Keisha Lance Bottoms facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Keisha Lance Bottoms
Keisha Lance Bottoms in 2022
Governor-elect of Georgia
Assuming office January 11, 2027
Succeeding	Brian Kemp
Senior Advisor to the President Director of the Office of Public Engagement
In office July 1, 2022 – April 1, 2023
President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Cedric Richmond
Succeeded by	Stephen K. Benjamin
60th Mayor of Atlanta
In office January 2, 2018 – January 3, 2022
Preceded by	Kasim Reed
Succeeded by	Andre Dickens
Member of the Atlanta City Council from the 11th district
In office January 4, 2010 – January 2, 2018
Preceded by	Jim Maddox
Succeeded by	Marci Collier Overstreet
Personal details
Born	Keisha Lance (1970-01-18) January 18, 1970 (age 56) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Derek Bottoms ​ (m. 1994)​
Children	4
Parent	Major Lance (father)
Relatives	Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson (aunt)
Education	Florida A&M University (BA) Georgia State University (JD)

Keisha Lance Bottoms is an American lawyer and community leader who became the governor-elect of Georgia. People often call her by her initials, KLB. She is a member of the Democratic Party who loves public service. She served as the 60th leader on the list of mayors of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022. Before that, she helped make neighborhood laws on the Atlanta City Council.

Bottoms has worked at very high levels of American government. She served as a top advisor to President Joe Biden in the White House. She also helped lead teams at the Democratic National Committee. In November 2026, she won the Georgia governor election. This victory made her the first Black woman ever chosen to lead a U.S. state as its top executive.

Early Life and Growing Up in Georgia

Keisha Lance was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 18, 1970. Her mother was Sylvia Robinson, and her father was Major Lance. Her father was a very famous rhythm and blues music performer. He sang big hit songs during the 1960s like "The Monkey Time" and "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um". Growing up around creative family members inspired her to dream big. She attended local schools in town and graduated from Frederick Douglass High School.

Her family roots run deep into southern history. Her ancestors include Shepherd Peek, a brave freedman from Crawfordville who helped lead communities during the historic Reconstruction era. Bottoms learned to value education and fairness from an early age.

College Years and Law School Studies

After high school, Bottoms moved south to attend Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida. She loved reporting the news and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree focusing on broadcast journalism. She also became an active member of the Delta Sigma Theta public service group.

Bottoms decided that knowing the rules of government would help her protect everyday citizens. She enrolled at the Georgia State University College of Law to become an attorney. She worked hard and earned her law degree in 1994.

Starting Her Career in Law and Public Service

Bottoms began her work as an attorney standing up for fairness in court. She represented young people who needed guidance in juvenile court. Helping boys and girls gave her a strong desire to fix problems in her community.

In 2002, she took on a new role as a magistrate judge in Atlanta. A judge is a legal expert who listens to different sides and settles arguments fairly. She tried to win an election for the Fulton County Superior Court in 2008. Even though she did not win that race, she did not give up.

Serving on the Atlanta City Council

Bottoms ran for a seat on the Atlanta City Council in 2009. Voters chose her to represent District 11, an area located in beautiful Southwest Atlanta. She won her seat again in 2013 with overwhelming support from her neighbors.

Mayor Bottoms speaking at Atlanta City Hall in 2019

While working on the council, she helped make decisions about parks, road construction, and neighborhood safety. Beginning in 2015, she also served as the director of the recreation authority for the city and Fulton County. Bottoms spent eight years working on the council before deciding to run for mayor.

Leading the City as Mayor of Atlanta

In 2017, Bottoms entered a crowded race to become the next leader of her hometown. Many candidates ran for the position on election day. She earned the highest number of votes and entered a special runoff election against council colleague Mary Norwood. Bottoms won that final vote and took office in January 2018.

Her victory was an important milestone in local history. She became the sixth African American leader and the second African American woman to serve as mayor of Atlanta. She followed Mayor Kasim Reed and worked inside Atlanta City Hall to help working families across the city.

Making Atlanta a Welcoming Community

As mayor, Bottoms wanted Atlanta to welcome people from all backgrounds. When national arguments broke out over refugees in the United States, she took clear action. She announced that Atlanta would always be a caring and open community for newcomers.

In 2018, she signed a city executive order stopping city jails from holding people for federal immigration officers. She announced that the city would not partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold people in local detention centers. She believed local resources should focus on helping city residents thrive.

Bottoms also created new city groups to support members of the LGBT community. She created a special advisory board that included community advocates like Feroza Syed. Later, she appointed city directors to make sure everyone felt protected, respected, and heard.

Guiding the City During Difficult Moments

During 2020, people around the nation faced huge challenges during the COVID-19 health crisis. Bottoms worked to keep residents safe by requiring people to wear face masks in public places. When Georgia Governor Brian Kemp tried to reopen businesses quickly, she spoke out against the plan. She argued that keeping families healthy was the most important job of any leader.

Governor Kemp filed legal papers against Bottoms because of her mask rules. However, leaders in cities like Savannah and Athens also supported safety rules. Bottoms continued to urge families to follow health guidelines.

That same year, peaceful marches and tense protests took place across the country. Bottoms spoke directly to the public with heartfelt honesty. She told crowds that real change comes from peaceful teamwork and voting. She reminded citizens that casting a ballot is the most powerful tool for improving laws. Bottoms decided not to run for another term in the 2021 Atlanta mayoral election, and Andre Dickens succeeded her.

Working at the White House and National Politics

Bottoms meeting with national leaders after an important event in Atlanta

Bottoms supported leader Joe Biden early during the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. Many news outlets, including Politico and CNN, noted that she was considered for important national roles. Biden looked at several impressive female leaders, such as Val Demings, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris, who became Vice President.

Bottoms served as a national co-chair for the 2020 Democratic National Convention. In 2021, Biden selected her to lead voting access programs for the Democratic National Committee. She worked hard to ensure that every eligible citizen could cast a ballot safely.

Bottoms (third from right) standing near President Biden in 2023

In 2022, Bottoms joined the Biden administration in Washington, D.C. She took over for Cedric Richmond as the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. In this big role, she helped everyday people, business leaders, and local mayors talk directly with the president. Leader Stephen K. Benjamin took over that role when she finished her service in 2023. She also served on the President's Export Council to advise leaders on international trade.

Caring for the Environment and Public Lands

Bottoms made several big choices regarding land, parks, and nature during her public career. In 2018, she helped transfer dozens of public properties to Atlanta Public Schools. This agreement gave schools ownership of land like Cheney Field, near historic Cheney Stadium (Atlanta) in the neighborhood of Summerhill.

In 2019, her administration helped launch the Clean Energy Atlanta plan. The goal of this program was to transition city operations toward renewable energy like solar power. She also worked on complex city projects designed to prevent water damage in the neighborhood of Peoplestown.

One major project involved leasing 85 acres of land near the Old Atlanta Prison Farm in DeKalb County to the Atlanta Police Foundation. The plan was to build a modern center called the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. Some community members worried that removing trees might harm the nearby South River, but Bottoms believed the modern center was needed to train police officers properly.

Historic 2026 Run for Georgia Governor

In 2025, Bottoms announced that she wanted to run for Governor of Georgia. She entered the race for the Democratic nomination in the 2026 Georgia gubernatorial election. In May 2026, she won a primary against six other candidates, including state leader Jason Esteves, public official Mike Thurmond, former lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan, and representative Derrick Jackson.

Environmental Issues in the Campaign

During her campaign, Bottoms traveled all across the state to share her ideas. In Cobb County, she gave speeches about protecting Georgia's water systems and electric power grid. She called for a careful pause on building giant computer facilities called data centers. She explained that communities must protect their rivers and keep electricity bills fair for ordinary homeowners.

Her Republican challenger, business executive Rick Jackson, pointed out that economic agency Invest Atlanta had supported computer projects while she was mayor. Bottoms explained that new technology strains natural power supplies much more today than in earlier years.

A Historic Win for Georgia

Bottoms won the general election in November 2026, defeating Republican nominee Rick Jackson. Alongside her running mate Josh McLaurin, she prepared to take office as the next governor.

This election marked a major chapter in United States history. Bottoms became the first woman and the first Black person chosen as governor of Georgia. She also made national history by becoming the very first Black female governor of any state in American history.

Family and Personal Life

Bottoms has a large family that she loves very much. In October 1994, she married Derek W. Bottoms at the historic Ben Hill United Methodist Church in Atlanta. The two had first met three years earlier when they were studying hard at law school. Together, they are the proud parents of four adopted children.

Her husband Derek has worked for many years as a company executive for The Home Depot. Bottoms is also an active member of The Links, an organization for Black women that helps communities through volunteer projects and educational programs.

Voting Results in Past Elections

The following tables show the voting results from several key elections throughout her political journey.

Atlanta City Council Races

Atlanta Mayoral Elections

Primary Election for Georgia Governor

See also

In Spanish: Keisha Lance Bottoms para niños

• Joe Biden Supreme Court candidates
• List of mayors of the 50 largest cities in the United States