Norwood, former Reed competitor, running for Atlanta City Council | www.myajc.com

Mary Norwood, who lost her bid for Atlanta mayor to Kasim Reed in a 2009 runoff election by roughly 700 votes, qualified to run for a City Council seat Friday.

“I can’t imagine running for mayor again,” she said. “It was a tremendous amount of effort, and it was a very, very long two years of my life.”

Norwood served two terms on the council, beginning in 2002. But the Buckhead resident rose to regional prominence four years ago during her contentious battle with Reed for the top job at City Hall.

Their race was marked by verbal sparring, with Reed accusing Norwood of accomplishing little during her time on the council, while Norwood labeled Reed a “political insider” and protege of former Mayor Shirley Franklin.

She led in the polls in the weeks leading up to the election, with many news outlets predicting she’d win — a victory that proved elusive by just 714 votes.

Four years later, Reed has risen from the underdog to a virtually unchallenged leader with national clout and $1.6 million in campaign cash, money he’ll all but certainly direct to races of his choosing, such as this.

via Norwood, former Reed competitor, running for Atlanta City Council | www.myajc.com.