Rick Ross Says He’s Running for Political Office

Rapper Rick Ross announced plans to run for political office earlier this month and it’s not clear just how serious he was. On Tuesday, May 16, Ross announced that he would run for mayor of Fayetteville, Georgia after the city’s existing leadership denied him permits to host a car show there. The permits have since been granted, but there’s no word on whether Ross’ political aspirations have cooled off since then.

“I love Fayetteville so much. Next year I’m running for mayor,” Ross said on his Instagram Story on Tuesday, May 16. “That’s right. The boss Rick Ross running for mayor of Fayetteville. I wanna know how many votes did it actually take to vote in the mayor of Fayetteville. I need to know that because we gonna become that. We gonna make that happen, and we gonna have a good time. We gonna give some people opportunities, we gonna give some people raises and, of course, we gonna have to clean some people out.”

Ross spends much of his time at his home in Miami, Florida, but he has a large property in Fayetteville as well. Last year, he hosted a massive car show there and planned to make it an annual event. However, according to a report by WSB-TV Ross was denied a permit this year after several of his neighbors complained about the noise and traffic disruptions.

Undaunted, Ross announced that the car show would go on anyway, implying that there were some loopholes that would allow him to hold the event without a permit. He wrote, “It’s a private event on private property with VIPs and you’re invited. Tickets still available online.” Presumably, Ross would have had a legal battle on his hands if he had held the event with no permit, so the 47-year-old rapper must have been prepared to pay the price.

It turns out he won’t have to. According to a report by TMZ, Fayetteville city officials changed their minds and issued Ross a permit on Friday, May 26. The outlet obtained a letter from the city to Ross laying out the terms for the event. It says that Ross must get the fire marshal’s approval for any tents, must provide off-street parking, and must shut off all outdoor lights by 10 p.m. The event itself can’t go on for more than two weeks.

“Rick Ross and his team are excited to get the administrative hurdle behind us and look forward to a great event on June 3, 2023,” said Ross’ lawyer, Leron Rogers. Ross has made many Instagram posts since then and seems to be primarily concerned with promoting his event and related enterprises. He doesn’t seem to have mentioned his mayoral campaign again. For now, the people of Fayetteville will have to wait and see the ballot in 2024.