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Keisha’s no Kasim: Inside Bottoms’s very different City Hall
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Candidate
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| Contributor | IndyGeorgia |
| Last Edited | IndyGeorgia Jun 15, 2019 09:59pm |
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| Category | Profile |
| Author | Thomas Wheatley |
| News Date | Thursday, May 23, 2019 06:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | City Hall is literally across the street from Calvin Smyre’s office near the Gold Dome, but on a brisk Tuesday in March, the state representative made the visit to see Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms by car. At 72, Smyre has artificial hips, which make walking even short distances painful. Over 45 years, the Democrat from Columbus has gone from being the youngest member of the General Assembly to its longest serving. Not coincidentally, he’s also a throwback to a time when politicians of both parties crossed the aisle to find common ground. Although Democrats haven’t held a majority in the state House since 2004, Smyre hasn’t seen his influence diminish. When Nathan Deal fled the Democratic party in 1995 to become a Republican, one of the only state Democrats to not shun him was Smyre, who saved Deal from being gerrymandered out of his Congressional seat. As governor, Deal never forgot it. Amid the complex machinations of state politics, there is no one more connected, and more willing to pass on credit, than Calvin Smyre. And so, for every Atlanta mayor since Maynard Jackson, Smyre has made this short trip to give advice and offer up some wisdom. But until now, arguably none had ever needed his counsel more than the city’s 60th mayor. |
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