Editor's Corner
MAYORAL CANDIDATE SHIRLEY CLARKE FRANKLIN
Front runner Mayoral candidate Shirley Franklin was the guest speaker at the Midtown Neighbors' Association (MNA) meeting held last Tuesday evening at Mary Mac's restaurant. She was introduced by Jannie Gerds as a young lady who was raised in Philadelphia, PA and came to Atlanta in the early seventies. Ever since, she has been involved in governmental activities and has served in the administrations of the last three mayors.
In 1978 Shirley served as Atlanta's Chief Administrative Officer during Mayor Andrew Young's administration. She also served as Executive Officer for Operations and Commissioner of Cultural Affairs during Mayor Maynard Jackson's administration. In 1991 she joined The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games as Senior Vice President for external relations. In 1997 Shirley formed Shirley Clarke Franklin and Associates, a management consulting firm for public affairs. Following Governor Roy Barnes' election in 1998, Shirley served on his three-person transition team. In 1999 she accepted Governor Barnes' invitation to serve on the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority. In April 2000 she resigned from GRTA and officially declared her candidacy for Mayor of Atlanta.
Her extensive intragovernmental experience comes vividly across as she speaks. She spoke eloquently and intelligently. The way she handled questions from the audience, fluently and with authoritative precision, one can tell that Shirley has a commanding grasp of the issues which concern most Atlantans today. The questions raised by several Midtown residents ranged from public safety to budget, homeless, downtown Atlanta, recruiting and retention of police officers, Piedmont park, taxes and more. She spoke of cost effective government and customer friendly government. She stated that the Atlanta government was a \\$2.5 billion corporation. It needed a well-rounded CEO to run a $2.5 billion corporation effectively.
In closing, Shirley quoted from a mentor of hers who had told her: "Shirley, government needs to be navigated". Shirley has aptly demonstrated that she has the willingness, ability and determination to navigate. We wish her a clear and successful sailing during her campaign in the months ahead.
James C. Stathis
Associate Editor
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