When former Vice President Joe Biden declined to select Keisha Lance Bottoms as his running mate, another discussion quickly ensued: Would the president-elect tap Atlanta’s popular first-term mayor for a cabinet or senior-level staff position?
The city may learn the answer to that question before Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20. And it could dramatically alter the local political landscape, by moving one of Georgia’s most recognizable political figures out of Atlanta City Hall and to Washington, D.C.
Any appointment of Bottoms to a Biden administration would also have the effect of placing City Council President Felicia Moore in the mayor’s office for the remainder of her term, and create a wide-open 2021 mayoral race.
Past president elects have announced most of their cabinet nominees before they are sworn into office, so they can undergo extensive U.S. Senate confirmation process, said John C. Fortier, the director of governmental studies for the Washington D.C.-based Bipartisan Policy Center.
And presidential transition teams perform rigorous background checks of finances, tax returns, potential conflicts of interest, foreign contacts and more to help ensure a smooth confirmation, Fortier said.
Bottoms has already endured the background check process over the summer, when she was considered as Biden’s potential running mate.
“It terms of who you send to the senate (for confirmation), I’m thinking that VP vetting would be helpful,” Fortier said.
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution a few days before the election, Bottoms said a position in the Biden administration isn’t her focus: “If they are contemplating putting me in a cabinet position, or asking me to join the cabinet, that’s a conversation that’s happening with other people right now.”
Nationally, discussion has swirled around Bottoms being a potential nominee, with the New York Times and Politico dropping her name, among others, as a potential Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Bottoms campaigned for mayor in 2017 on an ambitious plan to create $1 billion for affordable housing by 2026, but only accomplished a fraction of that from development that has occurred during her first term.
In February, the administration put forward legislation for a $100 million housing bond, but temporarily shelved it because of the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday, during a local press briefing, Bottoms said Biden’s transition team had yet to reach out to her about any potential position. However, she did not rule out the possibility.
“I would never say never," Bottoms said. "But I have nothing before me to consider. I have not gotten any calls from them.”
Her name on every list
For the past 18 months, Bottoms has proved herself as one of Biden’s most effective surrogates, endorsing him early and then remaining at his side when his campaigned appeared all but dead.
After he won the nomination, her name appeared on virtually every shortlist for his vice presidential pick.
Bottoms told MSNBC that Biden called her on the day he announced U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate.
“I was obviously personally disappointed when I got the call,” she said. “But that being said, I am absolutely thrilled that it is Kamala Harris, and I think it is an important choice for so many reasons. It highlights the diversity of our country.”
Columbia S.C. Mayor Steve Benjamin, a past president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, told the AJC last month that Atlanta’s mayor would be a strong contender for spot in the Biden administration.
Biden has praised the mayor, calling her “incredible” for her handling of public protests over the summer in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. Harris also is familiar with Bottoms, having endorsed her during a crowded 2017 mayoral election.
However, Bottoms has also been involved in a campaign finance controversy that could be part of a conversation about her working for Biden.
The Georgia state ethics committee has accused the Bottoms campaign of accepting $382,773 in contributions from individuals that exceeded the maximum limit allowable under state law.
David Emadi, executive director of the ethics commission, has said Bottoms' campaign is refusing to cooperate with the investigation and is defying the subpoena — an allegation the Bottoms campaign disputes. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for December 10.
“You can’t have people ignoring subpoenas,” said Richard Painter, a professor of corporate law at the University of Minnesota who served as President George W. Bush’s chief ethics officer.
Potential power vacuum
A loss of Atlanta’s mayor would create a scramble to fill the power vacuum in 2021.
The city saw a similar non-partisan mayoral election in 2017, after Kasim Reed’s second term. That race featured 14 candidates who collectively raised and spent a record $10 million. Six candidates each raised more than $1 million individually.
Bottoms and former councilwoman Mary Norwood qualified for a runoff election, with Bottoms eking out an 832-vote win.
Bottoms has publicly declared that she intends to run for re-election in Nov. 2021. Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin said Bottoms would be a tough candidate to beat.
“I think she’s popular both locally and nationally,” Franklin said, adding that she assumed that Bottoms would serve the new administration after Biden’s victory.
“Why wouldn’t she?” Franklin said.
But Franklin also said Bottoms relationship with Biden and her soaring national profile have opened up other possibilities that might prove more attractive than her current job, adding that the mayor could take a position in the Democratic Party, join a large law firm, or run for a higher office.
“I think there are numerous options,” Franklin said.
