One Man's Opinion: Is it time for Moore?

For the third time in as many months, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was holding a press conference to acknowledge the tragedy of another child killed, this time among the crossfire of 20 shootings in just one Atlanta weekend. A similar press conference in late March followed the NBA All-Star weekend shooting spree (14) and another child’s tragic shooting earlier. As the body count rises, Atlanta homicides are up 60 percent over the prior year, now surpassing a 50-year high and putting Atlanta on par with Chicago in killings per capita, in what may be a close contest for Murder Capital of the United States in 2021. Generally not the kind of ranking you want to be topping.

This is not the Mayor’s office that Keisha Lance Bottoms campaigned for. The Atlanta of 2017 was still a shining city on the hill in some respects, highly regarded for its civility and perceived racial equity, economically vibrant and routinely atop numerous business and best cities lists and still headed for even greater things. Bottoms won a close first contest, and was considered to be an easy win for re-election. But 2020 had a few other things in mind. A pandemic, job crippling recession, frequent conflicts with the state and its’ GOP leadership, a summer of turmoil and racial justice protests as well as some rioting and, worst of all, a crime surge and shootings spree with seemingly no end in sight.