mate. But now both those phenomena are testing Bottoms’ executive leadership skills on a grand stage at a time when the stakes for the city and nation couldn’t be higher.
Weeks after she emerged as a steady and authoritative voice amid chaotic demonstrations that rocked the city, she’s confronting a new spasm of violence, plummeting police morale, growing concerns among residents about unbridled criminal activity and the fraying of her relationship with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp over law and order in the city.
After some attacks on property and looting early on, protests turned more peaceful, especially after she canceled the city’s curfew, a decision by the mayor that
seemed to ease tensions between demonstrators and police.
But a recent surge in coronavirus cases threatens to strain the city’s healthcare system even as it challenges her in a deeply personal way: She disclosed this week that she tested positive for the virus, putting another face on a pandemic that has afflicted millions.
How Bottoms handles these dilemmas will determine her political future in Georgia and in the nation’s most blinding spotlight. As her profile grows, she has drawn a mix of praise, criticism and sympathy from locals who have watched Bottoms transform from a little-known City Council member to a national figure just three years into her first term as mayor.
‘I don’t spend a lot of time on this’
“It’s a brutal situation to be in,” said Justin Bleeker, executive director of Grove Park Renewal Inc., a community nonprofit focused on stabilizing housing costs for low-income residents in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. “I don’t envy her at all.”
Bottoms said the buzz about any White House desires, along with the frequent appearances on national TV outlets that go along with the increased fame, haven’t distracted her from her job. She insisted she’s made no conscious effort to lobby for the running-mate role.
“It’s never been my goal. To the extent my name was brought up as a contender, my name was brought up by others. It’s not because I asked for it or bargained for it or negotiated for it,” she said, adding: “I don’t spend a lot of time on this, and I don’t have the luxury of spending a lot of time on it.”
Consider the torrent of news from the past week.
After a spate of violence during the previous weekend that included an attack on the headquarters of the Georgia State Patrol, the governor Monday ordered 1,000 National Guard troops to deploy to government sites across the city over Bottoms’ vocal objection.
The same day, she announced through a social media post that she had contracted the coronavirus, giving her warnings about the pandemic a personal appeal. And on Wednesday, she signed an executive order that required the citywide use of masks — breaking with Kemp’s statewide policy that simply encourages face coverings.
“I can’t imagine anyone else doing a better job,” said Atlanta City Councilwoman Carla Smith, who called Bottoms’ executive order courageous. “She is absolutely looking out for the greater good.”
Also, the city’s police officers have engaged in sickouts to protest a string of decisions that union leaders say undermines their public safety roles, including the resignation of Chief Erika Shields and Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard’s decision to charge two officers in a recent fatal police shooting and six other officers allegedly involved in the illegal tasing of two college students during the protests.
Johnny Martinez, owner of two bars on Edgewood Avenue, which has struggled with recent shootings and violence, predicted that the national attention on Bottoms would only help the city.
“Any discussion of Mayor Bottoms becoming Biden’s choice is only beneficial to anyone in the city,” he said. “This is a time when, quite frankly, she’s going to listen to us more than ever.”
But her handling of another crisis drew some of the sharpest feedback. Protesters, some of them armed, took over the site of a charred Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was slain after a struggle with two Atlanta police officers. During the weekend, an 8-year-old girl was shot and killed at the site, part of this wave of violent crime across the city.
“To have an 8-year-old girl shot down on the streets of Atlanta. My question is, where is the outrage? Seriously, this is unacceptable,” U.S. Sen. David Perdue said. “I applaud the governor for stepping up and bringing out the Guard to bring law and order back.”
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bottoms acknowledged police had planned to clear the area earlier but didn’t do so to give a City Council member and other negotiators more time to broker a compromise with the activists.
The VP buzz
As Biden’s advisers weigh the merits of a short list of contenders, Bottoms’ approach to law enforcement policy, policing and the protests for racial equality will surely be tested.
Above: Above: Right: Above:
Left: