Election 2009: The next mayor of Atlanta

Two leaders who have helped shape the metro area offer their advice for the city's incoming chief executive officer.

ATLANTA FORWARD / SAM OLENS: The new mayor must reach beyond the city's boundary lines

Atlanta is really bigger than its city limits — the city of Atlanta is inextricably linked to the larger metro area. From the moment Mayor Shirley Franklin took office, she understood that the city, suburbs and exurbs are all interdependent on each other.

Mayor Franklin had plenty of challenges within the Atlanta city limits, but she was never too busy to work with a neighboring jurisdiction on an important matter. As chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission for the past five years, I can truly say that regional thinking is the only way to overcome challenges like transportation mobility and funding, water supply, economic prosperity and growth management.

Our Atlanta region must work as one to develop strategies that will strengthen our competitive edge in the future. Doing this will ensure that the region’s voice is heard. The population of the Atlanta region is 5.3 million, more than half of the state’s 9.7 million and greater than that of 28 states. If all of us speak with one voice, our state government and U.S. Congress will work with us to accomplish much more.

Mayor Franklin understood this regional concept and realized that Georgia is only as strong as metro Atlanta. Her leadership and contributions on the regional playing field have been very valuable. She has been a team player with her ARC colleagues, serving as ARC secretary and chair of the commission’s ethics committee. Her leadership has been crucial to achieving many regional successes, including the formation of the Regional Transit Committee.

Elsewhere, her excellent representation of the city of Atlanta on the national scale has reflected well on our entire region. And Mayor Franklin, along with the mayors of Charlotte, Greenville and Macon, are working on a larger mega-regional scale to form a Piedmont Alliance for Quality Growth. These leaders have discovered that we can better succeed when we combine our strengths to compete in the global market.

The late Robert W. Woodruff once said that it’s amazing what can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit. Addressing the issues our region faces today will require tremendous resolve, focus and collaborative leadership. Everyone, from local elected officials to leaders in state government and the business and nonprofit communities, must put aside small differences and work to solve the major challenges of the day.

I hope and trust that the new mayor-elect of Atlanta will continue the legacy of leadership at the regional table — the Atlanta Regional Commission and beyond. Working together on our common challenges and opportunities is the only way to progress, especially in these challenging times.

Sam Olens is chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission.

ATLANTA FORWARD / SAM MASSELL: Governing tips for Atlanta's city’s new leader

The first order of business must be to reach out to the “loyal opposition.” It behooves you to heal and put campaign rhetoric behind us.

Atlantans are accustomed to coming together after the contest, and will look to you for signs of welcome, signs of respect. To govern well, you will need to reduce divisiveness to a bare minimum.

Strive for status of statesmanship by immediately setting a tone of inclusiveness, and integrity, and efficiency. If you measure each decision by these factors, you will earn national acclaim and boost our city’s image above all competition. Just as we left Birmingham behind decades ago, we could now quit looking over our shoulder at Charlotte.

Surround yourself with the most professional management team obtainable. None of Atlanta’s mayors in modern history — with the exception of Ivan Allen — has had business experience that equipped them to run an operation anything like a major city and its size of market, mixture of services, number of employees or amount of budget. When it’s all said and done, it’s the expertise of your commissioners, department heads and experienced staff that operate this giant machine.

Let the mundane be your mandate because, in the final analysis, it’s what government at the local level is all about. Prioritize daily attention to the standard purposes of public safety, traffic relief and service delivery. If the reality and perception of these elements are favorable, then you will enjoy wholehearted success.

As your administration style emerges, make certain that all city employees know the important fact that Atlanta’s well-being is influenced by our relations with state government.

That goes for all of its employees both appointed and elected. Re-establish a courtesy desk at the Capitol and simply exercise good manners and treat them as you would have them treat you. No, do more than that because we have some catching up to do.

Without rehashing the past, acknowledge that these are difficult economic times for your constituents and for our government. Start by recognizing the principle that reduced revenues can dictate reduced expenditures, not increased taxes. Resign yourself to the reality that the way to provide productive leadership for this four-year term will be to get our house in economic order.

It won’t be fun, it won’t be glamorous, it won’t be easy.

You should not plan groundbreakings for brick and mortar, but rather breakthroughs of frugality in management. Balance the budget and don’t borrow for new capital projects. That’s just as individuals and businesses are tightening their belts to make ends meet and are not making unnecessary purchases.

At this time in our lives, this should be your legacy!