The Atlanta mayoral runoff race is coming up on December 5, 2017, between Keisha Lance Bottoms and Mary Norwood. It’s important for the people of Atlanta to get out and vote. Roland Martin talks with Bottoms about what’s to come in the election.
Over-policing vs protecting the people has been a big issue across the U.S. and it’s no different in Atlanta.
“Only about 20% of our police officers even live in the city of Atlanta because so many of them can’t afford to live in the city,” explained Bottoms. “We can certainly make sure we have incentives in place to make sure they want to live in the city of Atlanta and that it’s appealing to them.”
She says this because law enforcement affects the community and school system.
“We’re struggling with our schools. The mayor’s office doesn’t have direct oversight over the school system but our schools and our education systems impact everything,” explained Bottoms. “It impacts our criminal justice system. I was a judge for 6 years and the thing that always struck me is that when men, primarily African American men came into court the vast majority of them had not finished 9th grade.”
Bottoms’ sums up all these issues by explaining that, “these issues all intersect and we all have to address them simultaneously if we’re going to see some real progress.”
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