Bottoms names King to lead Georgia transition team with Perry, Blank

Georgia Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms announced Georgia’s Promise, a transition effort intended to prepare her administration to govern from its first day in office, with John King—her former chief operating officer as Atlanta mayor—leading operations. The transition team includes business, political and civic leaders, among them Arthur Blank, Rosalind Brewer, Jason Carter, Michelle Nunn and filmmaker Tyler Perry; Bottoms also named former state lawmaker Calvin Smyre an honorary co-chair. Bottoms said Gov. Brian Kemp offered administrative resources to support an orderly handover, and her team is coordinating with his administration as it monitors severe flooding in North Georgia. Her stated priorities include affordability, broader access to health care, public education, mental health care and data center policy; she also pledged to eliminate the Georgia Pathways program and support mental-health diversion courts. Bottoms said the state’s budget surplus could fall to between $1 billion and $2 billion by January, and additional transition and policy appointments are expected.