ATLANTA — During the 2020 election cycle, Georgia - and the politicians who come from the state - has quickly become a rising power player.
That's true for Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who saw herself thrust into the national spotlight during a year that saw her tussle with the state's governor over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, try and quell anguish and fallout over high-profile police use of force, and juggle being vetted as a possible running mate for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
The city's mayor will again take the national stage during the final night of the Democratic party's national convention when she delivers remarks at the virtual event - one of several Georgians to do so.
During a virtual interview with 11Alive Wednesday night, just one day ahead of that speech, Mayor Bottoms offered a preview of what she might say, what it felt like to be vetted as a potential VP candidate, the dispute over mask mandates with the governor - and if a position in a possible Biden White House could be in the cards for her.
Below is an edited transcript of Mayor Bottoms' conversation with 11Alive.
11ALIVE'S AISHA HOWARD: Joining me is Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms. Mayor Bottoms, you’re going to be speaking at the DNC Thursday night, a night packed with heavy hitters. That’s a huge stage to be on. Tell us the message you plan on bringing Thursday night.
MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS: Well, I can’t give away the entire speech, but I will tell you I will highlight the legacy of who we are as a city, and it is such an honor - a personal honor - to be invited to speak.
But it really speaks to the value that the nation sees in Atlanta. To have a mayor of Atlanta as part of this historic night is really something that should be celebrated, that our city should be proud of and really celebrated for the level of respect and regard that people across this country have for our city.
HOWARD: You were a little bit modest there, so I’ll go ahead and throw it in for you. I’ll do a little insert for you. Mayor of Atlanta speaking on a huge night like that at the DNC. The mayor who was also on the short list for VP. Tell us about that day for you and when the announcement came out that Kamala Harris was Joe Biden’s VP pick, and what that even meant for you to be on the short list?
BOTTOMS: Well, it was a big deal personally and it was really interesting as I would watch television and read stories and the speculation, and I would think, they don’t have any idea what’s happening in this process. I went through several interviews, had to give over a lot of documents, and so, it was a nerve-wracking process but again out of 330 million folk in America, to be a part of the process was an honor.
I interviewed with the Vice President the Saturday before the announcement was made. I think the announcement was made on a Tuesday, so he’d told me then he was going to make a decision that Monday or Tuesday, and he called that Tuesday afternoon about 12:45 or so, to tell me that it was not me. He didn’t tell me who he was choosing, but he told me he was going to make the announcement at 4 o’clock that afternoon.
I was a little more disappointed than I actually thought that I would’ve been, but when you go that far in a process like that, then certainly you know you’re "in it to win it," so to speak. But that being said, the fact that Kamala Harris was chosen, and this is such a historic moment for us as a country. The fact there will be a woman, and then on top of that, a woman of color, on the ticket - and I know they’re going to win in November - is something that we should all celebrate, and I’m so very excited for the direction and the opportunity we have to go in a different course in this country.
HOWARD: So, we know you’ve been going hard for Joe Biden for quite a while, and Atlanta still has a mayor named Keisha, but could we have a mayor who becomes part of the Biden cabinet, should the Dems bring this home in November?
BOTTOMS: You know, I haven’t gotten that far. There’s a really big job that I have right now, and that’s being mayor of Atlanta, and so we’ll get to November. We’ll see what happens in November, but my focus continues to be on our city and to continue to do the job I was elected to do.
HOWARD: You’ve heard it time and time again, this is one of the most historic elections. People say it is one of the most important. How do you think the virtual aspect is going to change, even with you having to prepare to deliver that speech, not in person.
BOTTOMS: Nothing has been normal about 2020. But that being said, last night, I got chills watching the roll-calls from the various states. It was so moving, and seeing the stories and having an opportunity for a cross-section of people to be a visible part of the convention, I think, is a silver lining in all of this, and I would venture to say it’s given people across the country an opportunity to feel a part of the convention in a way that they otherwise might not feel if they weren’t in Milwaukee.
HOWARD: We have seen the way that Georgia has handled COVID-19 from a city perspective, and on a statewide perspective, now, being listed as the number one place in the country of COVID-19 transmission. Not a list we want to scream "we’re number one" about, for sure. What’s been your response to the latest executive order from Governor Kemp?
BOTTOMS: I wish that he had gone further, but I am glad to see that other cities across the state are instituting mask mandates. But where our negotiations broke down, was based on the governor’s insistence that businesses be able to opt-in, or opt-out, whether or not they would have a mask mandate, and also whether or not businesses could pick and choose who enforced that mandate. That was a non-starter for me.
We don’t allow businesses to opt-in and out of business codes. We don’t allow them to opt-in and out of fire codes, so something as important as our health, I certainly continue to believe that the state should take on the responsibility, or at the very least, allow cities to take on the responsibility, to mandate masks in businesses. But, be that as it may, it’s more than we had, and when you look at our numbers, it really begs the question, why aren’t we following the recommendation of the health experts who are saying we need to do more in this state to help flatten the curve in the state?
We’re never going to get to an economic recovery, we’re never going to get back to normal with our kids in school if we don’t take some steps to make sure that this virus, the spread of this virus, slows down, and it’s unfortunate we’re here as a state, and certainly not a distinction that I want us to have or even one that we should have.
HOWARD: Alright, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms taking the national stage at the DNC on Thursday night. Thank you so much for joining us, and best of luck to you on your presentation.