FORMER ATLANTA MAYOR TO JOIN BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is joining the Biden administration, taking over for Cedric L. Richmond as the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, according to a White House official with knowledge of the move, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to confirm it.
Bottoms told Axios, which first reported the news, that she planned to do “more listening than anything” in her new role, in which she will be responsible for coordinating “twoway dialogue” about challenges and policies between the White House and communities around country.
“It’s important that people feel their voices are reflected and their voices are heard,” Bottoms told the the outlet.
Bottoms is seen as a rising star in Democratic politics and had been on the shortlist of candidates considered for President Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020. It came as a surprise to many when she announced last year that she would not be seeking reelection as Atlanta mayor and said, at the time, that she was “not yet certain of what the future holds.”
Both Bottoms and Richmond were among Biden’s earliest supporters in his presidential campaign and later highprofile campaign surrogates.
Richmond, one of Biden’s closest political allies, left his role in the spring to become a senior adviser at the Democratic National Committee, to help Democrats raise money and to act as a liaison between the DNC and the White House leading up to the midterm elections. Richmond agreed to take on that role at Biden’s request.