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Teresa Pike Tomlinson (born February 19, 1965) is an Americans politician and attorney. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She was elected and served as the 69th Mayor of Columbus, Georgia, in 2010. On January 3, 2011, she was sworn in as the city's first female mayor.
On May 20, 2014, she was re-elected to a second term with 62% of the vote, making her the first mayor since the city's consolidation in 1971 to win re-election in a contested race. She unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent David Perdue in the 2020 election, losing the Democratic primary to Jon Ossoff.
In May of 2015, Tomlinson gave the graduation speech at Sweet Briar College weeks after the college’s leadership had voted to close the college. In June of 2015, she and others were appointed to the newly configured Sweet Briar Board of Trustees by a settlement agreement approved by the Bedford County, Virginia Circuit Court. Tomlinson was elected Chair of the Board and served in that position until July 2018 helping to restructure the College.
On January 7, 2019, Tomlinson joined the law firm Hall Booth Smith, P.C., as a partner specializing in complex litigation, crisis management, and strategic solutions. On February 8, 2024, Teresa Tomlinson was lead trial counsel for the Plaintiff Christina Necole Vazquez Klecha who received a jury award of $20.7 million for the wrongful death of her father, George ("Bick") Hale Bickerstaff, III. Federal Jury Awards Harris County Man's Daughter More Than $20 Million in Wrongful Death Lawsuit, WRBL
$20.7M Verdict Reached in Georgia Wrongful Death Case Argued as Self-Defense, The Daily Report
Atlanta Jury Delivers $20.7M Verdict in Wrongful Death LawsuitJurimatic (by Exlitem)
The case involved the shooting death of Mr. Bickerstaff immediately following a dispute regarding land use and sale. Mr. Bickerstaff was 60 years old at the time he was fatally shot. The case was tried in Columbus, Georgia, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.
She also instituted reform at the Muscogee County Prison with the Rapid Resolution Initiative, which expedited the disposition of unindicted inmates at the Muscogee County Jail. Tax Allocation Districts were adopted to encourage the revitalization of city districts, including City Village and the Liberty District. New biking/walking trails were constructed, known as the Dragonfly Trails, to create 60 miles of connected trails throughout the city, including trails and streetscapes in previously blighted areas. Over two miles of the Chattahoochee River were returned to its natural state, creating the world's longest Whitewater Course in an urban setting. Tomlinson has overseen the renaissance of the city's downtown, creating a dining and entertainment district known as Uptown.
Tomlinson has written opinion pieces for The Daily Beast and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Tomlinson completed her second term on January 6, 2019.
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