Mayor Bottoms endorses Andre Dickens in Atlanta mayoral runoff

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced Friday she is supporting Councilman Andre Dickens in the runoff election to succeed her at City Hall.

Bottoms endorsed Dickens over City Council President Felicia Moore, who has been critical of Bottoms’ administration at times over the last four years.

With 11 days until the Nov. 30 runoff, Bottoms’ endorsement comes in the final stretch of the race to decide Atlanta’s 61st mayor.

In a tweet Friday afternoon, the mayor said she has worked closely with Dickens “and his opponent, getting to know how each works on behalf of people across Atlanta.”

“Andre has an extraordinary ability to inspire and bring our city together. I sincerely believe that he will be a mayor of whom my children can be proud,” Bottoms said.

She did not endorse any candidate before the Nov. 2 general election, but said she planned to publicly throw her support behind a candidate in the runoff.

It was expected Bottoms would back Dickens over Moore, who launched her campaign in January seeking to unseat Bottoms. The first-term mayor made the surprise announcement in May that she was not seeking reelection, prompting Dickens and other hopefuls to jump into the race.

Dickens said earlier this month that he respects Bottoms and would find an endorsement from her to be beneficial.

Bottoms is among the biggest local names to endorse Dickens, and remains an influential Democratic Party figure with national political and fundraising connections. It remains to be seen how visible Bottoms will be in the final days of Dickens’ campaign, and how much much financial support she might provide.

In an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll from September, about 57% of respondents said they approve of the job Bottoms is doing as mayor, but 53% said the city is on the “wrong track.”