Yes, Kasim Reed is term-limited but let’s be honest: His hand-picked candidate, Keisha Lance Bottoms, will be Mayor Reed the Second if she is elected.
And right now I doubt she will*.
The slew of endorsements for Mary Norwood from virtually every one of her erstwhile opponents and Mayor Shirley Franklin are stunning–for their anti-Reed sentiment and the radical change in opinion on Norwood.
- Let’s start with the biggest whopper: Reed served as Franklin’s campaign manager. And then took to belittling Mayor Franklin once he was elected to the post. Shockingly enough, Franklin didn’t like that and backed a possible Republican.
- Cathy Woolard said only in October that a Norwood election would doom Democrats in Georgia for a generation. But that’s ok now as Woolard threw her weight behind Norwood on Wednesday.
- When John Eaves endorsed Norwood it was partly the result of the Reed administration saying Eaves “played no role” in keeping the Hawks in Atlanta.
- Peter Aman, who served as Reed’s Chief Operating Officer at City Hall obviously wants no continuation of that administration. And he endorsed Norwood after dismissing her as “another corrupt career politician.”
- There’s too much to document the Reed/Mitchell fights and it would only be newsworthy if Mitchell supported Bottoms.
That leaves only two serious candidates: Kwanza Hall, who endorsed Bottoms, and Vincent Fort. Reed said Fort would be “a disaster” as mayor. The “Bernie-Sanders-style-Democrat” is probably not going to endorse the Republican, methinks.
Yeah.
That’s a stunning record from someone who believed every skirmish needed to end in him scattering the ashes of his opponent no matter how minor the perceived slight. And even more shocking when he started his time in office highlighting his ability to work with Republicans to get stuff done.
It’s really quite a shame. Mayor Reed qua mayor is excellent.
But Mayor Reed qua politician is horrifically bad.
If Mary Norwood wins next Tuesday, Reed will only have himself and his lack of allies to blame.
*I’m voting for Bottoms but only so that a GSU grad can run City Hall.