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Shirley Clarke Franklin (born May 10, 1945) is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party who served as the 56th mayor of
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, from 2002 to 2010. She currently serves as a member on the board of directors for both
Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...
and Mueller Water Products. The 58th mayor of Atlanta, she was the first woman to hold the post and the first black woman to be elected mayor of a major Southern city. Franklin was Atlanta's fourth African-American mayor. In July 2009, Mayor Franklin (along with Frances Townsend and Judge William H. Webster) was appointed to an ad hoc Department of Homeland Security special task force for 60-day review of the Homeland Security Advisory System.


Education

Originally from
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Pennsylvania, she is a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Girls. Franklin received her B.A. in
sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
from
Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...
and her M.A., also in sociology, from the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
. She is an Honorary member of
Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emp ...
sorority.


Political career

Franklin served as the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs under Mayor Maynard Jackson. Subsequently, she was named Chief Administrative Officer and City Manager under Mayor
Andrew Young Andrew Jackson Young Jr. (born March 12, 1932) is an American politician, diplomat, and activist. Beginning his career as a pastor, Young was an early leader in the civil rights movement, serving as executive director of the Southern Christia ...
. Her
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
run for mayor was her first run for public office. She won, succeeding Mayor Bill Campbell after winning 50 percent of the vote, defeating several candidates including Democrat Robb Pitts (33 percent). Facing a massive and unexpected budget deficit, Franklin slashed the number of government employees and increased taxes to balance the budget as quickly as possible. Franklin made repairing the Atlanta sewer system a main focus of her office. Prior to Franklin's term, Atlanta's
combined sewer A combined sewer is a type of gravity sewer with a system of pipes, tunnels, pump stations etc. to transport sewage and surface runoff, urban runoff together to a sewage treatment plant or disposal site. This means that during rain events, the se ...
system violated the federal
Clean Water Act The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the primary respo ...
and burdened the city government with fines from the Environmental Protection Agency. In 2002, Franklin announced an initiative called "Clean Water Atlanta" to address the problem and begin improving the city's sewer system. She has been lauded for efforts to make the City of Atlanta "
green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
." Under Franklin's leadership Atlanta has gone from having one of the lowest percentages of
LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...
certified buildings to one of the highest. In 2005, ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' named Franklin one of the five best big-city American mayors. In October of that same year, she was included in the U.S. News & World Report "Best Leaders of 2005" issue. With solid popular support and strong backing from the business sector, Franklin was reelected Atlanta Mayor in 2005, garnering more than 90 percent of the vote. Her popularity led to increased speculation that she may be a viable contender for a future Georgia governor's race. In February 2006, The White House Project named Shirley Franklin one of its "8 in '08", a group of eight female politicians who could possibly run and/or be elected
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
in 2008. She was the only person on the list to not be a governor, senator or presidential cabinet member, and one of two African-American women on the list; the other was
United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...
Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...
. In 2006, Shirley Franklin led the effort to have the papers of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
given to his alma mater,
Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...
, instead of being sold at auction: "I never imagined I could contribute to the continuation of Dr. King's legacy in as a significant way. And I'm really humbled I was able to do anything to continue his legacy." Franklin was a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...
and Boston mayor
Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three mont ...
. She was 2007/08 President of the
National Conference of Democratic Mayors The National Conference of Democratic Mayors, otherwise called the Democratic Mayors Association, is the representative body of city mayors in the United States affiliated to the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, in the same way t ...
. In 2008, facing a major deficit, Mayor Franklin asked the Atlanta City Council to approve a property tax increase, to avoid public safety cuts. The Atlanta City Council unanimously shot down the measure, which would have caused the average city homeowner to pay an estimated extra $30 in property taxes under Franklin's plan. As Mayor Franklin warned, without the tax increase, layoffs and pay cuts of Atlanta public safety officials would be imminent. According to the ''
Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...
'', in December 2008 Franklin announced that 222 city workers would lose their jobs to help fill a projected $50 million to $60 million budget shortfall. Most remaining city workers, including firefighters, will work fewer hours and suffer a pay cut as part of the budget cuts. Mayor Shirley Franklin has said that the deficits in the city of Atlanta are not because of excess city spending. In fact, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle city spending actually ran slightly below budgeted amounts through the first quarter of the fiscal year that began in July. According to Mayor Shirley Franklin, city tax collections are down by more than 12 percent because of the economic downturn. However, basic accounting mistakes in the city budget also played a significant role in the budget crisis. Franklin, along with
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
's
Michael Nutter Michael Anthony Nutter (born June 29, 1957) is an American politician who served as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, he is also a former member of the Philadelphia City Council from the 4th di ...
and Phil Gordon of Phoenix, lobbied Treasury Secretary
Henry Paulson Henry "Hank" Merritt Paulson Jr. (born March 28, 1946) is an American investment banker and financier who served as the 74th United States secretary of the treasury from 2006 to 2009. Prior to his role in the Department of the Treasury, Paulson ...
in a joint letter asking for a share of the proposed $700 billion bailout.


Honors

Mayor Franklin was the recipient of
Profile in Courage Award The Profile in Courage Award is a private award created by the Kennedy family to recognize displays of courage similar to those John F. Kennedy originally described in his book of the same name. It is given to individuals (often elected offici ...
in 2005, issued by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. The foundation praised her management of the city of Atlanta during the critical period of enormous deficit and loss of public confidence in government following the corrupt administration of Mayor Bill Campbell. In 2007, she received an honorary degree in Doctor of Humane Letters from
Oglethorpe University Oglethorpe University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brookhaven, Georgia, United States. It was chartered in 1835 and named in honor of General James Edward Oglethorpe, founder ...
. In 2022, she was inducted as a Georgia Trustee, an honor given by the
Georgia Historical Society The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia, United States. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, ex ...
in conjunction with the
Governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...
to individuals whose accomplishments and community service reflect the ideals of the founding body of
Trustees Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...
, which governed the Georgia colony from 1732 to 1752. In March 2025, Central Avenue in downtown Atlanta was renamed Shirley Clarke Franklin Blvd. Westside Reservoir Park was renamed Shirley Clarke Franklin Park.


Personal life

Franklin has a daughter, Kai Franklin Graham, whose former husband, Tremayne "Kiki" Graham, was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in a drug dealing operation. Kai herself pled guilty to helping to launder money for him. Shirley Franklin had a son named Cabral. He died in 2015. According to a DNA analysis, Franklin is descended, mainly, from people of
Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...
and
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...
.


Electoral history


References


External links


Shirley Franklin websiteMayors Against Illegal Guns homepage
*
C-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Franklin, February 5, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Shirley 1945 births African-American mayors in Georgia (U.S. state) American people of Bissau-Guinean descent American people of Sierra Leonean descent Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats Howard University alumni Living people Mayors of Atlanta Philadelphia High School for Girls alumni Politicians from Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania alumni Women mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state) Delta Air Lines people 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians African-American women mayors 21st-century mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state)