Atlanta City Council member Keisha Sean Waites announced on Monday that she will resign from her citywide post to launch a bid for Fulton County Superior Court clerk.
Waites was elected in 2021 to serve in one of Atlanta City Council’s at-large seats — which represent all of Atlanta’s neighborhoods — and would have served through January 2026.
On Monday, Waites said Georgia law requires her to step down immediately from her current post.
“It’s time to move on and expand the work that we’ve done here in the city of Atlanta to all of Fulton County,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution following her announcement.
Prior to her position on council, Waites served three terms in the Georgia House of Representatives representing District 60, which includes southeast Atlanta, Hapeville, Forest Park, East Point and College Park.
She resigned from the statehouse in 2017 when she ran for the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, but ultimately lost to Robb Pitts.
After that, Waites launched a series of bids to serve in Congress. First, she ran a campaign for the U.S. House District 13 seat in 2020 and then for the U.S. House District 5 special election that same year.
Waites said her decision to run for the open Post-3 at-large position at City Hall was an effort to enact statewide policies she was promoting under the Gold Dome on a local level.
“We were dealing with some issues such as violent crime,” she said of her time on council. “And I saw an opportunity to take the work that we started over across the street and bring it here — I also figured out that all issues really are local.”
Although Waites is unable to continue legislative business, she said staff in her office will continue to respond to constituents through the election of a new council member.
Waites’ vacant seat will be filled through a special election that’s required to be called by council within 15 days of her resignation.
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