Why Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms turned down a role in Biden administration

President-elect Joe Biden is paying homage to a lot of Black women who deservedly worked well to get him elected. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is one such name who was offered a position on Biden’s cabinet, but she respectfully declined the offer.

According to AJC, no Georgia Democrat was at the helms of Biden’s campaign than Bottoms. She endorsed him in July, was at the forefront of his Iowa campaign and was very instrumental in spin rooms after Democratic debates.

However, Bottoms did not accept a role in the future president’s administration because she wants to focus on her people in Atlanta, Rashad Taylor, Bottoms’ senior adviser, confirmed without mentioning the specific position the Atlanta mayor was offered.

“Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was honored to have been offered a role in the Cabinet, which she respectfully declined,” Taylor said in a statement.

“The Mayor’s focus remains on the people of Atlanta and the great state of Georgia. Out of respect for the process, and the other candidates under consideration, no additional comment will be forthcoming on this matter at this time,” Taylor added.

Bottoms was at one point vetted as Biden’s vice-presidential nominee, but Kamala Harris was picked by the President-elect as his running mate.

After this snub, rumors said she will lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, nonetheless, U.S. Rep. Marcia L. Fudge, a Democrat from Ohio, was announced as the HUD secretary.

There were also reports among the Georgia democrats that Bottoms was pegged to lead a Cabinet-level Small Business Administration. Some also said that she turned down an ambassadorship position in the Bahamas.

Bottoms, despite being of immense help to Biden’s campaign especially in Georgia, will remain in Georgia in the interest of her people. Recently, the Georgia State University graduate took a strong position against violence during the Atlanta protests over racial injustice and her emotional plea was able to disperse the crowds.

There was a national coverage about her encounter with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp at the peak of the coronavirus with regards to whether she had the authority to implement a mandatory mask policy in Georgia’s largest city.

It is Bottoms’ first term in office, and she intends on running for a second term.