Bottoms bets statewide appeal will outweigh skepticism on her home turf

Negative opinions over Bottoms’ time in office loom over her campaign for governor. Many inside City Hall say they were surprised when Bottoms launched her statewide bid years after her sudden announcement that she wouldn’t seek reelection as mayor.

As mayor, Bottoms struggled to navigate Atlanta through a deadly pandemic and incendiary protests against police violence. Her decision not to run again made her the first Atlanta mayor in modern day history not to seek a second term — a move still questioned five years later.

The week ahead of the primary, Bottoms made a flurry of campaign stops statewide to rally support in places like Macon, Augusta, Savannah, Albany, Thomasville and Valdosta. On a visit in Columbus, Bottoms seemed unfazed by the criticism inside Atlanta. “City Hall is a tiny place,” she said.

“I’m concerned about everyday people, not political insiders — I never have been,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Maybe if I were more concerned about insiders, life would have been easier. But this is what fuels me: talking to regular people, not political insiders.”

Felicia Moore, who was City Council president during Bottoms’ administration, was a critic of the mayor and first to jump into the crowded mayoral field after Bottoms announced she wouldn’t run for reelection.

She said, at the time, the lines of communication between City Council and the mayor’s office were fractured.

“My inability to connect and collaborate with her was one of the biggest challenges that I felt as president,” she said.

Some in City Hall have come to Bottoms’ aid, like longtime Council member Andrea Boone.

Boone, who has endorsed Bottoms, praised how the mayor shepherded the city through the pandemic and her efforts to bolster community services like her early support of the city’s At-Promise Youth Center that aims to curb youth crime.

“Mayor Bottoms really brought people together when it was tough,” she said. “It was tough during COVID, and she led during those times. And I’m confident she is the leader that Georgia needs at this moment.”

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

But other Democratic candidates running for governor are quick to point out the support they’ve also earned from Atlanta politicians.

“I think when Georgians look at these endorsements, they’re going to find it interesting that the folks in Atlanta who have worked with Mayor Bottoms and have worked with me, they’re either endorsing me or they’re saying silent,” former state Sen. Jason Esteves told the AJC. “I think that says a lot about each one of our records.”

Esteves is endorsed by former City Council President Doug Shipman and former Council member Amir Farokhi and current Council members Dustin Hillis, Eshé Collins and Jason Dozier. Hillis and Farokhi are the only ones who served on the council when Bottoms was mayor.

But Esteves and other candidates who are focused on campaigning inside metro Atlanta will likely need to work to bolster their name recognition elsewhere in the state if they make it past the primary.

Recent polling by the AJC shows Bottoms has a significant lead in the race with 39% support among likely Democratic primary voters — far ahead of former DeKalb County Chief Executive Michael Thurmond at 10%, Esteves at 8% and former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan at 7%.

The Bottoms campaign pushes back against the significance of her spotty support inside City Hall, arguing it doesn’t translate to support from metro Atlanta voters and points to crowds she’s garnered at events like a visit to Atlanta’s infamous Cascade skating rink and during the city’s 404 Day celebrations.

And the former mayor does have high-profile support outside of City Hall that’s helping bolster her bid. Her campaign received a boost in the final weeks before the primary when former President Joe Biden released a video endorsing her.

Bottoms previously served as a senior adviser to Biden and was even floated as a potential pick for vice president. The pair worked closely together when she oversaw the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

But her reputation inside City Hall is already the target of blistering attacks from Republicans gubernatorial candidates who are preparing to come face-to-face with her in November. They are particularly focusing on the city’s high violent crime rates during the pandemic and violent protests downtown during nationwide unrest.

And some of those who worked alongside her remember not just her public battles with President Donald Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp over pandemic restrictions but also lapses in the city’s day-to-day operations.

“As mayor, she didn’t purchase a single fire apparatus her entire four years in office,” said Hillis, who has been leading a scramble to bolster the city’s fire fleet. Hillis was first elected to the City Council in 2018 alongside Bottoms when she became mayor.

The Bottoms campaign pushed back against that characterization of the mayor’s public safety investments saying that under her administration, the city’s police and firefighters recieved “historic pay raises.”

He also pointed to a successful effort by the council to override her mayoral veto of legislation to transfer Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway to state control in exchange for safety improvements. It was the first vote of its kind in more than a decade. At the time, the stretch of roadway was plagued by pedestrian deaths.

“(Bottoms’ lead in the race) has been somewhat surprising to me, being someone on the inside of her four-year term as mayor and seeing all she didn’t accomplish,” he said.

Hillis is among the small group of council members who have endorsed in the race and backed Esteves.

“Jason is young, he’s energetic and I feel like we need a fresh person in the governor’s seat,” he said.

Boone disagrees. She points to Bottoms’ background working as a prosecutor, then a judge, as well as her time as both a council member and mayor.

“I think people look at what she’s been through and they say, ‘Wow, this is a strong woman,’” the council member said.

Credit: Riley Bunch/riley.bunch@ajc.com

Credit: Riley Bunch/riley.bunch@ajc.com

Moore suspects Bottoms might find an edge outside of Georgia’s capital. But she will have to overcome criticism of her record if she wants to win the general election, she said.

“And when you have people who are outside of Atlanta who hear new things about her, it may give them some pause,” Moore said. “She will have to have a message that will reassure people and address some of those concerns.”

During a statewide tour this week, Bottoms touted her City Hall record, including millions put toward affordable housing, expanding prearrest diversion services and ending the city jail’s contract with federal immigration enforcement.

Support from voters like 69-year-old Gloria Tyson, who hosted Bottoms at her child care center in Columbus, could make the difference in whether a Republican or Democrat sits in the governor’s office for the next four years.

“Thank you for being a wonderful mayor of Atlanta,” said Tyson. “I follow you and what you did as mayor of Atlanta. That was a super job.”