Georgia Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms unveiled her transition team Friday at the state Capitol, less than three days after her election, as she prepares to take over a state whose cash reserves have dropped by billions this year.
Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank and filmmaker Tyler Perry are among the many names on the team. Bottoms said her choices for agency leaders over the next few weeks will shape what her administration can deliver across four years, and that her aim is to be ready to govern on day one.
The former Atlanta mayor won Tuesday's race by more than 8 percentage points. She is the first Georgia Democrat elected governor in decades and the first Black woman elected governor in the nation.
Bottoms has offered few specifics on her first-year legislative agenda. She has dubbed her transition plan Georgia's Promise, a signal that she intends to act on her campaign pledges, and named cost of living, affordable health care and investment in public schools, teachers and students as her focus.
A tighter budget ahead
She takes office in January facing a leaner budget. In May, outgoing Republican Gov. Brian Kemp cut $300 million in new spending after the state's budget director said a new income tax cut package had opened a $1.3 billion hole.
A recent report shows state reserves fell from $14.6 billion as of January to $8.7 billion.
Kemp said Wednesday that he would not call a special session to curtail the governor's powers or redraw Georgia's political maps. He left open the possibility of a session on budgetary issues before lawmakers return in January, though it is unclear what he has in mind.
Bottoms said she had spoken with Kemp and that he offered to help ensure a smooth handoff. His office confirmed the conversation but declined to comment further.
Pointing to her work steering Atlanta's budget after the pandemic, Bottoms said easing the cost of living would remain a consistent priority, especially given cuts by the Trump administration.
I believe that it is representative of just the best of who we all are, that in this place, the South, with our very rich history, that Georgia gets to break that barrier.
Keisha Lance Bottoms, Georgia governor-elect
Asked about the historic nature of her win, Bottoms recalled her husband telling her that among the many Black women in American history, she was the one chosen to be first. She said she hopes young people across Georgia, whatever their background, find inspiration in the moment.
