Former Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell, who died Sunday morning at age 94, will be missed by many.
Massell was a tireless advocate for this city that he loved. Until the end of his days, he sought opportunities where he could help nudge Atlanta toward greater heights.
He did so by using an affable wit that could at times undersell the passion he had for our city – a place he fervently believed had world-class strengths and a concurrent ability to bring its shortcomings to heel if we all just tried harder.
Massell’s sharp mind, deep interest in civic and business affairs and courtly manner served this region and state well.
He lived long enough to enjoy the grand sweep of perspective and wisdom that comes only from the experience of a life lived well and at length. And he eagerly shared that with all smart enough to listen.
In today’s time of angry partisanship and harsh words, Massell stood out by patiently advocating for collaboration and the hope that it would reap mutual benefits.
In the book “Atlanta Rising,” author Frederick Allen wrote that, while vacationing after being elected mayor, Massell “bought tie clasps that showed tiny doves carrying olive branches and sent them to the men he believed had tried to wreck his campaign in its final days.”
The absence of Massell’s voice and the example he lived is a great loss for Atlanta and our state.
The Editorial Board
Thoughts from Mayor Massell’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution opinion pieces
August 2021, on the Buckhead City debate:
Since retiring a year ago, I have purposely shied away from any civic controversy.
I don’t want to see our city cut into several slices, believing that — in the long range — it would degrade the quality of life of the new creations and the remaining citizens.
When I was in office, building and protecting the Atlanta brand became my daily commitment.
A half-century later, I’m still in love with our city and still have faith we shall overcome our dip of the day.
Please pledge today that you will stay alert and stay together.
June 2019, on philanthropy:
How does one best go about selecting a city as the one to which you would move your family or your business? We are awed by skylines of tall buildings or major mixed-use complexes; we dream of professional sports teams or nationally acclaimed performing arts; we seek balanced seasons and/or ease of centralized air travel, or a dozen more interests.
One index that deserves to be at the top is philanthropy -- signs of giving offsetting that of taking. Show me a city that bears family names on libraries, hospitals, parks and other pro bono operating facilities, and I can safely predict it offers a quality of life that generates a happy environment. It’s where people measure success by what they share, not what they save.
In fact, giving back to your fellow man is considered a cornerstone of good citizenship. Thus, civic service becomes a supplement to government and a substitute for taxation.
It was long ago I learned that a smile begets a smile, so now I predict a philanthropic philosophy can definitely attract even more of a giving reputation.
April 2018, on metro transportation:
It has been 50 years since Ivan Allen was mayor and I was president of the Atlanta City Council and we obtained from the Georgia General Assembly the right, by referendum, to create and operate the MARTA transportation system. It failed public passage, probably because it was to be financed with ad valorem taxes, whereby it became my “opportunity” as mayor a couple of years later. This I undertook successfully the idea of a sales-tax-subsidized fare, which made us the envy of most urban centers in America.
As anxious citizens would ask me when the construction should end, I would always respond, “hopefully never,” as I envisioned the system eventually expanding south to Griffin, north to Rome, east to Athens, and all other population growth areas. But government moves slowly (which I first learned serving on the City Council of nearby 200-population Mountain Park).
Mobility, I reasoned was man’s fifth freedom, without which you are imprisoned within the block wherein you live, unable to get to work, to shops, to parks, to church, to doctors, and more.
When my administration was developing MARTA, I did not get involved in the deliberations over routing to places of density vs. places where it could be expected to generate density, nor in the deliberations over types of equipment, such as metal wheels on fixed tracks vs. rubber tires on changeable roadways. The overriding decision was to move in a positive way with mobility for the future, or remain stagnant like the past.
I’m now 90 years old and have waited almost half a century for the gift you men and women holding governmental power now have in your hands, for which I express my trust and respect. So please move forward with deliberate speed. I’ll not fly-speck your deliberations, but encourage you every step of the way, with sincere appreciation.
I have been called “the father” of MARTA (and after 22 years in elected offices, I’ve been called many other things), but I have never regretted our decision to be decisive about public transportation. Those making the new decisions and those encouraging them to do so today, will be proud every time you see a train or bus go by relieving traffic congestion, lessening pollution, reducing accidents, and helping build the economy.
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