Atlanta leaders snub former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ run for governor

During the brutal battle over Buckhead cityhood, Humberto García-Sjögrim was one of the most vocal opponents of the secession push. As co-founder of Neighbors for a United Atlanta, he fought aggressively to keep the city intact.

That’s what made his recent email to hundreds of Atlanta’s political influencers so notable.

In a lengthy message on Friday, García-Sjögrim endorsed state Sen. Jason Esteves for governor and sharply criticized former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, another Democrat in the race.

“Simply put, Mayor Bottoms’ failures in office — from rising crime to citywide dysfunction set the stage for the Buckhead City movement,” García-Sjögrim wrote. “And when she abandoned our city for greener pastures, Senator Esteves stayed and fought for our city.”

He added that Esteves headlines “a new generation who will stay and fight for Georgia — no matter how hard it gets.”

The message underscores two things: Bottoms’ decision not to run for a second mayoral term still stings some influential Atlanta leaders. And Esteves is aiming directly at the heart of her political base.

It comes weeks after Esteves unveiled a slate of endorsements from City Hall officials, including City Council President Doug Shipman and Council members Eshé Collins, Jason Dozier and Amir Farokhi.

Bottoms’ campaign has dismissed the snubs. Her aide Cynthia Davis said Sunday the former mayor “focused on Atlanta every day of the full term she served, bringing in more businesses and jobs, securing historic pay raises for police officers and firefighters and expanding affordable housing.”

She added: “She’ll bring the same commitment to the governor’s office to create jobs, lower costs and expand access to health care.”

Things to know

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Good morning! Tomorrow is the last day to vote in the primary election for the Public Service Commission. Just 1% of eligible voters have cast ballots so far.

Here are three things to know for today:

A decade of Trump

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Ten years ago today, Donald Trump descended the escalator at Trump Tower in New York City to launch his campaign for president. Few knew at the time how his brand of politics would reshape the country and the world in ways that are still playing out today.

His political legacy in Georgia is even more complicated. At the time of his announcement, Republicans controlled all statewide offices and had unassailable majorities in the state Legislature.

Over the next decade, Georgia would morph into one of the most competitive battleground states in the country, sending not one but two Democrats to the U.S. Senate while loosening the GOP’s grasp of the Gold Dome.

“Trump’s ridiculous and slow descent down a golden escalator turned out to be a sign of the times to come,” said Jake Orvis, a Democratic political consultant who co-founded First Edition Strategies. “Now, as his approvals are sinking to historic lows, Georgia Democrats are more energized, determined, and fired up than any time in recent memory.”

While it’s true that Trump certainly galvanized Democrats in Georgia, Republicans say the state was already on a purple trajectory well before Trump entered politics — driven by explosive growth and changing demographics.

Veteran GOP political operative Brian Robinson believes Trump actually saved Republicans in Georgia by expanding the party’s base to include more diverse and working class constituents, thus blunting the extent of the party’s losses.

“That’s the irony of all of this. Donald Trump kept Georgia Republicans competitive,” Robinson said. “I don’t think anybody saw that coming on the day he came down that escalator.”

The 2026 midterm elections will be a fascinating check of Georgia’s political future. Will Trump’s endorsement make a difference in the contested Republican primaries for governor and U.S. Senate? Or will voters shrug off Trump’s choices as they did in 2022 when they reelected Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger?

Going nuclear

Tomorrow is the last day to vote in the primary for Public Service Commission, and the hottest race is in District 3 where three Democrats are vying for a chance to take on Republican incumbent Fitz Johnson.

Republicans control every seat on the commission, giving them the final say on Georgia Power’s electricity rates. The Democrats have been campaigning on reining in those rates — a smart political strategy as the increases have miffed customers.

But the Democrats’ push for affordability threatens to impede another one of their policy goals: clean energy. During a candidate forum on today’s episode of the “Politically Georgia” podcast, all three Democrats say they supported nuclear energy — a power source that doesn’t put carbon in the air but is tremendously expensive.

Georgia’s latest nuclear power plant ended up costing billions of dollars more than anticipated — a cost that ratepayers will have to cover.

Here’s what they said:

Tree cover

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Environmentalists have long sparred with developers over preserving Atlanta’s tree canopy and its crucial role as both the city’s thermostat and air purifier.

Today, that battle heads to City Hall as council members debate a proposed law that would make it far more expensive to remove trees while also offering incentives for developers to construct affordable housing.

The effort comes amid an alarming decline in the number of trees in Atlanta, which has long boasted as having among the most dense canopies among any urban area in the United States. The city has a goal of maintaining 50% canopy coverage, but a 2018 study from Georgia Tech found it was at 46.5% — a number advocates fear will fall below 45% after the next assessment.

The proposal would nearly triple the fees per acre for removing trees in some cases. And it would more than triple fines for illegal tree removal, our AJC colleague Drew Kann reported. But it doesn’t require developers to preserve a percentage of trees on their lots, an omission conservation advocates fear won’t stop clear-cutting.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who is up for reelection this fall, is backing the proposal. His spokesperson said it “strikes a balance between conservation concerns and Atlanta’s serious need for affordable housing.”

Listen up

Today on “Politically Georgia” we talk to the candidates in Tuesday’s Public Service Commission primary elections.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

You can listen and subscribe to the show for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Sweatin’ with MTG

Credit: Rod Lamkey Jr./AP

Credit: Rod Lamkey Jr./AP

Ahead of the military parade that marked the Army’s 250th birthday, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene checked out a CrossFit Games competition at the National Mall. The Rome Republican shared a video on X that showed her telling a conservative media outlet that it’s her preferred workout.

“Not only is it the best way to train, it’s also the most fun,” said Greene, the former owner of a CrossFit studio.

As she spoke, members of the military rode stationary bikes and lifted heavy weights.

Later, Greene joined Trump in his private viewing box for the parade.

‘No Kings’ protest

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Millions of people gathered across the nation for “No Kings” protests on Saturday coinciding with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday and the military parade in Washington that was his unofficial celebration. While there were multiple anti-Trump protests in Georgia, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock was the surprise guest at a demonstration in the Midwest.

Already in the state capital of Madison for the Wisconsin Democratic Party’s annual convention, Warnock took the stage at that city’s event to a roaring crowd of several thousand people. He spoke about Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy of nonviolence and urged the people in attendance to continue using their voice in hopes of bringing change.

“Dr. King said that I am afraid that we will have to repent in this generation, not only for the vitriolic words and violent actions of the bad people, but because of the appalling silence and the indifference of the good people,” he said, according to a release from his office. “Raise your voices in this moral moment in America. Let them hear you all the way to Washington, D.C.”

Today in Washington

Shoutouts

Credit: Courtesy photo

Credit: Courtesy photo

Belated birthdays

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Before you go

Credit: Tia Mitchell/AJC

Credit: Tia Mitchell/AJC

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s love of seersucker suits landed him an interview in GQ last week. “I’m from Savannah, Georgia, and if it’s July or August, you don’t just feel the heat; you wear it,” he said. “For me, seersucker goes right along with big front porches and iced tea.”

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.