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MAYOR’S OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 7, 2002

Shirley Franklin was inaugurated on January 7th, 2002 as the 58th Mayor of Atlanta, having won a landslide victory in November 2001. By becoming Mayor of Atlanta, Shirley Franklin made history. She is Atlanta's first woman Mayor and the first African-American woman to serve as Mayor of a major southeastern city.

Her public service career began in 1978 where she served as the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs under Mayor Maynard Jackson. Under the leadership of Mayor Andrew Young, she was later appointed as the nations first woman Chief Administrative Officer or City Manager, where she was responsible for all the daily operations of a city that was a $1 billion dollar corporation with nearly 8,000 employees and was charged with guiding the development of Hartsfield International Airport, a new city hall, a new municipal court building and 14,000 net housing units. Shirley continued her public service as Executive Officer for Operations during the third term of Mayor Jackson.

In 1991, Shirley joined the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, Inc. (ACOG) as the top ranking female executive, serving as senior vice-president for external relations. While in this position, she was instrumental in the development of such legacies as the Centennial Olympic Park and served as ACOG's primary liaison with various labor unions, civil rights groups, neighborhood/community organizations, and environmentalists.

In 1997 Shirley formed Shirley Clarke Franklin & Associates, a management and consulting firm for public affairs, community affairs and strategic planning and in 1998 became a majority partner in Urban Environmental Solutions, LLC.

Following Governor Barnes's election in 1998 Shirley served on his three-person transition team and in 1999 accepted the Governors invitation to serve on the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), where she was elected vice-chair. In April 2000, Shirley resigned from GRTA and officially declared her candidacy for Mayor of Atlanta.

Shirley Franklin, through her experienced leadership, vision and passion commits to making Atlanta a safer-cleaner city, creating a better city for families, seniors and children and creating a more open, responsive, effective city government. Her proven record of balancing the city's budget for 8 consecutive years, filling over 200 police vacancies, advocating for affordable housing and building coalitions across racial, gender, socio-economic and cultural boundaries unequivocally makes her the type of leader to continue Atlanta's standing in the nation as a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Shirley's commitment to her community is exemplified by her active service on over 30 boards and committees. Currently she serves as a member of the Democratic National Committee and Treasurer of the Democratic Party of Georgia. Her other board affiliations include the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, Spelman College, East Lake Community Foundation, Charles Drew Charter School and the King Baudouin - US Foundation. She has served on the boards of United Way, Paideia School, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the National Black Arts Festival, the Community Foundation, Georgia State Arts Council and the Atlanta Convention and Visitor's Bureau.

Shirley has received numerous awards and honors during her career, including the 1995 Legacy Award from the Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta, the 1996 Woman of the year Award from the YWCA and awards from the League of Women Voters and the Abercrombie Lamp of Learning Award.

She has been featured in a variety of periodicals including Business to Business Magazine, the New York Times, Ebony Magazine, Jet, Heart & Soul Magazine, Glamour Magazine and was recently chosen as one of Atlanta's movers and shakers in Jezebel magazine.

A native of Philadelphia, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Howard University and continued her education earning a Masters of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. Shirley has lived in southwest Atlanta for the last 30 years and has three adult children.

Shirley Franklin makes History as Atlanta's first female Mayor, January 2002