Race dominated previous runoffs for Atlanta mayor

By Christian Boone

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Days before the city too busy to hate would elect its first black mayor, incumbent Sam Massell placed a dramatic two-page ad in the Atlanta Constitution depicting a vacant downtown.

The headline: “Atlanta’s Too Young to Die.” The racial implication was clear and Massell's strategy was roundly criticized. He lost the 1973 mayoral runoff in a landslide to Maynard Jackson.

Since then Atlanta has a history of  bloody runoffs, with race often playing a significant role.

1981: The black and white business communities squared off in a runoff featuring two liberal lions: former UN Ambassador Andrew Young and longtime state representative Sidney Marcus, the last white candidate before Mary Norwood to make a serious bid for mayor.

The voting followed racial lines, with Young receiving 55 percent, a figure representing the city's proportion of black voters.

1993: Falling just 831 votes short of a majority, Atlanta City Councilman Bill Campbell squared off against former Fulton County Commission Chairman Michael Lomax. Campbell easily won the runoff with 73 percent of the vote.

1997: Campbell's second runoff, against former city council rival Marvin Arrington, was hotly contested. Race figured prominently, even with two African-American candidates running.

Former Mayor Jackson, a Campbell supporter, characterized white Republicans backing Arrington as "Lester Maddox types" and warned that an Arrington victory would hinder the city's racial progress. Campbell won with 53 percent of the vote.

Atlanta's next mayor, Shirley Franklin, avoided runoffs in her two successful campaigns.