Lisa Borders to re-enter mayor’s race - Updated

Four weeks ago, Borders told us she was “reconsidering” a run for mayor. Well, sometime between then and now, she quit reconsidering and decided to jump back in. Maria Saporta reports on Borders’ turnabout in today’s Atlanta Business Chronicle and our own sources confirm that the Council president is indeed back in. A formal announcement is expected sometime next week.

Borders’ re-entry could up-end the mayor’s race – or maybe not. Before she pulled out last August for family reasons, Borders was routinely described as a front-runner, yet she’d raised a mere $300,000 during more than a year as a declared candidate. She’s now a good six months behind the current front-runners, Councilwoman Mary Norwood and state Sen. Kasim Reed, in terms of fund-raising and campaign events. Still, I’m told that a certain former top executive (of a company whose initials are GP) canceled a Norwood fund-raiser last week when he heard Borders was getting back in.

But the news will certainly affect the down-ticket city races. I’m waiting to hear back, but I understand Councilman Ceasar Mitchell has already dropped his bid for mayor and is shooting instead for the president’s seat. (He’s taken down his campaign website for retooling.) Councilwoman Clair Muller, who was aiming to retire from her Buckhead post after 20 years, has also expressed interest in the job. And we’ve heard that state Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, is likewise eyeing the position.