ATLANTA — Former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed took the first official step on Tuesday to getting his old job back.
Reed filed paperwork with the state to run for the city of Atlanta’s mayor again.
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Reed and his staff would not confirm to Channel 2 investigative reporter Justin Gray that Reed will join the growing field of candidates, but Gray pulled the paperwork dated Wednesday that created the Kasim Reed for Atlanta Campaign Committee, which will allow him to raise money for another run.
“It completely shifts the field,” said Channel 2 political analyst Bill Crane.
Crane said Reed, who already served two terms in office, brings universal name recognition to the race to succeed Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who said she will not seek another term.
[READ: Kasim Reed files paperwork for Atlanta mayor]
“I would say he is in the top two or three out of the gate, but what he does with that remains to be seen,” Crane said.
Reed sent out invites for a black-tie birthday bash for Thursday night. The minimum donation to attend is $1,000. We expect he will formally announce his candidacy then.
The former mayor brings a record of success in bolstering police department staffing and shoring up city finances within his first term. But his second term was filled with controversies.
[RELATED: Mayor again? Kasim Reed talks City Hall corruption, crime, another run to lead Atlanta]
Several members of his staff have either been indicted or served time for corruption.
Channel 2′s Dave Huddleston sat down for an interview with Reed a month ago,
“The justice department under Bill Barr has looked into every aspect of my life fwhere the former mayor addressed any ties to the corruption.or three years and took no action. I wanted to be mayor since I was 13-years-old. I told you that outside my job as mayor. I would never break my mother’s heart by taking money from somebody,” Reed said at the time.
[RELATED: Who will be Atlanta’s 61st mayor? Here’s a look at some possible candidates.]
Reed joins a growing field that includes City Council president Felicia Moore and two other council members.
Crane said that Reed is not the automatic front-runner in the race.
“The star we had in the first term -- I’d look back at some of those accomplishments. At the same time, I would try to turn my ego down,” Crane said.
Gray covered Reed’s first run for mayor 12 years ago and said one of the defining issues from that campaign was his plan to recruit more police officers to combat crime.
Crime is expected to be a key issue once again in this race.
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