May 4, 2026 • 29 mins
On this edition of "Leading While Black," BIN's Senior National Anchor Andrea Coleman talks exclusively with the former Mayor of Atlanta and current Gubernatorial candidate for the state of Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Coming up next on the Black Information Network.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
We are better than this. We're better than this as
a city. We are better than this as a country.
Go home, Go home.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
It's been almost six years since Keisha Lant's Bottoms as
mayor of Atlanta, chastised protesters overrunning her beloved city following
the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota in
twenty twenty. Now, after serving in the Biden administration a
few years ago.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
I'm running for governor for Georgia's priced out of their
homes and who can afford healthcare for kids ready to
learn but with nowhere to go? I'm Keisha Lance Bottoms.
We're still here and it's time they heard.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
She's taking aim at the Governor's Office of Georgia. Our
one on one conversation with this national leader who is
looking to become the first woman and first black governor
of Georgia is coming up next.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
From the private sector to public life, These are the
people making a difference in the Black community.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
They are leading wild Black.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
On the Black Information Network, Hello.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
And welcome to Leading While Black, the Black Information Networks
monthly program spotlighting Black leaders in America. I'm Andrea Coleman.
In twenty twenty three, former Atlanta Mayor Kisha Lance Bottoms
dropped out of the public service arena after leaving the
Biden administration. Well, now Mayor Bottoms is back, looking to
do what no other woman or black person has been
able to do in Georgia, that is, be elected to
(01:29):
the state's highest office. Bottoms recently stopped by the iHeart
Atlanta Studios to talk about our hopes for the state
and to explain why she believes she is the best
candidate to take over when Brian Kemp, the current governor,
leaves office next year.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
My mom, my, sister, Oh hello, I sent you.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Yeah, very good, I love it.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Bring your family to work there.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Our interview with Keisha Lance Bottom started with warm introductions
of some of her family members and team members, but
it didn't take long for the conversation to shift to
the magnitude of the effort before her and her preparation
for it.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Right now, you are the leading Democratic candidate. What's been
key to your success so far?
Speaker 3 (02:13):
The grace of God is sufficient, and we've been putting
in the work. We've been moving around the state and
really working to earn the votes of people I'm very
fortunate and that people know me. My name ID in
polling terms is pretty high, it's over ninety percent. But
that's only part of the battle. One is introducing yourself
(02:35):
and then secondly earning the votes. And that's what we've
been moving around the state doing, going to people, meeting
them where they are, talking about the issues that matter
to them most. And the great thing is that when
I'm going into cities and communities, I am getting as
much as I believe I'm giving. Of course, I'm speaking
about myself as a candidate and my platform, but I'm
(02:58):
taking away so much that helping me foreign policies and
perfect policies that hopefully, God willing, I'll have the opportunity
to put in the action when I'm elected governor.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
Now, you have been the mayor of Atlanta. You've also
spent time in Washington, DC as a senior advisor to
former President Joe Biden when he was in office. What
of those experiences prepared you to lead the state of Georgia.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Well, serving and even before I was mayor, I had
the opportunity to serve as a judge, as a city
council member, and as an attorney. But having that leadership experience,
that battle tested leadership experience, has been priceless because I
was mayored during the first Trump administration, so I know
what it's like to have to deal with this White
(03:44):
House and this unpredictable madness that comes with this administration,
and then having the opportunity to serve the President of
the United States. It's one thing to be a leader,
it's another to be a staffer. Seeing that just from
another perspective, but obviously at the highest office in the land,
sitting in the White House every single day, sitting and
(04:07):
a meeting just a couple of steps away from the
doors of the Oval Office, Sitting in the Oval Office,
seeing how things get done, how you deliver for people,
and how you take things and put them into action.
Sitting around the table as a part of the senior
team in the White House really gave me a different
(04:28):
perspective on how you delivered to a cross section of people,
whether they're Democrats Republicans. And the mayor's office is technically
a non partisan office, but I watched the Biden administration
in action deliver for red states and for blue states,
and red communities and blue communities. So it was just
(04:51):
It was an invaluable experience and I'm very thankful to
have had the opportunity to be a part of that administration.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
Yeah, very good, And I want to talk a little
bit more about the red and Blue and the communities
across Georgia. But first I'd like to talk a little
bit about the Democratic primary. There are four black candidates
right now, and many of your platforms are very similar.
I mean, you're all looking at issues of affordability, expanding Medicaid,
tackling education and access to health care and so forth,
(05:20):
and looking at ways of spurring economic growth. How are
you different when people look at that slate of candidates
and they see Keisha lance Bottom's's name, what makes it
a different choice for them?
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Well, they don't just have to imagine what I'll do.
They've seen my leadership. They've seen me put it into action.
They've seen me deliver on affordable housing. People have seen
me deliver for our kids with our child savings account
for our public school kindergarteners across the city. They've seen
me deliver for workforce innovation. They've seen me deliver on
(05:55):
healthcare when we distribute it prep through our communities, and
the way that I've led through the pandemic, So these
aren't things that I have to dream about. I can
tell you what I've done. They've seen me stand up
to ICE when I closed our city jail to ICE
and ended our contract with ICE during the family separation policy.
They've seen me fight against the Trump administration when I
(06:18):
threatened to pull our officers from Federal Task Force if
they were not allowed to wear body cameras. They've seen
me give historic pay raises to our first responders. They've
seen me raise our minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour.
So I have a record to run on, but also
I'm able to talk about what I'll do in the
(06:39):
future and how I'll implement things that are changing that
no work in communities, to change communities statewide, I just
had the opportunity to leave a balanced intervention program that
was implemented under our administration, a program not designed just
to respond when some thing happens, but to intervene on
(07:03):
the front end and be a part of the solution.
Those are the type things that I'll deliver for this
state statewide.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
Yeah, you know, Georgia has not had a Democratic governor
for twenty years now. A long time it has been
so how might a Democrat be effective in the state office,
especially with the solid Republican General Assembly.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Well, we are seeing from Democrats across the country really
is a level of reasonableness that unfortunately has been hijacked
by this maga wing of the Republican Party. We are
seeing Democrats deliver for people on these issues of affordability,
on these things that matter to people. People are concerned
(07:46):
about how they're going to pay their bills, how they're
going to put gas in their car, and Democrats are
the ones who are standing up thinking leading on behalf
of people. And and it's a difference maker. Even when
you think about when the SNAP benefits were cut, there
(08:06):
were Democratic governors who stood up and said, I will
fund these SNAP benefits until the federal government does its job.
And here in Georgia with our Republican governor, he said no.
He said that, you know, if we started to helping
people with SNAP, then how far on will this go.
(08:27):
That's the type of just heartless leadership that we are, unfortunately,
are getting from Republicans across his country right now.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
When looking at the race right now, of course you're
the leading Democratic candidate. The two Republican leading candidates are
both connected to Trump. One, Lieutenant Governor Bert Jones, has
received Trump's endorsement. The other, Rick Jackson, who's late entrance,
our entry into the governor's race, a self made billionaire,
self funding his race and campaign for the most part,
(09:00):
wants to be Trump's favorite governor. How does that play
in the politics and the dynamics of the state and
what the state needs right now?
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Well, you know, I'll just I'll tell y'all, I'll take
exception with self made. He's made by the taxpayers of Georgia,
with the billion dollars he's gotten out of taxpayers in
the state for his company, and now he wants to
be in charge. What I can tell you is that
I've dealt with Burt Jones head on. When I was
mayor of Atlanta. He led the effort to try and
(09:30):
steal the Atlanta Airport, which you know has been the
backbone in many ways of a strong middle and upper
middle class in Atlanta, and the footprint that the airport
has created, and the blueprint has been replicated in cities
across his country. Burt Jones is the one who wanted
to take it. We built it and he wanted to
(09:51):
steal it. And then when you think about Rick Jackson,
he doesn't have Trump's stamp of approval, but it's not
for lack of trial. He has given a million dollars
to Trump. His commercials talk about Donald Trump and all
he will do to curry Trump's favor. And given the
direction of the country right now, I'm hard pressed to
(10:15):
think that the people of Georgia want a Trump acolyte
as its leader. And leadership matters. It's a difference maker,
and it's the reason people have gotten to put aside
the notion that our leaders are perfect, or even that
leadership will be perfect. But you got to think about
(10:36):
who's thinking about you, who's thinking about your family and
your community, and who's going to best deliver for you
and not for themselves. And I firmly believe it will
be Democrats up and down the ballot, and it will
be me as governor of the state.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
If you're just joining us, it's this Leading while Black
the Black Information Networks monthly program dedicated to showcasing leaders
of various industries and disciplines in society. Today we are
featuring former Atlanta mayor and former Biden Administration Senior advisor
Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is currently running for governor in Georgia.
Bottoms has a commanding lead in a field of seven
candidates vying to be the Democratic nominee. Five of those candidates,
(11:17):
including Bottoms, are black. While impressive, the challenge to clinch
the win in November remains a large one. As a
state reverted back to being read following a brief slip
to blue in twenty twenty, and has a slightly diverse geographical, racial,
and socioeconomic population factors that no other black person or
woman has been able to scale. Bottoms, however, is hopeful
(11:38):
she can change that.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
When looking at the history of democratic Black Democratic candidates
for governor, We've seen the likes of Ambassador Andrew Young,
We've seen Stacy Abrams twice now fall shorten her efforts.
What makes a difference now when you look at what's
before you and the history that you would make. Not
only here in Georgia, would you be the first black governor,
(12:02):
the first woman governor, but even across the country, you
would be the first black female governor of a state.
Why now, why do you think it's possible?
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Now? Well, you know we've seen these barriers broken. We've
seen it broken in the White House with the election
of Barack Obama, and I think that people are looking
for strong leadership. The labels are just a part of it. Certainly.
You know, there will be people who identify with me
(12:32):
as a woman, They'll be people who identify with me
as an African American. But at the end of the day,
they want strong leadership. And what I know is that
this is a state that's trending democratic for many reasons because,
as you mentioned, it wasn't that long ago, at least
in my lifetime, that we actually had a Democrat as
(12:55):
the governor of the state, and we saw a wave
of people, including two previous governors, who flip parties at
some point before they ran. We're trending back as a
Democrat state. There's a reason we've elected Senators ass Off
and Warnock. There's a reason that we just elected a
black woman statewide to the Public Service Commission. We're on
(13:17):
the voter rolls and we are there very strong. And
on top of that, I'm not taking any of that
for granted, working to earn the votes and telling people
how I will deliver. And you're right, the time is now,
and that time is for strong leadership that's going to
look out for people.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
So Georgia, like so many other states, is mixed urban
and rule right, So you have outlined a vision centered
on affordability, including expanding Medicaid and addressing housing costs for
voters outside Metro Atlanta who kind of sometimes feel overlooked
by city focused politics, what is your plan to make
certain that there's economic prosperity throughout the state, even for
(13:59):
those who are in the lawe outlying areas.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
When we are traveling to some of the smaller communities, one,
people are really happy we are there. What I've heard
from people repeatedly is they feel forgotten. But secondly, they
want the same things that we want. They want access
to great paying jobs. They want to be able to
support their small businesses and live in live and thriving
(14:25):
and safe communities. They want access to healthcare, they want
public safety, they want to be able to age in place.
These wants transcend communities, but the way we deliver may
be different depending on where we are. When we were
recently in Sparta, Georgia, there was a whole conversation around
(14:49):
resilience and where senior citizens will go in case of
a tornado because many of their houses don't have basements,
where do they go and they have these rolling blackouts
that are facing their communities. And also, you know, strengthening
schools in these communities. Many of these communities have been
(15:13):
decimated by the cuts that are happening to the education
department because in many communities, the schools are the largest
employer in the communities. Talking to our farmers, getting access
to services and low interest loans and grants in the
basics of internet access because internet access is not something
(15:37):
that everyone has, especially in rural communities. So you know,
the wants are consistent. The delivery and how we meet
these communities where they are will be the challenging part.
But it's so helpful that I'm hearing from people directly.
(15:59):
So when I'm thinking about policies and how they will
be implemented, I see the faces and I know the names.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
That's very good. So we recently saw the FBI grab
voter ballots from twenty twenty four, So your thoughts won
on that grab and then your thoughts on if there
was anything state leaders could have done to prevent it.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
You know, I'm often reminded of a quote from John Lewis.
He said his greatest fear was that he would wake
up one day in our democracy would be gone. And
I wonder about the contacts in which he felt that.
But you know, we often hear said that democracies are fragile.
And to see the taking of ballots, of seal ballots,
(16:43):
without any coordination, without any heads up to local officials,
really is in the front to everything that we've known
to be true about the access to the ballot and
the right to vote and the sanctity of our votes.
It's disheartening the question whether there was anything that state
leaders could have could have done. You know, quite honestly,
(17:06):
I'm hard pressed to think of anything that could have
been done to stop the President of the United States
from doing what he did. This is the man who
told us he could shoot someone in the middle of
Fifth Avenue and get away with it, and the Supreme
Court has confirmed that he can. So that being said,
it's how do we respond. And in Georgia and across
(17:27):
his country, we can't leave it up to chance. We
can't have then margins. We've got to show up and
show up early. We've heard Jasmine Crockett say that people
were turned away because the polls closed. We don't want
to have that happen in Georgia or any other state
this election season. And then, you know, once we have
(17:49):
our nominees in place, we got to consolidate and make
sure we get it through November. It's great to be
the nominee, it will be great, God willing, but it
doesn't mean anything if we don't win at all in November.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
How concerned are you about the elections? Do you think
we're going to have a fair election this November.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
I'm deeply concerned. I saw something that Steve Bannon said
that having ice in airports was a great test run
for having ice at polling places. And you know, it's
about intimidating people. It's about making them afraid to show
up to vote. We already know that they're trying to
take away access to mail in ballots, which are important
(18:30):
for our men and women who are serving overseas, for
those who can't leave their homes to go and vote.
So I think the biggest danger is for people to
become complacent because the Save Act that Trump is trying
to push through, which by the way, is all tied
into this whole tsa funding piece. It is just another step.
(18:54):
And my concern is that we forget the ten other
steps that have been taken places like Georgia, when you
are reducing the early voting time, when you are reducing
drop boxes, and it is this very gradual erosion of
our access to the ballot that concerns me most of all.
(19:16):
And now you know they are trying to take away
electronic voting machines. And a lot of people may be
old enough to remember the hanging chad debacle in Florida
that determined the presidential election between George Bush and Al Gore.
It literally we watch people on television holding up cards
(19:40):
trying to figure out if the whole was punched or
not punched. And the Supreme Court ultimately decided the results
of that election. And god forbid if we have to
send it to the Supreme Court to decide this one.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Spoke to me your bottoms before the recent US Supreme
Court ruling in the Louisiana versus Cala case, which restricts
the consideration of race and the drawing of congressional maps.
It's a ruling political and legal experts say will impact
all levels of government, including local and state offices. Bottoms
issued a statement condemning the ruling, saying, as the cradle
of the civil rights movement, Georgia knows the cost of
(20:16):
silence and the power of the vote. This latest ruling
is a devastating setback, taking a sledgehammer to the very
protections that generations and civil rights leaders bought and bled
to secure. Bottoms goes on vowing to fight to protect
the voting rights of all Georgians and to ensure their
voices are heard. During our conversation, Mayor Bottoms also spoke
about what's at stake on the ballot in Georgia this November.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
For our listeners who may not realize what a governor does,
help them understand why this race is so very important.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
This race is important for many reasons, including the fact
that there will also be a Senate race on a ballot.
John Assoff will be back on the ballot. It is
the number one target for Republicans to try and take
that Senate seat. And for people who may not know,
remember the Senate can push the president's agenda forward or
(21:10):
they can push it back, So we need to control
the Senate as Democrats. Remember, it was a democratically controlled
Senate that appointed Katanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
So that's important. But also the governor of Georgia is
(21:30):
one of the most important governors in the country just
by virtue of how the office is constituted. The budget
begins with the governor. Over four thousand appointments or made
statewide by the governor, from everything from the Port of
Savannah to higher education appointment, the border regents, to any
(21:52):
number of entities that directly impact people's lives. It's a
very strong governor in the state as it is constituted,
and Georgia in many ways is important for the national
political landscape. It helped flip the election for the Biden
(22:18):
Harris administration, it flipped Congress when we sent Warnock in
Osa to Congress, and in so many ways, Atlanta and
Georgia have really shaped the country as we know it,
from the civil rights movement to even our institutions of
higher education that are important to people across this country.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
So make it past May nineteenth. Say that you are
the Democratic candidate, which right now you're on track to
be if elected to the governorship, what will be the
first thing you take care of when you get into
the office.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
There are a few things. Medicaid expansion will be one.
Immediately signing an executive order to try and get Medicaid
expanded throughout the state. We are one of nine states
who not expanded Medicaid and it's literally costing people their lives.
Also tackling the supportability issue, determining from this multi billion
(23:19):
dollar budget surplus, where do we immediately need to start
filling in these gaps. It's our rainy day fund, and
we're in the middle of a storm in this state,
from healthcare to education to helping people stay in their homes.
Immediately assessing where we are and where we need to
plug in those gaps, and then creating this pathway for
(23:41):
free technical and community college. I know it will be
a difference maker. My mom is here with me today.
My mom went back to cosmatology school when she was
a single mother, you know, mid life change, and she
opened up a hair salon that allowed her to take
care of our family. So thinking about free technical and
(24:03):
community college not just for the young person who may
be graduating from high school, but for this person who
may be midlife and says I've got to do something different.
So those are the top priorities. I want to eliminate
state income taxes for our teachers. I think it's a
small step that will go a very long way in
(24:25):
helping to address our teacher shortage, and then also just
making sure people have access to all the state has
to offer. What I've heard, especially from our black farmers
and our small business owners, is that when there are
programs from the state, by the time they hear about them,
their clothes or the money is run out. Making sure
(24:45):
that people have access to the opportunity that the state's extending.
You are a native Georgia, Yes, what is your hope
for the state? I can trace my family at least
and I say at least five generations to a plantation
in Crowfitville, Georgia, because it's as far back as we
can trace our roots to Betsy and Shepherd Peek, who
(25:05):
were once enslaved. I know the possibilities of this state.
I know the difference maker that a great education makes
from our public schools. I'm a product of Atlanta public schools.
I know the difference maker. When you are you have
what you need to open a small business and to
(25:27):
be able to support yourself and your family. I know
what's possible when government does its part and community does
its part and we all come together to make it
work for the good. So I am a living example
of the possibilities in this state, and I hope that
(25:48):
in this run that the history that will be made
will be the example of how you literally can come
from people who had nothing, you can be something, and
that something can be a difference maker for generations not
yet born.
Speaker 4 (26:07):
Yeah. So when I think of Kisha Lance Bottoms, the
image that comes to me is always going back to
twenty twenty when you stood before the youth of our
city and said go home. Yeah. It's almost like we
could feel the mother and you and the mother and
many of us just resonated so well with what you
were doing. So along with the image that you portrayed,
(26:28):
I also remember the coalition of people that stood with you.
You had a killer mike, you had just a cross
section of community leaders who stood with you and an
issue that call for safety. Well, when looking at you, now,
what do you want Georgians to most know and understand
(26:48):
about Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
I want them to know I do have a heart
of a mother. I'm a mother, I'm a daughter, I'm
a wife, I'm a sister, I'm a friend. You know,
life could be much easier for me than running for office.
I am doing this from the goodness of my heart
because I care about people and I care about our communities.
(27:11):
And it's not this savior complex that I believe I
and only I can do it. Absolutely not. But I
do believe that we all have a calling on our lives.
And I do believe that when you see people in need,
and you see there is a need, you have to
ask yourself what am I doing to help feel it?
(27:35):
And for me in this season of life where we
are as a country, I know what my calling is,
and I know how to fight, and I know how
to get it done. And you know, I just hope
that people across Georgia and even across this country will
just support our campaign. If you don't live in Georgia,
(27:57):
you likely know somebody who does. People send me three dollars,
they send me five dollars, and it makes a difference
in this race because we are going up against billionaires
and I want people to know this fight is about
all of us. I just happen to be the face
of it.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
Yeah, very good. Meyor Bottom's anything more you'd like to add.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
I just want to encourage people to register to vote.
Voter registration for this primary into April twentieth. Early voting
is April twenty seventh through May fifteenth, and the election
is May nineteenth. And also reminding people that if you
don't live here, you know somebody here, encourage them to
(28:44):
register to vote and show up to vote. And also
reminding people that when you choose the couch, you are
choosing to silence your voice. Our votes still matter and
it may not be perfect, but it is a difference
maker and we need our voices heard in this election.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
We thank Miir Bottoms for her time and recognize the
challenge before her and her quest to become Georgia's first
woman and first black governor. With early voting under way
in the primary on May nineteenth, we will keep you
posted on her progress and her continued leadership as a
black difference maker, starting a legacy of influence, impact, and
hope on behalf of the entire vii in family. I'm
(29:32):
Andrea Coleman. This has been leading while black on the
Black Information Network
Coming up next on the Black Information Network.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
We are better than this. We're better than this as
a city. We are better than this as a country.
Go home, Go home.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
It's been almost six years since Keisha Lant's Bottoms as
mayor of Atlanta, chastised protesters overrunning her beloved city following
the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota in
twenty twenty. Now, after serving in the Biden administration a
few years ago.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
I'm running for governor for Georgia's priced out of their
homes and who can afford healthcare for kids ready to
learn but with nowhere to go? I'm Keisha Lance Bottoms.
We're still here and it's time they heard.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
She's taking aim at the Governor's Office of Georgia. Our
one on one conversation with this national leader who is
looking to become the first woman and first black governor
of Georgia is coming up next.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
From the private sector to public life, These are the
people making a difference in the Black community.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
They are leading wild Black.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
On the Black Information Network, Hello.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
And welcome to Leading While Black, the Black Information Networks
monthly program spotlighting Black leaders in America. I'm Andrea Coleman.
In twenty twenty three, former Atlanta Mayor Kisha Lance Bottoms
dropped out of the public service arena after leaving the
Biden administration. Well, now Mayor Bottoms is back, looking to
do what no other woman or black person has been
able to do in Georgia, that is, be elected to
(01:29):
the state's highest office. Bottoms recently stopped by the iHeart
Atlanta Studios to talk about our hopes for the state
and to explain why she believes she is the best
candidate to take over when Brian Kemp, the current governor,
leaves office next year.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
My mom, my, sister, Oh hello, I sent you.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Yeah, very good, I love it.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Bring your family to work there.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Our interview with Keisha Lance Bottom started with warm introductions
of some of her family members and team members, but
it didn't take long for the conversation to shift to
the magnitude of the effort before her and her preparation
for it.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Right now, you are the leading Democratic candidate. What's been
key to your success so far?
Speaker 3 (02:13):
The grace of God is sufficient, and we've been putting
in the work. We've been moving around the state and
really working to earn the votes of people I'm very
fortunate and that people know me. My name ID in
polling terms is pretty high, it's over ninety percent. But
that's only part of the battle. One is introducing yourself
(02:35):
and then secondly earning the votes. And that's what we've
been moving around the state doing, going to people, meeting
them where they are, talking about the issues that matter
to them most. And the great thing is that when
I'm going into cities and communities, I am getting as
much as I believe I'm giving. Of course, I'm speaking
about myself as a candidate and my platform, but I'm
(02:58):
taking away so much that helping me foreign policies and
perfect policies that hopefully, God willing, I'll have the opportunity
to put in the action when I'm elected governor.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
Now, you have been the mayor of Atlanta. You've also
spent time in Washington, DC as a senior advisor to
former President Joe Biden when he was in office. What
of those experiences prepared you to lead the state of Georgia.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Well, serving and even before I was mayor, I had
the opportunity to serve as a judge, as a city
council member, and as an attorney. But having that leadership experience,
that battle tested leadership experience, has been priceless because I
was mayored during the first Trump administration, so I know
what it's like to have to deal with this White
(03:44):
House and this unpredictable madness that comes with this administration,
and then having the opportunity to serve the President of
the United States. It's one thing to be a leader,
it's another to be a staffer. Seeing that just from
another perspective, but obviously at the highest office in the land,
sitting in the White House every single day, sitting and
(04:07):
a meeting just a couple of steps away from the
doors of the Oval Office, Sitting in the Oval Office,
seeing how things get done, how you deliver for people,
and how you take things and put them into action.
Sitting around the table as a part of the senior
team in the White House really gave me a different
(04:28):
perspective on how you delivered to a cross section of people,
whether they're Democrats Republicans. And the mayor's office is technically
a non partisan office, but I watched the Biden administration
in action deliver for red states and for blue states,
and red communities and blue communities. So it was just
(04:51):
It was an invaluable experience and I'm very thankful to
have had the opportunity to be a part of that administration.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
Yeah, very good, And I want to talk a little
bit more about the red and Blue and the communities
across Georgia. But first I'd like to talk a little
bit about the Democratic primary. There are four black candidates
right now, and many of your platforms are very similar.
I mean, you're all looking at issues of affordability, expanding Medicaid,
tackling education and access to health care and so forth,
(05:20):
and looking at ways of spurring economic growth. How are
you different when people look at that slate of candidates
and they see Keisha lance Bottom's's name, what makes it
a different choice for them?
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Well, they don't just have to imagine what I'll do.
They've seen my leadership. They've seen me put it into action.
They've seen me deliver on affordable housing. People have seen
me deliver for our kids with our child savings account
for our public school kindergarteners across the city. They've seen
me deliver for workforce innovation. They've seen me deliver on
(05:55):
healthcare when we distribute it prep through our communities, and
the way that I've led through the pandemic, So these
aren't things that I have to dream about. I can
tell you what I've done. They've seen me stand up
to ICE when I closed our city jail to ICE
and ended our contract with ICE during the family separation policy.
They've seen me fight against the Trump administration when I
(06:18):
threatened to pull our officers from Federal Task Force if
they were not allowed to wear body cameras. They've seen
me give historic pay raises to our first responders. They've
seen me raise our minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour.
So I have a record to run on, but also
I'm able to talk about what I'll do in the
(06:39):
future and how I'll implement things that are changing that
no work in communities, to change communities statewide, I just
had the opportunity to leave a balanced intervention program that
was implemented under our administration, a program not designed just
to respond when some thing happens, but to intervene on
(07:03):
the front end and be a part of the solution.
Those are the type things that I'll deliver for this
state statewide.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
Yeah, you know, Georgia has not had a Democratic governor
for twenty years now. A long time it has been
so how might a Democrat be effective in the state office,
especially with the solid Republican General Assembly.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Well, we are seeing from Democrats across the country really
is a level of reasonableness that unfortunately has been hijacked
by this maga wing of the Republican Party. We are
seeing Democrats deliver for people on these issues of affordability,
on these things that matter to people. People are concerned
(07:46):
about how they're going to pay their bills, how they're
going to put gas in their car, and Democrats are
the ones who are standing up thinking leading on behalf
of people. And and it's a difference maker. Even when
you think about when the SNAP benefits were cut, there
(08:06):
were Democratic governors who stood up and said, I will
fund these SNAP benefits until the federal government does its job.
And here in Georgia with our Republican governor, he said no.
He said that, you know, if we started to helping
people with SNAP, then how far on will this go.
(08:27):
That's the type of just heartless leadership that we are, unfortunately,
are getting from Republicans across his country right now.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
When looking at the race right now, of course you're
the leading Democratic candidate. The two Republican leading candidates are
both connected to Trump. One, Lieutenant Governor Bert Jones, has
received Trump's endorsement. The other, Rick Jackson, who's late entrance,
our entry into the governor's race, a self made billionaire,
self funding his race and campaign for the most part,
(09:00):
wants to be Trump's favorite governor. How does that play
in the politics and the dynamics of the state and
what the state needs right now?
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Well, you know, I'll just I'll tell y'all, I'll take
exception with self made. He's made by the taxpayers of Georgia,
with the billion dollars he's gotten out of taxpayers in
the state for his company, and now he wants to
be in charge. What I can tell you is that
I've dealt with Burt Jones head on. When I was
mayor of Atlanta. He led the effort to try and
(09:30):
steal the Atlanta Airport, which you know has been the
backbone in many ways of a strong middle and upper
middle class in Atlanta, and the footprint that the airport
has created, and the blueprint has been replicated in cities
across his country. Burt Jones is the one who wanted
to take it. We built it and he wanted to
(09:51):
steal it. And then when you think about Rick Jackson,
he doesn't have Trump's stamp of approval, but it's not
for lack of trial. He has given a million dollars
to Trump. His commercials talk about Donald Trump and all
he will do to curry Trump's favor. And given the
direction of the country right now, I'm hard pressed to
(10:15):
think that the people of Georgia want a Trump acolyte
as its leader. And leadership matters. It's a difference maker,
and it's the reason people have gotten to put aside
the notion that our leaders are perfect, or even that
leadership will be perfect. But you got to think about
(10:36):
who's thinking about you, who's thinking about your family and
your community, and who's going to best deliver for you
and not for themselves. And I firmly believe it will
be Democrats up and down the ballot, and it will
be me as governor of the state.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
If you're just joining us, it's this Leading while Black
the Black Information Networks monthly program dedicated to showcasing leaders
of various industries and disciplines in society. Today we are
featuring former Atlanta mayor and former Biden Administration Senior advisor
Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is currently running for governor in Georgia.
Bottoms has a commanding lead in a field of seven
candidates vying to be the Democratic nominee. Five of those candidates,
(11:17):
including Bottoms, are black. While impressive, the challenge to clinch
the win in November remains a large one. As a
state reverted back to being read following a brief slip
to blue in twenty twenty, and has a slightly diverse geographical, racial,
and socioeconomic population factors that no other black person or
woman has been able to scale. Bottoms, however, is hopeful
(11:38):
she can change that.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
When looking at the history of democratic Black Democratic candidates
for governor, We've seen the likes of Ambassador Andrew Young,
We've seen Stacy Abrams twice now fall shorten her efforts.
What makes a difference now when you look at what's
before you and the history that you would make. Not
only here in Georgia, would you be the first black governor,
(12:02):
the first woman governor, but even across the country, you
would be the first black female governor of a state.
Why now, why do you think it's possible?
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Now? Well, you know we've seen these barriers broken. We've
seen it broken in the White House with the election
of Barack Obama, and I think that people are looking
for strong leadership. The labels are just a part of it. Certainly.
You know, there will be people who identify with me
(12:32):
as a woman, They'll be people who identify with me
as an African American. But at the end of the day,
they want strong leadership. And what I know is that
this is a state that's trending democratic for many reasons because,
as you mentioned, it wasn't that long ago, at least
in my lifetime, that we actually had a Democrat as
(12:55):
the governor of the state, and we saw a wave
of people, including two previous governors, who flip parties at
some point before they ran. We're trending back as a
Democrat state. There's a reason we've elected Senators ass Off
and Warnock. There's a reason that we just elected a
black woman statewide to the Public Service Commission. We're on
(13:17):
the voter rolls and we are there very strong. And
on top of that, I'm not taking any of that
for granted, working to earn the votes and telling people
how I will deliver. And you're right, the time is now,
and that time is for strong leadership that's going to
look out for people.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
So Georgia, like so many other states, is mixed urban
and rule right, So you have outlined a vision centered
on affordability, including expanding Medicaid and addressing housing costs for
voters outside Metro Atlanta who kind of sometimes feel overlooked
by city focused politics, what is your plan to make
certain that there's economic prosperity throughout the state, even for
(13:59):
those who are in the lawe outlying areas.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
When we are traveling to some of the smaller communities, one,
people are really happy we are there. What I've heard
from people repeatedly is they feel forgotten. But secondly, they
want the same things that we want. They want access
to great paying jobs. They want to be able to
support their small businesses and live in live and thriving
(14:25):
and safe communities. They want access to healthcare, they want
public safety, they want to be able to age in place.
These wants transcend communities, but the way we deliver may
be different depending on where we are. When we were
recently in Sparta, Georgia, there was a whole conversation around
(14:49):
resilience and where senior citizens will go in case of
a tornado because many of their houses don't have basements,
where do they go and they have these rolling blackouts
that are facing their communities. And also, you know, strengthening
schools in these communities. Many of these communities have been
(15:13):
decimated by the cuts that are happening to the education
department because in many communities, the schools are the largest
employer in the communities. Talking to our farmers, getting access
to services and low interest loans and grants in the
basics of internet access because internet access is not something
(15:37):
that everyone has, especially in rural communities. So you know,
the wants are consistent. The delivery and how we meet
these communities where they are will be the challenging part.
But it's so helpful that I'm hearing from people directly.
(15:59):
So when I'm thinking about policies and how they will
be implemented, I see the faces and I know the names.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
That's very good. So we recently saw the FBI grab
voter ballots from twenty twenty four, So your thoughts won
on that grab and then your thoughts on if there
was anything state leaders could have done to prevent it.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
You know, I'm often reminded of a quote from John Lewis.
He said his greatest fear was that he would wake
up one day in our democracy would be gone. And
I wonder about the contacts in which he felt that.
But you know, we often hear said that democracies are fragile.
And to see the taking of ballots, of seal ballots,
(16:43):
without any coordination, without any heads up to local officials,
really is in the front to everything that we've known
to be true about the access to the ballot and
the right to vote and the sanctity of our votes.
It's disheartening the question whether there was anything that state
leaders could have could have done. You know, quite honestly,
(17:06):
I'm hard pressed to think of anything that could have
been done to stop the President of the United States
from doing what he did. This is the man who
told us he could shoot someone in the middle of
Fifth Avenue and get away with it, and the Supreme
Court has confirmed that he can. So that being said,
it's how do we respond. And in Georgia and across
(17:27):
his country, we can't leave it up to chance. We
can't have then margins. We've got to show up and
show up early. We've heard Jasmine Crockett say that people
were turned away because the polls closed. We don't want
to have that happen in Georgia or any other state
this election season. And then, you know, once we have
(17:49):
our nominees in place, we got to consolidate and make
sure we get it through November. It's great to be
the nominee, it will be great, God willing, but it
doesn't mean anything if we don't win at all in November.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
How concerned are you about the elections? Do you think
we're going to have a fair election this November.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
I'm deeply concerned. I saw something that Steve Bannon said
that having ice in airports was a great test run
for having ice at polling places. And you know, it's
about intimidating people. It's about making them afraid to show
up to vote. We already know that they're trying to
take away access to mail in ballots, which are important
(18:30):
for our men and women who are serving overseas, for
those who can't leave their homes to go and vote.
So I think the biggest danger is for people to
become complacent because the Save Act that Trump is trying
to push through, which by the way, is all tied
into this whole tsa funding piece. It is just another step.
(18:54):
And my concern is that we forget the ten other
steps that have been taken places like Georgia, when you
are reducing the early voting time, when you are reducing
drop boxes, and it is this very gradual erosion of
our access to the ballot that concerns me most of all.
(19:16):
And now you know they are trying to take away
electronic voting machines. And a lot of people may be
old enough to remember the hanging chad debacle in Florida
that determined the presidential election between George Bush and Al Gore.
It literally we watch people on television holding up cards
(19:40):
trying to figure out if the whole was punched or
not punched. And the Supreme Court ultimately decided the results
of that election. And god forbid if we have to
send it to the Supreme Court to decide this one.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Spoke to me your bottoms before the recent US Supreme
Court ruling in the Louisiana versus Cala case, which restricts
the consideration of race and the drawing of congressional maps.
It's a ruling political and legal experts say will impact
all levels of government, including local and state offices. Bottoms
issued a statement condemning the ruling, saying, as the cradle
of the civil rights movement, Georgia knows the cost of
(20:16):
silence and the power of the vote. This latest ruling
is a devastating setback, taking a sledgehammer to the very
protections that generations and civil rights leaders bought and bled
to secure. Bottoms goes on vowing to fight to protect
the voting rights of all Georgians and to ensure their
voices are heard. During our conversation, Mayor Bottoms also spoke
about what's at stake on the ballot in Georgia this November.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
For our listeners who may not realize what a governor does,
help them understand why this race is so very important.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
This race is important for many reasons, including the fact
that there will also be a Senate race on a ballot.
John Assoff will be back on the ballot. It is
the number one target for Republicans to try and take
that Senate seat. And for people who may not know,
remember the Senate can push the president's agenda forward or
(21:10):
they can push it back, So we need to control
the Senate as Democrats. Remember, it was a democratically controlled
Senate that appointed Katanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
So that's important. But also the governor of Georgia is
(21:30):
one of the most important governors in the country just
by virtue of how the office is constituted. The budget
begins with the governor. Over four thousand appointments or made
statewide by the governor, from everything from the Port of
Savannah to higher education appointment, the border regents, to any
(21:52):
number of entities that directly impact people's lives. It's a
very strong governor in the state as it is constituted,
and Georgia in many ways is important for the national
political landscape. It helped flip the election for the Biden
(22:18):
Harris administration, it flipped Congress when we sent Warnock in
Osa to Congress, and in so many ways, Atlanta and
Georgia have really shaped the country as we know it,
from the civil rights movement to even our institutions of
higher education that are important to people across this country.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
So make it past May nineteenth. Say that you are
the Democratic candidate, which right now you're on track to
be if elected to the governorship, what will be the
first thing you take care of when you get into
the office.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
There are a few things. Medicaid expansion will be one.
Immediately signing an executive order to try and get Medicaid
expanded throughout the state. We are one of nine states
who not expanded Medicaid and it's literally costing people their lives.
Also tackling the supportability issue, determining from this multi billion
(23:19):
dollar budget surplus, where do we immediately need to start
filling in these gaps. It's our rainy day fund, and
we're in the middle of a storm in this state,
from healthcare to education to helping people stay in their homes.
Immediately assessing where we are and where we need to
plug in those gaps, and then creating this pathway for
(23:41):
free technical and community college. I know it will be
a difference maker. My mom is here with me today.
My mom went back to cosmatology school when she was
a single mother, you know, mid life change, and she
opened up a hair salon that allowed her to take
care of our family. So thinking about free technical and
(24:03):
community college not just for the young person who may
be graduating from high school, but for this person who
may be midlife and says I've got to do something different.
So those are the top priorities. I want to eliminate
state income taxes for our teachers. I think it's a
small step that will go a very long way in
(24:25):
helping to address our teacher shortage, and then also just
making sure people have access to all the state has
to offer. What I've heard, especially from our black farmers
and our small business owners, is that when there are
programs from the state, by the time they hear about them,
their clothes or the money is run out. Making sure
(24:45):
that people have access to the opportunity that the state's extending.
You are a native Georgia, Yes, what is your hope
for the state? I can trace my family at least
and I say at least five generations to a plantation
in Crowfitville, Georgia, because it's as far back as we
can trace our roots to Betsy and Shepherd Peek, who
(25:05):
were once enslaved. I know the possibilities of this state.
I know the difference maker that a great education makes
from our public schools. I'm a product of Atlanta public schools.
I know the difference maker. When you are you have
what you need to open a small business and to
(25:27):
be able to support yourself and your family. I know
what's possible when government does its part and community does
its part and we all come together to make it
work for the good. So I am a living example
of the possibilities in this state, and I hope that
(25:48):
in this run that the history that will be made
will be the example of how you literally can come
from people who had nothing, you can be something, and
that something can be a difference maker for generations not
yet born.
Speaker 4 (26:07):
Yeah. So when I think of Kisha Lance Bottoms, the
image that comes to me is always going back to
twenty twenty when you stood before the youth of our
city and said go home. Yeah. It's almost like we
could feel the mother and you and the mother and
many of us just resonated so well with what you
were doing. So along with the image that you portrayed,
(26:28):
I also remember the coalition of people that stood with you.
You had a killer mike, you had just a cross
section of community leaders who stood with you and an
issue that call for safety. Well, when looking at you, now,
what do you want Georgians to most know and understand
(26:48):
about Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
I want them to know I do have a heart
of a mother. I'm a mother, I'm a daughter, I'm
a wife, I'm a sister, I'm a friend. You know,
life could be much easier for me than running for office.
I am doing this from the goodness of my heart
because I care about people and I care about our communities.
(27:11):
And it's not this savior complex that I believe I
and only I can do it. Absolutely not. But I
do believe that we all have a calling on our lives.
And I do believe that when you see people in need,
and you see there is a need, you have to
ask yourself what am I doing to help feel it?
(27:35):
And for me in this season of life where we
are as a country, I know what my calling is,
and I know how to fight, and I know how
to get it done. And you know, I just hope
that people across Georgia and even across this country will
just support our campaign. If you don't live in Georgia,
(27:57):
you likely know somebody who does. People send me three dollars,
they send me five dollars, and it makes a difference
in this race because we are going up against billionaires
and I want people to know this fight is about
all of us. I just happen to be the face
of it.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
Yeah, very good. Meyor Bottom's anything more you'd like to add.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
I just want to encourage people to register to vote.
Voter registration for this primary into April twentieth. Early voting
is April twenty seventh through May fifteenth, and the election
is May nineteenth. And also reminding people that if you
don't live here, you know somebody here, encourage them to
(28:44):
register to vote and show up to vote. And also
reminding people that when you choose the couch, you are
choosing to silence your voice. Our votes still matter and
it may not be perfect, but it is a difference
maker and we need our voices heard in this election.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
We thank Miir Bottoms for her time and recognize the
challenge before her and her quest to become Georgia's first
woman and first black governor. With early voting under way
in the primary on May nineteenth, we will keep you
posted on her progress and her continued leadership as a
black difference maker, starting a legacy of influence, impact, and
hope on behalf of the entire vii in family. I'm
(29:32):
Andrea Coleman. This has been leading while black on the
Black Information Network
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