PRESS RELEASE
Keisha Lance Bottoms Rolls Out Ethics and Transparency Plan to Stop Insiders From Rigging the System
Keisha’s Plan Will Stop Insiders Like Slick Rick Jackson From Rigging the System to Enrich Themselves
ATLANTA — Today, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms joined Georgia legislators to unveil her “Insiders Out, Taxpayers First” ethics plan to protect taxpayer money and stop insiders like Slick Rick Jackson from hurting Georgians by using taxpayer dollars to enrich themselves.
Keisha's plan will prevent political insiders from rigging the system by preventing the governor from holding state contracts, requiring gubernatorial candidates to divest from companies that are doing business with the state or terminate the contracts, and requiring competitive bidding for major state contracts. Earlier this year, Republicans in the Georgia House of Representatives introduced “The Rick Jackson Bill” to block candidates with state contracts from running for statewide office.
Keisha’s plan comes as Slick Rick Jackson’s health care company has received nearly $1 billion in taxpayer-funded no-bid contracts. Recently, Jackson was caught secretly extending a lucrative contract into 2027, despite promises that he would “unwind” his business with the state and not bid on any new state contracts.
As Mayor of Atlanta, Keisha approved a series of reforms to strengthen ethics in the city of Atlanta. She passed legislation to expand restrictions on the use of city credit cards and launched Atlanta’s “Open Checkbook” system, which provided online public access to city expenditures and contracts. Keisha also appointed Atlanta’s first-ever chief transparency officer and established the office of the inspector general to promote transparency and trust in City Hall.
“This is a man who's playing in our faces. He told all of us that he would undo his dealings if he were elected governor, yet he extended his multi-million-dollar contract just a couple of weeks ago,” said Bottoms. “Let's talk about ethics. First of all, God willing, when I am elected governor of this state, we are going to keep the governor's business out of state business. We will prohibit the governor from maintaining and controlling a financial interest in any company that holds contracts with the state of Georgia. We will also very plainly and simply stop governors from making money off of this state.”
Keisha's Ethics Plan Includes The Following 6 Action Steps:
1. Prevent governors from profiting from state contracts.
Georgia should have a simple rule: the governor should not be able to make money from companies receiving state contracts.
Keisha will prohibit the governor from maintaining a controlling financial interest in any company holding contracts with the State of Georgia.
2. Require governors to divest from companies doing business with the state.
A candidate for governor should not be allowed to seek the state's highest office while maintaining a controlling financial interest in companies doing business with the same state government they hope to lead.
3. Fully close the “Jackson Loophole” and strengthen competitive bidding.
Keisha will go fully close the “Jackson Loophole” by making sure state agencies cannot avoid competition through no-bid contracts, contract amendments, extensions, renewals, or artificially dividing large purchases into smaller contracts.
4. Modernize Georgia's Open Checkbook so taxpayers can easily follow their money.
As Mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Launched Atlanta’s “Open Checkbook,” An Online Budget Transparency Tool To Provide Greater Public Access To Expenditures And Contracts.
Georgia already publishes state spending information through Open Georgia, but the information is only updated annually, and the system is not as timely, searchable, or user-friendly as it should be.
Keisha will modernize Georgia's Open Checkbook into an easy-to-use, continuously updated online tool where Georgians can search state expenditures, vendors, contracts, payments, amendments, and renewals.
5. Put the state procurement process online from beginning to end.
Keisha will create one searchable online location where Georgians can follow the state procurement process from solicitation through final payment.
6. Bring greater transparency to the General Assembly.
Keisha will support applying Georgia's Open Records Act to the General Assembly, including legislators, legislative committees, commissions, and legislative offices, while maintaining appropriate protections for confidential constituent communications, legally privileged material, and sensitive personal information.