Mayor Shirley Franklin was unanimously sworn in today as the 3rd Vice President of the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) at the Mayors’ Day Breakfast this morning. She thus becomes the first Atlanta mayor to serve as a GMA official since Mayor William B. Hartsfield in 1944, and steps into a chain of succession that will result in her becoming President of GMA in June of 2006, if re-elected Mayor of Atlanta in 2005. This was a vacancy created by the untimely death of Valdosta Mayor Jimmy Rainwater.
The chair of the GMA Nominating Committee, Mayor Jim Burgess of Social Circle, in discussing her unanimous nomination and election, noted her reputation as a problem solver, her attention to regional and statewide issues, and her political connections in Washington and at the State Capitol.
Franklin has been a large part of the Metro Atlanta Mayors Association (MAMA) and also served on GMA’s sales tax negotiations task force. “Even though Mayor Franklin is facing some very large issues with her own city, she never lost sight of the problems facing all of Georgia’s cities,” said Jim Higdon, Executive Director of GMA. “She committed to the process to help all of Georgia’s cities, and has proven to be an effective proponent of all cities.”
Mayor Franklin, speaking about her election, said, “I am absolutely thrilled by the trust my peers have placed in me, and look forward to being involved in the important work GMA does advancing the interests of the millions of Georgians who live, work, visit, and play in our cities.”
Based in Atlanta, GMA is a voluntary, non-profit organization that provides legislative advocacy, educational, employee benefit and consulting services to its 500 member cities.
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