Atlanta’s new mayor sworn into office Tuesday

Keisha Lance Bottoms (Photo by Afdahe – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Atlanta’s new mayor has been sworn in.

Local news outlets report that Keisha Lance Bottoms took her oath of office during an inauguration ceremony at Morehouse College Tuesday. City council members, council President Felicia Moore and municipal court judges were also set to take office.

Bottoms defeated Mary Norwood in a Dec. 5 runoff election to succeed Kasim Reed as Atlanta’s mayor.

The bitterly contested campaign between the two city council members was marked by political grudges and allegations of corruption, and less than 20 per cent of the city’s roughly 500,000 residents turned out to vote.

Bottoms is Atlanta’s sixth consecutive black mayor since Maynard Jackson was elected in 1973.

City Council members were expected to convene at 5 p.m. Tuesday for their first organizational meeting of their new session.