Former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is planning to raise money during his birthday this week, but it’s uncertain if those funds will be used for his own potential run for reelection or to support someone else in this year’s race.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday morning obtained an invitation to Reed’s 52nd birthday celebration, which is planned for Thursday night. The invitation, paid for by Reed’s existing campaign committee, Kasim Reed for Atlanta, Inc., displays donor levels from $25,000 for hosts and $1,000 for guests.
Reed is not listed as a declared candidate for mayor, and his party invitation does not specify what the celebration money will go toward. However, the invitation includes a note about a $4,300 maximum contribution, which is the limit for city campaign contributions under state law.
There has been speculation about Reed mounting another run at City Hall for months, and it only grew after Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced last month that she will not seek a second term. Reed told Channel 2′s Dave Huddleston recently that he needs time before deciding if he will run for mayor.
If Atlanta’s 59th mayor enters the race for City Hall, his presence would ignite tensions in what’s already expected to be a heated election. The candidates for mayor currently include Dentons attorney Sharon Gay, City Council President Felicia Moore, and City Councilmen Antonio Brown and Andre Dickens.
Moore was a staunch critic of Reed when she was a councilmember during his administration, and Dickens co-sponsored an ordinance to prohibit the misuse of city issued credit cards after the AJC and Channel 2 uncovered inappropriate purchases by members of the Reed administration.
The former mayor’s second term ended as a wide-reaching federal corruption investigation of City Hall led to several indictments and guilty pleas from members of his cabinet. In the Channel 2 interview, Reed apologized for the investigation and said the authorities never accused him of wrongdoing.
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