Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin

Metro Atlanta

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin

Atlanta's first female mayor Shirley Franklin saw plenty of ups, downs during her 8-year tenure in office.

When Shirley Franklin, Atlanta's first female mayor, took office in 2002, she inherited a massive budget deficit and was able to win a property tax hike of nearly 50 percent to erase it.

Franklin, who succeeded Mayor Bill Campbell after winning 50 percent of the vote, defeating several candidates including Democrat Rob Pitts, promised Atlanta would be "safer, more efficient, open, honest and straightforward."

Shirley Franklin started wearing her trademark flower corsages shortly after her inauguration in 2002. She would buy most of the flowers, which were not real, but often received some as gifts that she would pin on her right shoulder.

Mayor-elect Kasim Reed was Shirley Franklin's campaign manager during her first run in 2002.

The mayor, once seen as "Super Shirley," saw her once sky-high popularity fade during her last two years in office. In 2005, Time Magazine and U.S. News & World Report listed Franklin as one of the country's top mayors.

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin ran her first Peachtree Road Race in 2003 (accompanied by the Atlanta Track Club's Executive Director Julia Emmons). Franklin was the first Atlanta mayor to run the race.

Shirley Franklin is remembered as a mayor who thought big, inspired women and restored faith in City Hall. But she also was a mayor who tried but couldn't completely turn the corner on some of Atlanta's long-standing problems, including homelessness, crime and tangled finances.

A longtime supporter of Atlanta sports, Shirley Franklin was the top-ranking female executive on the committee that put on the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Shirley's Franklin lasting legacy on Atlanta is still being created. Construction of the Beltline, which was approved and begun during her administration, is still in process. The international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport opened in 2012. And her tenure saw a revival in the arts and the opening of two major tourist attractions -- The World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium.

Upon leaving office in 2010, Franklin began teaching at Spelman College on the "challenges of urban civic leadership."

1 / 10

When Shirley Franklin, Atlanta's first female mayor, took office in 2002, she inherited a massive budget deficit and was able to win a property tax hike of nearly 50 percent to erase it.

Alerts

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin

Today's Gallery Headlines

Dream-Valkyries battle for winner-take-all Game 7 in WNBA Finals

PHOTOS: Georgia defeats Florida in Atlanta

PHOTOS: Pregame scenes before Florida vs. Georgia in Atlanta

PHOTOS: Famous faces from the WNBA Finals Game 6 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta

More Galleries

PHOTOS: Renderings of Amsterdam Walk redo and its first apartment building

PHOTOS: Renderings of Jamestown's North Point Mall development plan

PHOTOS: Renderings of Atlanta Botanical Garden expansion and Beltline connection

PHOTOS: Formula 1 demo brings motorsports to Atlanta