Governor-elect Bottoms talks transition of power, announces transition team

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Newly voted in as Georgia’s governor-elect, Keisha Lance Bottoms shared more about her transition into the role on Friday.

On Tuesday, Bottoms, a Democrat, defeated Republican Rick Jackson by 54.3% to 45.7%, according to the Associated Press. The former Atlanta mayor will be the first Black woman to serve as governor in U.S. history.

“Georgians made a very clear choice on Tuesday, up and down the ballot,” Bottoms said. “We asked for a state government that works on behalf of everyone. I am grateful to every single voter who supported our campaign and even those that did not. Now, the work begins.”

Bottoms said the transition will be called “Georgia’s Promise,” because the governor-elect said the work to keep that promise “starts now, well before inauguration day.”

“Our goal is simple: to be ready to govern on day one,” Bottoms said.

On Friday, Bottoms announced her transition team.

Her team includes:

• Arthur Blank, The Home Depot co-founder, Atlanta professional sports mogul
• Tyler Perry, Founder and CEO of Tyler Perry Studios
• Jason Carter, Former President Jimmy Carter’s grandson, former state senator
• John King, former Atlanta chief operating officer during Bottom’s tenure
• Rosalind Brewer, Former Walgreens CEO, former Spelman College interim president
• Carmen Chubb, Bottoms’ former chief of staff while Atlanta mayor
• Richard Cox, former chief operating officer during Bottoms’ mayor tenure, Delta Air Lines senior vice president of airport customer service
• Jane Kidd, former Athens state representative and former Democratic Party of Georgia chair, daughter of Ernest Vandiver, Georgia’s 73rd governor
• Michelle Nunn, longtime civic nonprofit leader
• Vicky Palmer, Retired Coca-Cola Enterprises executive, Bottoms’ mayoral transition chair
• Rashad Taylor, Former Georgia state representative, Atlanta’s first leader of the city’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Bottoms also said there are several honorary members of her transition team, including U.S. senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, Public Service Commission member Peter Hubbard, among several others.

Outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp promised a smooth transition on Wednesday, saying he won’t call a special session to redraw the state’s political districts or “curtail executive branch powers” before Bottoms takes office.

Bottoms’ victory was part of an enormous Blue wave across the U.S. and Georgia on Election Day.

But one glaring issue remains for Democrats at the Capitol. Despite their widespread victories on Tuesday, they still are subject to a GOP majority - albeit a slim two seat one - in the state Senate.

It could drastically stifle Bottoms’ and Democrat’s abilities to approve some of their biggest policy measures.

The majority party in the Senate also decides how much power a lieutenant governor can have, and could use their majority to dilute the authority of newly-elected Lt. Governor Josh McLaurin.

Rumblings among Capitol insiders suggested McLaurin may court some moderate Republicans to consider switching sides to join Democrats to secure a Senate majority.

It’s not without precedent. In 2002, upon his election to governor, Sonny Perdue convinced several lawmakers to switch parties to secure him a legislative majority.

But McLaurin said it’s not a maneuver he plans to use.

“I don’t know if voters love that,” he said. “I’m not a huge fan of going to somebody who has an established relationship with their community, where they’ve made promises to be a certain type of legislator and asking them to completely flip or to change their loyalties.”

“Now look, if they want to do it and it reflects a genuine conviction and they think that that’s where they need to be so that their heart can match their policy, then great, then we welcome that,” McLaurin continued. “But I don’t want to play power politics right now.”

Jay Morgan, a veteran Republican strategist and founder of the JL Morgan Company, agreed that a party switch was unlikely to happen.

“If someone does that on the Senate side, you’re the guy who gave the keys to everything, right?” said Morgan. “So I think they’ll resist that pressure.”

This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First as we learn more.

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