Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms faces scrutiny over ethics allegations as she campaigns for governor in Georgia, reigniting concerns about her past conduct in city government.
Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta and a Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia, is under renewed scrutiny as her gubernatorial campaign brings to light past ethics controversies from her tenure in city government. Allegations of a pay-to-play scheme have emerged, raising questions about her conduct while in office.
During her time as mayor, Bottoms faced criticism for her use of public resources, including taxpayer-funded mailers featuring her own images and city-paid travel expenses that controversially included her husband’s airfare to the Super Bowl. These issues have resurfaced as she seeks higher office, prompting discussions about the implications of her past actions on her current campaign.
One significant point of contention involves Bottoms’ relationship with a contractor, Con-Real, which secured lucrative contracts with the city shortly after she signed a consulting agreement with the firm while serving as the executive director of the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority (AFCRA). This occurred just days before she left the city council to become mayor. The CEO of Con-Real later contributed to and helped fundraise for her campaign.
Jennifer Ide, a former Atlanta City Council leader who chaired the city’s ethics committee during Bottoms’ tenure, expressed concern over the implications of these allegations. “I think it’s concerning,” Ide told Fox News Digital. “I don’t think that the voters want to feel like special interests impact the outcome of an election.”
As executive director of AFCRA, Bottoms awarded the first of three contracts to Con-Real in April 2017, valued at less than $100,000, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Just days later, she was preparing to exit her position as mayoral candidate. In June 2017, Con-Real won a second contract worth $2.4 million, despite having submitted a bid that was approximately double that of its competitor. Reports indicate that these contracts were executed without the necessary approval from the recreation authority’s board, raising further ethical concerns.
Ide noted that the lack of board approval for the contracts was troubling, although she acknowledged she was not fully versed in AFCRA’s procurement rules. Kyle Gomez-Leineweber, policy director at watchdog group Common Cause Georgia, confirmed that AFCRA amended its contracting process in response to the controversy surrounding Bottoms. “There were serious concerns that were raised around ethics,” he stated.
Gerald Alley, the founder and CEO of Con-Real, reportedly hosted a fundraiser for Bottoms’ mayoral campaign in August 2017. Campaign finance records reveal that he donated nearly $4,000 to her campaign shortly after the firm secured a lucrative contract with the city. In 2018, while Bottoms was still mayor, Con-Real won a third contract for $1.4 million, again as the highest bidder, which raised eyebrows among observers. Ide remarked, “It sure looked fishy that Con-Real was not the lowest bidder.” She emphasized that the city typically selects the lowest responsive bidder for contracts.
In June 2025, shortly after Bottoms announced her gubernatorial candidacy, Alley contributed the maximum allowable amount of $8,400 for the primary election, further fueling speculation about the nature of their relationship.
Humberto Garcia, a Democrat and founder of the anti-Buckhead City movement Neighbors for a United Atlanta, expressed skepticism about Bottoms’ fitness for office. “I really believe that as people start to dig under the surface, they’re going to see that she’s not fit for office,” he said.
Beyond the Con-Real controversy, Bottoms has faced a series of ethics-related incidents, including a $37,000 state ethics fine for campaign finance violations and backlash over her use of public funds for personal expenses, such as her husband’s Super Bowl trip and significant limousine costs. Both Ide and Garcia criticized Bottoms for being “absent-minded” during her tenure as mayor, questioning whether she would prioritize the interests of Georgians if elected governor.
“If you’re going to run for the highest office in the state, there needs to be no questions about whether you’re being influenced by your campaign donations in that kind of way,” Ide stated.
Fox News Digital reached out to both Bottoms’ campaign and Con-Real for comment but did not receive a response. The Democratic primary for Georgia’s gubernatorial race is scheduled for May 19, with Bottoms currently leading in most major polls. Former Georgia General Assemblyman and CEO of DeKalb County, Michael Thurmond, is trailing in second place in many of the same surveys, according to The New York Times.