Keisha Bottoms Sworn In As Atlanta Mayor

ATLANTA, GA — In a ceremony at city hall, Keisha Lance Bottoms was sworn in Tuesday as Atlanta's 60th mayor. Bottoms, a Democrat who defeated independent Mary Norwood by 821 votes in a runoff election last month, became the city's second female mayor.

"Only in Atlanta could a young girl named Keisha who attended Frederick Douglass High School on the westside of Atlanta go on to become the 60th mayor of the greatest city in the world," Bottoms said at the swearing-in ceremony Tuesday afternoon.

"The bar has been set incredibly high for our city and I thank you for your belief in me. I thank you for your belief that, as one Atlanta, we can raise the bar higher still."

Bottoms, who served as a member of Atlanta's city council, was a political protege' of utgoing Mayor Kasim Reed, who endorsed her in the race, and continues of streak of African-American mayors in Atlanta that goes back to Maynard Jackon's election in 1974.

One of her predecessors introduced Bottoms at the ceremony, at which Atlanta's new city council also was sworn in.

"I can’t think of a better mayor to turn this over to than the young lady we’re about to swear in," said Andrew Young, who served as Atlanta's mayor from 1982-1990 and also served as a U.S. Congressman and the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

After finishing as the top two vote-getters in a crowded general election field, Bottoms and Norwood went into the runoff neck-and-neck, with Norwood holding a slim lead in most polling until days before the election, when Bottoms appears to have surged.

With more than 95,000 ballots cast, Bottoms appeared to have finished election night with a victory of 759 votes. After a recount requested by Norwood, that number edged up to 821.

Norwood and her supporters spent two weeks examining the results but, despite saying they believed there were irregularities, opted not to challenge them in court.

During the campaign, the Bottoms' campaign sought to link Norwood to Republicans, particularly President Donald Trump. Norwood would have become Atlanta's first white mayor since 1974.

After the general election, several black Democratic candidates endorsed Norwood, but she also received support from well-known Republican operatives in the race.

Photo courtesy City of Atlanta