Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is engaged to developer Sarah-Elizabeth Langford and the couple is expecting their first child, a spokeswoman for the mayor announced Monday.
Reed, 44, proposed to Langford, 35, while vacationing in the Bahamas last weekend, officials said.
“I could not feel more blessed that she agreed to marry me, and we look forward to building a family together in the greatest city in America,” Reed said in a statement Monday morning. “I am honored to have our friends and family share this special moment with us and I ask that our privacy is respected as we celebrate this personal occasion.”
Reed’s announcement is a surprising departure from his typically quiet stance on personal matters. And it brings rare attention to his private life, which until now has largely been the grist of gossip blogs and watercooler chatter, yet is rarely discussed by the mainstream media.
Monday’s news comes after months of speculation that Reed, elected to his second term as mayor last fall, and Langford are expecting a child and planning to wed.
Langford is the daughter of two prominent Atlantans: former City Attorney Susan Pease Langford and the late State Sen. Arthur Langford, for whom several Atlanta landmarks are named.
A former Miss District of Columbia, Langford is also a graduate of the University of Michigan and Howard University School of Law, Reed’s alma mater.
She’s now employed by National Church Residences, a senior housing nonprofit, and through NCR has worked with the City of Atlanta on housing developments, according to documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through an open records request.
The nonprofit built Betmar Village, a senior apartment community near Lakewood Fairgrounds, with a $3.6 million tax-exempt bond in 2012 issued by Invest Atlanta — the city’s economic development arm. No city funds were involved in that deal, officials said, as the bonds are repaid by revenue from the project.
Attempts to reach Langford were unsuccessful Monday.
Just three months ago, Ambassador Andrew Young publicly urged Reed to propose to his long-time public girlfriend. It’s unknown when the couple plans to wed. The marriage will be the first for both.
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