Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, thank you so much
for joining us on The Daily Social Distancing Show.
Thank you for having me. It's an honor to join you.
It's, uh, an interesting time
specifically in Georgia right now
because you have, uh, a m...
um, a governor who has decided to be, in many ways,
the pilot program for America opening up way sooner
than a lot of people thought, um, any places should open up.
You have come out and been... have been very vocal
against, um, Kemp opening up the state of Georgia,
but you are the mayor of Atlanta.
Tell us why you're so against this
even though the governor says he's considered it,
and he thinks it's time for Georgia to reopen.
You know, the irony of this is that the governor and I
have a very good working relationship.
He's a Republican governor.
I am, of course, a Democrat.
And so we cross the aisle quite a bit to work together.
Um, but this is something that I feel very strongly about
because lives are at stake.
And I've said repeatedly, and I'll say it again.
This is one that... I hope that I'm wrong on this
and that he's right.
Because if he's wrong, people will die, and this is...
Can't remain silent, um, in speaking up
against what I think is a premature decision
to allow our state to open back up
and continue business as usual.
Bowling alleys, movie theaters.
There's nothing essential about those businesses.
And I understand there's a-a huge economic strain
on so many business owners, and that's very real.
Um, but we're balancing that and life.
Literally. And we don't get to pick and choose
who gets infected
and how severe their illness will be.
And when one person is infected,
-then it's an entire community, and that's... -Mm-hmm.
And I've spoken up against the governor on this.
Now, many people who support the governor
or the governor himself have argued
that, uh, opening up states like Georgia
isn't as bad as it may be in a place like New York,
because people are able to maintain
a certain level of distance between each other.
They've argued that, um, people can still be responsible
even though the states have opened up.
Do you think that there's a balance between the two worlds,
or do you think that this is something
that wasn't thought out enough before, um, jumping into action?
Absolutely not. And that's why it was so frustrating
that the governor didn't defer to local control
and local decision-making on this,
because Atlanta is a part of a larger metropolitan area.
So, we have about 500,000 residents in Atlanta,
but the metropolitan Atlanta area
is around 6 million people.
That's-that's a lot of people
in a very small space.
And, so, uh, you know, this notion
that we are Georgia of 1920,
um, it-it's not realistic.
We are a major American city.
We have the world's busiest airport.
And, so, it's not possible
for us to completely separate and distance ourselves.
And when you talk about barbershops and hair salons,
specifically communities of color,
there's one on every single corner.
And I read an article today
that southern states are bearing the brunt
and will bear the brunt of COVID-19
in a way that will be unprecedented
compared to the rest of the country,
um, in large part
because of the underlying health conditions,
the poverty rates and all of these things
that are making this disease more deadly.
And it-it concerns me deeply,
but we will know in the next two to four weeks
if this social/health experiment,
uh, was a brilliant idea
or if it was the absolute worst thing
that could have happened.
Now, you-you are... you are the mayor of Atlanta,
so obviously, you're in a... in a tricky situation
or in a tricky spot because, you know,
the governor has issued these orders,
and then you also have power as-as a mayor.
Where-where do you think...
where do you think your power ends,
and-and where do you think his begins?
Because you're trying to figure out who to listen to.
If somebody's a resident of Georgia,
if they're a resident of Atlanta,
they have the two of you,
but they're trying to figure out who to listen to.
How do you think people should navigate that for themselves?
Well, this is something I'm navigating for myself.
He is the governor,
and he has authority throughout this state.
He went out of his way to say
that, um, his orders would take precedence
over anything that we could do locally.
But I have the power of my voice.
It's the reason that I'm talking with you.
It's the reason I've been speaking
every opportunity that I get
to let people know that I disagree with this order.
And I know in Atlanta,
where we are a dense community,
where there are a number of people of color,
that this could be catastrophic for our community.
I think that it's wrong.
You have, um, people who are on one side of the argument
who have been saying, you know, places like nail salons,
barbershops, et cetera, don't need to be open.
There have been people who frequent those places
or people who own them or work in them who say, yes,
but these are the small businesses
that are the lifeblood
of-of many of our small communities.
And you're in a unique position
because your mom owned a nail salon.
So, you know, you were raised in that world,
in that ecosystem for yourself.
So if you were speaking to somebody who owned a nail salon,
if you were speaking to somebody who works in one,
and they say to you, "Um, you know, Mayor,
"I-I completely hear what you're saying,
"but I need to earn money now,
I need to get back out there so that I can pay my bills,"
what-what would you say to them?
Well, and, actually, it was a hair salon
that my mother owned for almost 25 years.
And I would say what my mother says to me often.
You have to live to fight another day.
This would have been devastating for our family,
because my mother was a single parent
and we relied heavily, um,
and solely on what she brought into our household
for a very long period of time.
So I get it. I understand it.
But I also know there would have been nothing more important
to me as a child
and to my mother as the breadwinner in our household
that she be healthy and whole.
And what I-- what I continue to look at is history.
We've been through the Great Depression.
We've been through recessions.
We've been through pandemics, um, in this nation.
And generations have gotten to the other side of it.
It wasn't always comfortable.
And it wasn't al-- Um, but when you exercise good sense
and when you just stay focused
on what the end goal is,
I know that we'll get to the other side of it.
And what we know looking at countr-- at countries
across the globe is that the way that they've been able
to flatten their numbers is to be very deliberate
in keeping people separated.
And our numbers in this state
are continuing to rise daily.
Our death rates are continuing to rise
and we aren't testing people.
And-and we may have beds to offer to people,
but it's like we're saying to people,
"Yeah, go bowling, and if you get sick,
I have a bed for you."
That makes no sense to me.
What would you recommend to people in terms of reopening?
When would they go out? Because some people feel
like there's no light at the end of this tunnel.
And so some may say, "Well, I-I understand
"that now's not the right time, but when would you think
the right time should be or could be?"
I think we just have to wait a few more weeks.
And-and we can look at what's happening in New York.
We can look at what's happened in Washington.
And we can look at other places and see
that there is light at the end of the tunnel
if you stay the course.
But we are not giving ourselves an opportunity
to even get a glimpse of the light,
because we're taking five steps backwards.
And I think that's why it's incumbent upon us as leaders.
You got to be able to put money in people's pockets.
You have to make it easy
for these small businesses to access loans.
I was looking at an interview with a barber who said,
"I-I know I'm putting my health at risk.
"If I had money in my pocket,
"if I had gotten one of those small business loans,
-I would not have opened up." -Mm-hmm.
That's a very bad situation
and-and choice that we are making,
um, people have to, uh, balance.
And so I think our energy as leaders
is better spent not rushing to open up
but figure out ways like we are doing in Atlanta.
We started a cosmetology relief fund.
We're asking people to contribute to that fund.
Take tho-- that $15 or $50
you would you have spent getting your hair done,
put it in that relief fund so we can put some money
in people's pockets so they don't have to choose
between, uh, their life and opening up their business.
Yeah, it-it really is a tough choice
that people have to make right now,
because even though it-it's only been, for many people, a month,
it feels like there's no end in sight
and so they have to start preparing for the worst
because most people are only one paycheck away
from not being able to afford their lives.
As the mayor, I know you have limited power.
But is there anything that the city of Atlanta is
or can do right now or is there anything you wish
the federal government would be focusing on more
to help residents of cities like yours?
So we're gonna continue to do what we've been doing in Atlanta
to ensure that we can provide services to our residents.
Um, I just sent out a-a robocall
to our senior residents on today,
encouraging them to sign up for our food delivery program.
We are already providing food to our students.
We're also-- we also have a small business loan program
that we hope to expand.
Um, I mention the beauty and barbershop relief fund.
And so we're trying to be creative in that way.
We suspended water payments in the city of Atlanta,
uh, so that people
don't have to at least worry about running water.
I think those are the things we have to be creative with.
And then I'll continue to talk to the health experts
and follow their recommendations.
I'm not a-- not a medical professional.
Um, so my decision-making is based
on what is being relayed to me
as science and data.
And when I look at the data,
I see that our numbers are still rising.
And I look at the science. The science is clear.
You have to socially distance yourself.
So that's what we will continue to do.
And I will continue to consult with our public health experts
and see if there is anything else that we can do in this city
to make it easier for people to stay home during this time.
Mayor, thank you so much for your time.
Um, I wish you the best.
And, uh, hopefully, as you said,
the governor is right, as opposed to him being wrong.
But, uh, we'll see how the story ends.
Thank you so much for joining us.
Thank you for having me.