Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore has taken the first step toward a run for mayor in this year’s election.
Moore filed a legal document with the state last week allowing her to raise funds for a mayoral campaign, records show. She would face incumbent Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is gearing up to run for a second term in November and could face several other challengers.
Moore, who has not yet formally launched a campaign, was elected to the citywide council president post in 2017 after being a council member for 20 years. She declined to comment on the filing when reached Monday morning.
Bottoms, who turned down an offer to serve in President Joe Biden’s Cabinet, announced last year she plans to run for reelection. Campaign finance records show she has over $100,000 on hand.
At a press briefing with local media last week, Bottoms said she is expecting a “real race” this year, and is proud of her record as the city’s leader.
“I don’t take anything for granted, just like I didn’t a few years ago,” Bottoms said.
Bottoms and Moore served together on the City Council for eight years, from 2010 to 2018; Bottoms represented a southwest Atlanta district, while Moore’s district included much of northwest Atlanta.
A spokesman for the mayor declined to comment on Moore’s filing Monday.
Formal qualifying for the mayor’s race happens later this year.
It’s not uncommon for Atlanta City Council presidents to launch bids for mayor. The last five council presidents before Moore — including Ceasar Mitchell, Lisa Borders and Cathy Woolard — have all run for mayor. None were successful.
Moore, a licensed real estate broker, lives in the historic Collier Heights community and is a former neighborhood planning unit leader in the area.
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