Atlanta Mayor Worries U.S. is Headed on “Course For Disaster

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: And we now turn to the state of Georgia, where, unlike Governor Hogan, Governor Brian Kemp is on the same page as President Trump all the time, and he is suing the mayor of Atlanta to block the city’s mask mandate. Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms was elected in 2017. And she’s reportedly on Vice President Joe Biden’s short list as a potential running mate. And, here, she’s speaking to Walter Isaacson about that and about why she doesn’t support defunding the police.

WALTER ISAACSON: Thank you, Christiane. And, Madam Mayor, welcome to the show.

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), MAYOR OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Thank you for having me.

ISAACSON: You lost your friend the great Congressman John Lewis. Can you give us a little bit more of a personal reflection, some story that reveals to us his character and what he meant to you?

BOTTOMS: Certainly. And I can’t help but smile when I think about him. This is such a sad occasion for all of us. But when you think of Congressman Lewis, there’s so many things that bring just joy to your heart. And, for me personally, it was this very personal connection with Congressman Lewis. Congressman Lewis worked very closely with my aunt Ruby Doris Smith Robinson in SNCC. And she died when she was 26, well — many years before I was born, but each time I would see Congressman Lewis and I would mention her name, he would cry. And it always struck me that, so many years later, that he still felt so strongly about someone who had worked alongside him that it would bring tears to his eyes. And, to me, it really was representative of more than just my aunt’s memory, but just really the heart and the emotion and still the commitment to the movement that Congressman Lewis carried with him into the halls of Congress. And he was just such a very special man. And growing up in Atlanta, you have this distinct pleasure of seeing these giants amongst you in places like the grocery store or in a church service. And so, for me, he was more than my congressman. He was a part of my community and he was my friend.

ISAACSON: What’s the best way we can honor his legacy?

BOTTOMS: The best way that we can honor his legacy is to continue to fight the good fight. And we made so much progress in this country because of the sacrifices of Congressman Lewis, but he was very clear that the fight was not over and we still had miles to go. And the best way to do it is to honor his legacy, in the same way that he fought the good fight. He fought it, being very thoughtful, in a nonviolent way, but always very firm and very clear on where he was headed and where he knew we needed to go as a people. And I think that’s the best way to honor his legacy. And I think it’s so appropriate that one of his last public appearances was at the Black Lives Matter mural in D.C. I think that said it all for all of us.

ISAACSON: You, your husband, your son, have just tested positive for COVID. First of all, how are you feeling and how are they feeling?

BOTTOMS: Thankfully, we’re all feeling so much better. My husband really had the worst of it in our household. And it was so frightening to watch someone like him, who is, by all accounts, in perfectly good health, be taken to his knees by COVID. And by the grace of God, our household did not suffer the fate that we have seen so many other families suffer when COVID has hit their household. And it is even more of a reason that I am so passionate about continuing to push for masks to be worn, and also for us to just really be responsible as leaders. As a mayor, I was not prepared or even anticipating to have face a pandemic, but we have all had to adjust. And that’s what it’s going to take for us as a country to get to the other side of this virus. We will all have to make adjustments that may be uncomfortable for us. But when you have thousands upon thousands of people in our state who are testing positive, thousands who have died, and, of course, millions across the globe, we have to do all that we possibly can do to slow the spread of this virus.

ISAACSON: Why are things so bad in Atlanta and in Georgia?

BOTTOMS: I believe things that are so bad because we have not followed the science, because we were reckless in reopening. At that time, we didn’t even follow the guidelines from the White House that said we weren’t ready to reopen. Our numbers were not where they needed to be. And so it’s no surprise that we have amongst the highest infection rates in the country. We’re running roughly around number five in the country. And that’s not in line even with where we are population-wise with our state in terms of the highest populated states. So, we’re outpacing so many other states in this country. And it’s simply because we aren’t following the science.

ISAACSON: Now, you have been hit with a lawsuit from your own Republican governor, because you have a mandate for people to wear masks in the city of Atlanta. Other cities in Georgia also have that mandate, but he seems to have gone after you personally. In fact, you’re being sued personally, not the city. What’s that all about?

BOTTOMS: I have no idea. In the midst of a pandemic, I have no idea. When I have seen the report that was published — or that was not published by the White House, it says that Georgia is a red zone state, with a set of very clear recommendations that local municipalities should be allowed to place stringent guidelines around crowd gatherings, et cetera. When this report also speaks about the need for us to wear face coverings, it makes no sense to me. And there was leadership from Mayor Van Johnson in Savannah. July 1, he instituted a mask mandate. On July 8, the mayor of Athens, Georgia, the governor’s hometown, instituted a mask mandate. There were several other cities that followed. Yet, when the capital city of Atlanta pushed forward with a mask mandate, he sued me personally and is also asking that I be silenced. If it were up to the governor of this state, I would not be doing this interview to talk about COVID-19. So, it’s a Trumpian play. And it is not helping us get outside of this pandemic. It’s a waste of resources, and certainly my time and energy, when the better use of time, energy and resources would be for us to continue to push forward to get over COVID-19.

ISAACSON: But is there something personal? I mean, you’re the only woman mayor, and he goes right after you. Or it’s because of the demographics of the city, or what is it that’s causing him, in your mind? What do you think is causing this dispute?

BOTTOMS: Well, it certainly feels personal, because he sued me personally, in his name, not the state of Georgia vs. city of Atlanta, his name, Governor Brian Kemp, vs. me and members of our City Council. So, it feels personal because it is personal. I don’t know if it’s because I am a woman who pushed forward with this mandate. I don’t know if it’s because of the demographics of our city, or if it is because of my very vocal support of Joe Biden. We know that Georgia is a battleground state. Whatever the reasons are, he can speak to that. But he certainly singled me out and singled out the people of Atlanta. And it really is something I have not seen happen in this state in many, many, many years.

ISAACSON: Why don’t you pick up the phone and call him or have him pick up the phone and call you?

BOTTOMS: The governor and I do talk regularly. We don’t speak weekly. I have not spoken to him since he filed his lawsuit. I actually led the governor’s task force on COVID-19 as we dealt with our homeless population. So we have never been completely aligned with some of our approaches, but certainly in a better space than we are now. I think it was noteworthy that this lawsuit was filed the day after Donald Trump came to our state, and I pointed out that he was in violation of our city ordinance because he was at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which is owned and operated by the city of Atlanta, and he did not have on a mask. I don’t think it’s happenstance, the timing of the lawsuit, after I pointed that out. So I am sure, at some point, the governor and I will speak again. Even when we have had the highest of disagreements, we have continued to communicate, but certainly we’re in a very different space, as a he has sued me and is seeking to silence me.

ISAACSON: When you see the spike in violence that’s happened in Atlanta recently, what do you think when you hear people say, defund the police?

BOTTOMS: I don’t agree with that concept. I — what I believe is that we need to be smarter about how we allocate all of our resources. We have done that in the city of Atlanta. We began looking at our budget two years ago, two or three years ago, when I came into office, and we began to really reimagine criminal justice reform in Atlanta. We began looking at our city detention center. I ended up cash bail bonds in the city of Atlanta, meaning you don’t stay in jail simply because you don’t have the money to pay to get out, to pay a city fine. I also ended our city’s relationship with ICE. And that meant that this 400,000-plus-square-foot facility that once housed hundreds of people a night, we now house maybe 25 to 30 people. So we have begun some transformative work on transitioning our jail into a community center of health and equity and wellness. That’s the type of thoughtfulness we need to give to our city budgets. We slashed our Corrections Department budget by over 60 percent. We have reallocated our — many of our corrections employees to put them in community-based employment categories to go out and be boots on the grounds with our communities. That’s the thoughtfulness I think that we have to give to our budgets across the country. In one city, it may be that that budget can come from the police department, but, in another city, it may be that it comes from another department. But I think it’s important to look at our budgets as a whole, and not just focus on one department or one area, when we need to focus on what the goal is. And the goal is to create more equity in our communities.

ISAACSON: Well, just so I understand, you don’t feel in Atlanta that you should be reducing the budget for the Atlanta Police Department, do you?

BOTTOMS: I don’t, but I do think that we need to look at that budget and make sure that it is achieving all that we need — need it to achieve. When I looked at our budget for this year’s budget process, what I saw was worker compensation, I saw capital costs, I saw salaries, I saw pension. I didn’t see a way for us to slash our Atlanta Police Department budget without laying off officers. So, I didn’t think that was the appropriate thing for us to do with our budget. But I do think there’s an opportunity for us to layer on additional support services in our police department and many of the things that we have heard people talk about in the context of changing on how we allocate our personal safety — our public safety dollars.

ISAACSON: Give us your reaction to what’s happening in Portland, Oregon, the unrest there, and the use of federal agents there to try to cope with that.

BOTTOMS: It’s despicable. What’s happening in Portland. And not only is it happening in Portland, but this president is threatening to send in agents into other cities. And we should all be alarmed by that. The thought that there are agents taking people off the streets in unmarked cars and unidentified agents doesn’t sound very much like America that I know. And no matter what your politics are, that should give us all cause for concern. And, certainly, we should all demand that it stop, and even have an understanding on why it’s happening in this way to begin with. The challenge — the biggest issue and exception that I take is that, if you actually care about helping cities, then why don’t you ask what cities need help with? And, as far as I know, the great mayor of Portland has not said that he needs any help from the federal government to snatch his citizens off his streets in the cover of night. And it is — it’s — we have got to be very careful on how far we let this go. If we let this happen in this instance, then it — what is going to happen in the next instance? And it’s frightening and certainly not — it just seems very un-American to me.

ISAACSON: Do you worry that the ongoing pandemic will overtake the fight for racial justice that we’re going through?

BOTTOMS: I worry that our country is on a collision course for disaster. Certainly, this pandemic is challenging the movement that’s happening across this country. It is — people have lost patience. And it does not help that it is — the uncertainty of this country is big inflamed by the person who’s in the White House right now. But what I do know about this country and about this democracy, no matter how many times we get it wrong, the beauty of it is, there’s always another opportunity to get it right, because I know that we will get it right. But for the sake of us all, I do hope that there’s a vaccine very soon for COVID-19. And, certainly, it goes without saying I hope that there’s a change in leadership in the White House very soon.

ISAACSON: You have been vetted to be a possible running mate for Joe Biden. He’s always said he wanted somebody who would be ready on day one to take over. Do you think you have the experience, having been the mayor of a city, to take over on day one, were you to be chosen to be the vice president?

BOTTOMS: I certainly do. I personally have a background, varied experience. I served as a judge. I also served in the legislative branch for many years as a part of our City Council, and now, as mayor, at one of the most challenging of times in America. And so much about leadership is about leadership in the midst of crisis. There’s been no handbook and no playbook for what mayors across this country have had to deal with as it relates to COVID-19, the protests that are happening across this country. And we’re doing it with a lack of leadership from the federal government and, in my case, with challenged leadership at the state as well. And there are 19,000 municipalities across this country. So, there are — there’s a very large and diverse group of folks across this country who understand and appreciate what leadership as a mayor entails. And, certainly I know that I am qualified on day one, and I’ll put my experience and my qualifications up against anyone’s. But, as I have said, this certainly will be Joe Biden’s decision. And he knows better than anyone of what a good vice president, a great vice president should be. And I trust that he’s going to make the right decision.

ISAACSON: Madam Mayor, thank you so much for joining us.

BOTTOMS: Thank you for having me.