Former Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed is throwing his hat into the wide-open mayor's race, filing paperwork to run again on Wednesday morning.
Reed served as the 59th mayor of Atlanta from 2010 to 2018. His term was not without controversy, including an investigation of city officials — including his Deputy Chief of Staff Katrina Taylor-Parks — for accepting bribes. Reed maintains he was never aware of any illegal activity. He also came under fire in the last year of his second term in 2018 for offering huge bonus payments to members of his staff with city funds.
Reed's filing comes shortly after current mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms' decision not to run for reelection — making her the first incumbent mayor since Maynard Jackson to choose not to run again. Reed's run is also historic: He's the first mayor since Jackson to seek a third term.
Reed will host a birthday party event on Thursday, which many assumed prior to today's filing could serve as a fundraiser event for his mayoral run.
City Council president Felicia Moore was the first to announce a run. She, along with fellow council member and mayoral candidate Andre Dickens, have been vocal critics of Reed's tenure as mayor and the misuse of city funds under his administration.
The election will be held Nov. 2, 2021.
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