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DEL.ICIO.USYoung: ‘Everybody wants to be your friend’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With the persona of a preacher and statesman, former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young testified for the defense today in Bill Campbell’s federal corruption trial about the realities of being a mayor.
Young said he was constantly being approached by business people while he was mayor from 1982 to 1990.
“When you are mayor, everybody wants to be your friend,� Young testified. He said people would use his name “to make them seem they are closer to you than they are.�
But, the former mayor said, “Your real friends wouldn’t come into your office to ask you about business.â€?
In earlier testimony witnesses have said that some of Campbell’s contractor friends had free access to him at city hall, coming and going almost at will.
Young, who arrived at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building with his wife, Carolyn, was the first witness called by the defense.
Campbell, who served as mayor from 1994 until 2002, is accused of running City Hall as a criminal enterprise, taking thousands of dollars from contractors seeking to do business with the city.
Young is an ordained minister, three-term U.S. congressman, former ambassador to the United Nations and two-term mayor. He was with King when he was killed in Memphis in 1968. He also was co-chairman of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. After leaving office Young co-founded Atlanta-based Goodworks International, a specialty consulting group that promotes commercial ventures. He also sits on the boards of major organizations and corporations.
Young testified that as mayor, he asked contractors for political support. But Young said he always tried to keep a distance from the fund-raising process.
“The nastiest thing about politics is you have to personally ask people for money,� Young said. “They like to put the money in your hand. I would never let anybody put the money in my hand.�
An earlier witness in the trial, Joseph Reid, testified he once raised money for Campbell and delivered envelopes of campaign contribution checks, and sometimes cash, directly to Campbell.
Defense attorney Billy Martin gave Young latitude in responding to questions, and Young at times seemed to launch into oratory. On more than one occasion as Martin sought to move on to another question, Young raised his hand and interrupted: “Can I just say …â€? and then he would continue to talk.
Young said in an earlier interview that he was asked by Campbell’s Florida firm to be a character witness for Campbell, who was a councilman when Young was mayor.
On the stand today, Young talked about talked about Campbell’s performance the night of the Olympic Park bombing in 1996, when Campbell was into his second year as mayor.
“Both of us were up all night,� Young testified. “He was calming people down and visiting hospitals with the people who were hurt.“
Young noted that the Games continued the next morning. “I think it was one of the city’s finest hours, and he [Campbell] was at the head of it.�
The seven-count federal indictment against Campbell alleges a communications contractor seeking city business funded gambling trips for the mayor and once paid him $5,000 for a 30-minute speech to its employees.
Young also testified that he earned money delivering speeches as mayor and did not see that as a conflict of interest.
Like Campbell, Young also said he traveled constantly, taking trips on average once a week as mayor, and he was criticized for that, too. Young said he traveled on corporate planes at times, as did Campbell. Prosecutors say many of Campbell’s trips, funded by contractors, were to casinos. Young only has testified that his trips were business.
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