Keisha Sean Waites (born October 30, 1972) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

from the state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. A Democrat, she served in the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005 ...

from 2012 to 2017, representing southeast Atlanta, College Park, East Point, Hapeville, Forest Park, Hartsfield Jackson Airport, Porsche Headquarters and parts of Clayton and DeKalb counties.

Early life and career

Born in 1972 at

Grady Hospital Grady Memorial Hospital, frequently referred to as Grady Hospital or simply Grady, is the public hospital for the city of Atlanta. It is the tenth-largest public hospital in the United States, and one of the busiest Level I trauma centers in ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, United States, Waites attended Lakeside High School in Dekalb county and graduated in 1991. She then attended Georgia Southern and

Atlanta Metropolitan College Atlanta Metropolitan State College is a public college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia. History In June 1965, the University System of Georgia authorized the creation of a junior college in the Atlanta me ...

and graduated with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

. In 2014, Waites completed Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a

David Bohnett David C. Bohnett (born April 2, 1956) is an American philanthropist and technology entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of the David Bohnett Foundation, a non-profit, grant-making organization devoted to improving society through social ...

LGBTQ Victory Institute Leadership Fellow.

Political career

Before winning election to the state legislature in 2012, Waites mounted seven unsuccessful campaigns for elected office: # 2001:

Atlanta City Council The Atlanta City Council is the main municipal legislative body for the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It consists of 16 members primarily elected from 12 districts within the city. The Atlanta City Government is divided into three bo ...

, at-large post 1 (as Sean Waites) # 2002: State Senate, District 36: placed fourth in the Democratic primary # 2005: Atlanta City Council # 2006: Fulton County Commission # 2008: State House, District 61: lost primary runoff # 2009: Atlanta City Council # 2011: Fulton County Commission: lost runoff In addition, Waites applied for an appointment to the Atlanta City Council in 2004, one of four candidates who put themselves forward to temporarily fill a vacant seat. The council did not select Waites for the vacancy, choosing Esther Stewart-Moseley instead. Waites's qualified for the District 60 House seat on January 9, 2012. In the special election, she took 54.2 percent of the vote (321 votes) compared to 18.6 percent (110 votes) for Theresa Middlebrooks and 27.2 percent (161 votes) for Latrenka Riley, thus avoiding a runoff. Waites resigned from her House seat on September 18, 2017, to run for the chairship of the Fulton County Commission. She finished in second place, ahead of

Gabriel Sterling Robert Gabriel Sterling (born November 14, 1970) is an American politician and elections official from the state of Georgia. He is the chief operating officer (COO) in the office of the Georgia Secretary of State. He previously served on the cit ...

, and advanced to a

runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...

, which she lost to

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

Robb Pitts. She ran in the Democratic primary for

Georgia's 13th congressional district Georgia's 13th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. The district is currently represented by Democrat David Scott, though the district's boundaries have been redrawn following the 2010 census, whi ...

against incumbent

David Scott David Randolph Scott (born June 6, 1932) is an American retired test pilot and NASA astronaut who was the seventh person to walk on the Moon. Selected as part of the third group of astronauts in 1963, Scott flew to space three times and ...

, coming in second place in a field of four candidates. She filed for the 5th congressional district special election to fill the remaining term of

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

. In 2021, Waites filed to run for

Post 3 At-Large to succeed incumbent

Andre Dickens Andre DeShawn Dickens (born June 17, 1974) is an American politician and nonprofit executive who is the 61st and current mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. He was a member of the Atlanta City Council and defeated council president Felicia Moore in the s ...

(who filed to run for

Atlanta Mayor Here is a list of mayors of Atlanta, Georgia. The mayor is the highest elected official in Atlanta. Since its incorporation in 1847, the city has had 61 mayors. The current mayor is Andre Dickens who was elected in the 2021 election and took o ...

), her fourth bid for a council seat. After winning the largest share of votes in the first round among five candidates, Waites ran in a November 30 runoff with Jacki Labat, winning the runoff 52%-47%.

Personal life

Waites is openly LGBT.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waites, Keisha 1972 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American women in politics Georgia Southern University alumni Lesbian politicians LGBT African Americans LGBT state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) Living people Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Women state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) Candidates in the 2020 United States elections 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women