Veteran Atlanta Councilwoman Natalyn Mosby Archibong launched a bid for City Council president Monday, saying she is uniquely qualified to lead the city’s legislative body.
Archibong, who has represented an Eastside district on the Council since 2002, is vying for a seat that will be open in November since current Council President Felicia Moore is running for mayor against incumbent Keisha Lance Bottoms.
In an interview, Archibong said she sees the council president role as a natural next step. She hopes to bring her community organizing and advocacy experience to a citywide post, she said.
“I really am a daughter of Atlanta, and I care deeply about our city,” said Archibong, who lives in East Atlanta. “I am someone who will get the job done in a way that will make our city proud.”
Archibong, whose district includes the neighborhoods of Edgewood, Kirkwood, East Atlanta and East Lake, is currently serving her fifth term on Council. She filed legal paperwork Monday to raise money to run in the citywide council president race.
She said her greatest accomplishments on Council include establishing the city’s Housing Commission and a small business advisory council. She said her knowledge of local issues, relationships with other councilors and ties to the city as an Atlanta Public Schools parent make her well-suited to step into the council president role.
“Spending the time that I’ve spent on Council, I can say that I’m a subject matter expert,” said Archibong, who currently chairs the Council’s City Utilities committee.
The council president is in charge of leading meetings and serves as mayor if the mayor leaves their post. The president cannot introduce legislation, and only votes in the event of a tie. As president, Archibong said, she would work to bolster communication between the City Council and the public, and its relationship with the mayor’s office.
“I’m going to do my best to strengthen that connective tissue between the Council and the public,” she said.
A former education activist and business association president in East Atlanta, Archibong currently works as an attorney. At least two candidates, Liliana Bakhtiari and Mandy Mahoney, launched campaigns for Archibong’s seat before she announced her bid for council president.
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