Mary Norwood has run to be Mayor of Atlanta twice, once in 2008 and again in 2016. She was an at-large City Council member for Atlanta from 2002 to 2010 and from 2014 to 2018.

Mary was the COO for a radio broadcasting company. She was also "the founder of a computer telephony company, the president of a national business organization and the former principal broker of a Georgia-based real estate firm."

Mary was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia. She attended Sweet Briar College and has a bachelor's degree from Emory University. She is chair of the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods. Norwood was also on District Attorney Fani Willis' "Restoring Integrity Transition Team" to provide Fulton County's incoming District Attorney with concrete recommendations. She lives with her husband live in Tuxedo Park.