Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms may not be running for reelection, but she’s not clocking out until the absolute last hour. 

The mayor spoke with Blavity after hosting a visit by Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, who spoke with Georgia business leaders to promote President Joe Biden’s infrastructure agenda on Wednesday.

As Bottoms described after her Invest Atlanta appearance with Yellen, Atlanta’s government has been carrying out a number of programs to support area businesses in general and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Endeavors include a women’s entrepreneurship program, a “Strength in Beauty” fund for hairstylists and barbers and the CreateATL fund, in addition to small business micro-loans and grants as well as rental assistance. 

Mayor Bottoms says Biden’s infrastructure bill will aid her efforts to support even more Atlanta residents and businesses during the pandemic.

“The bipartisan support of this bill is going to allow us to do it on a different scale,” she added. 

She also spoke on recent voter disenfranchisement efforts. The attorney and former magistrate judge noted that Georgians made huge difference in the most recent presidential and Senate elections. She urged Georgia voters to remain engaged in order to protect their own voting rights and influence.

“We were able to make a difference on a national level. We’ve got to make that same difference in turning out to go on the state level as well,” Mayor Bottoms said. “Our district maps are drawn by our state legislature. And if we don’t turn out in local elections and statewide elections, the same way we do for presidential elections, we’re going to keep finding ourselves here.”

She went on to urge Georgians to check their voter registration status on the Georgia Secretary of State’s website.

In addition to her work for the people of Atlanta, Bottoms is also a strong advocate for historically Black colleges and universities. Mayor Bottoms lauded the current crop of students attending HBCUs across the country. She noted President Joe Biden‘s recognition of the influence of historically Black schools during his campaign and in his administration. Vice President Kamala Harris and senior White House advisor Cedric Richmond are graduates of Howard University and Morehouse College, respectively. 

Bottoms, an HBCU graduate herself, was recently given the title of inaugural honorary fellow of the HBCU Executive Leadership Institute at Clark Atlanta University.

“It is going to be an opportunity for leaders across the country to help cultivate leaders of HBCUs,” the 51-year-old added. 

The Florida A&M University alumna’s connection to HBCUs spans several generations. As she noted, her mother attended Clark Atlanta, then known as Clark College. Now, her son is entering his second year at Morehouse. Bottoms noted that she plans to attend both the FAMU and Morehouse homecomings once pandemic conditions allow, even though, as she joked, her son may be “mortified” at the presence of his mom. 

In the meantime, though, Bottoms will likely have her hands full between now and the end of her term in January. As Blavity previously reported, Bottoms announced in May that she will not be running for reelection this year. Though she mentioned having received “many offers,” she said she is concentrating on her mayoral duties.

“Right now I’m focused on finishing strong,” Bottoms insisted. “I still have until January 4 at noon to serve as Mayor of Atlanta and I’m going to be mayor all day, every day until then.”