Today, the Rick Jackson for Georgia campaign released a new 30-second television ad, “Disaster,” which begins airing statewide today, September 10, on multiple platforms across Georgia and takes aim at Keisha Lance Bottoms' record on crime.
What is this new ad about? “Disaster” is about Georgians describing how the City of Atlanta under Keisha Lance Bottoms suffered from crime. The Georgians featured are an Atlanta small business owner and a former Atlanta Police sergeant.
One of them had his house shot up. Another watched cars on his street get broken into every other week. What they keep returning to is that this was not one bad weekend. “It wasn’t just the weekend of the riots,” one says. “It was every day.”
Who do these Georgians believe is responsible? In their assessment, Keisha Lance Bottoms failed to uphold law and order.
They describe her as a mayor whose priorities “were definitely not safety” and who “responded as if it was okay.” They also described Atlanta as a city with “no trust in leadership” and “no accountability.”
Does the record back them up? When taking a look, it’s difficult to deny their assessment.
Atlanta recorded 157 homicides in 2020, up from 99 the year before and the most since 1996, then 158 more in 2021, with at least 840 people struck by gunfire.
More than 200 officers quit in 2020 and nearly 160 more the next year, leaving a department the police union estimated was short at least 500 officers.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s editorial board told her plainly, “Atlanta is your responsibility.” In May 2021, she announced she would not run for reelection.
What key figures had to say:
- Garrison Douglas, Campaign Spokesman: “Those who lived through the nightmare are in agreement: Keisha Lance Bottoms was a disaster as mayor of Atlanta. Rick Jackson will not allow Keisha’s past as mayor to be Georgia's future.”
- Rick Jackson via his Official X: “Keisha’s record in Atlanta is a warning about what happens when police morale and staffing are not treated as priorities.”
