Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and City Council president Ceasar Mitchell traded swipes at dueling press conferences on Thursday, following a week of fiery tweets from Reed.
The exchanges came after Mitchell, who is running for mayor, called for Reed and the city council to put a moratorium on the approval of city contracts that start next year, so the next mayor and council can weigh in. The call comes amid a federal investigation into a cash-for-contracts scandal at City Hall.
Reed tweeted last week that “Mitchell's personal donor protection plan is a bad idea for our city.”
“The recent comments from the outgoing mayor Kasim Reed are disappointing, they are unfortunate, they’re petty and they’re immature,” Mitchell said.
He called them "tweets of mass distraction" and said they were "beneath the dignity of the office of mayor."
“Temperament of leadership is a reflection of character,” Mitchell said.
Reed responded: “He’s not man enough to respond to another man.”
The mayor said the push to get contracts done is “driven by people who are concerned about chaos after the upcoming mayoral election.”
Reed said Ceasar “has been a disaster in terms of his integrity” during his time as an elected official, citing civil penalties Mitchell has paid.
Mitchell responded: “I paid fines due to administrative errors, not corruption.”
More details on myAJC.com.
MYAJC.COM: REAL JOURNALISM. REAL LOCAL IMPACT.
AJC Business reporter Kelly Yamanouchi keeps you updated on the latest news about Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Delta Air Lines and the airline industry in metro Atlanta and beyond. You'll find more on myAJC.com, including these stories:
Never miss a minute of what's happening in local business news. Subscribe to myAJC.com.
About the Author
