Bill campbell mayor of atlanta biography

Categories : Atlanta-related lists Lists of mayors of places in Georgia U. Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata. Toggle the table of contents. List of mayors of Atlanta. Seal of City of Atlanta. Incumbent Andre Dickens since January 3, Federal government Presidential elections —89 Democratic Republican Senate House At-large 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th State government State elections Governor Atlanta City elections Savannah Mayoral elections Mableton Mayoral elections James Calhoun.

James E. Cicero C. That tamed things a bit, but Campbell got no credit from white Atlanta. After all, the mass arrests of young African Americans enraged much of black Atlanta. I could see by then Campbell had a craving for public affirmation well beyond most politicians. The renunciations left him writhing. It made me think of a story Campbell told early in his career, about jumping into a pool as a little boy in his segregated North Carolina hometown and seeing all the white kids immediately climb out.

The difference was that in Atlanta, it seemed everybody, black and white, was fleeing from him. In public Campbell quarreled even more with reporters, belittled critics, and clashed with Olympic organizers. Campbell became increasingly absent in his second term. The top-caliber people drifted away. The administration that followed was better at sycophancy than governing.

The mayor, when he surfaced, just seemed mad—as he had some reason to be. You could feel his grip—and that bright possible future—slipping. Most people have forgotten that Campbell was acquitted of all four corruption charges against him. But criminal or not, the testimony painted a troubling picture: alleged payments from city contractors via his poker buddies, questionable campaign contributions, an affair with a beautiful young WSB News broadcaster who was showered with money and plane tickets of dubious origin.

Campbell, who has been back in Atlanta regularly but mostly out of public view the past few years, and I are still friendly when we cross paths. He chooses not to discuss any of this—and declined again when I emailed him not long ago. He got stuck, writhing in the middle. We had a Barack there for a bit. He graduated cum laude in , with a degree in history, political science , and sociology.

He completed this triple major in just three years. In , he married Sharon Tapscott, an educational administrator. After two years of practice as an attorney, Campbell moved to the U. At the end of this time, Campbell returned to a private law firm. Beginning his political career in , Campbell won a spot on the Atlanta City Council.

From the early s until , he served three consecutive terms, during which he wrote or. Education: Vanderbilt University, B. He was perhaps best known for a package of ethics laws designed to regulate the city government of Atlanta, including provisions for disclosure and substantial penalties for violation of the code. In addition to his work as a lawyer and his political career, Campbell took part in volunteer activities to bolster the black community.

In he began to coach his son Billy, born in , in basketball. In addition, Campbell took part in Black Men, Inc. The students were provided male role models, academic tutoring, and tuition money. With Atlanta enmeshed in preparations for the Olympics, which the city had won the right to host in , concern about the management of this enormous undertaking became a principal political issue.

Fellow city council member Myrtle Davis and politician and former mayoral candidate Michael Lomax, as well as a number of other less well known candidates, also decided to run. The race marked a transition in power from the old guard of the civil rights movement to a new generation. Despite the importance of the upcoming Olympics, the race for mayor soon came to focus on issues of crime, corruption, and government efficiency.

By mid-October Campbell had attained a strong lead in the race. Waking at a. In his campaign, Campbell worked to appeal to both poor blacks and wealthy whites, and benefited from the endorsement of outgoing Mayor Jackson. Campbell called for a reorganization of the Atlanta police department, which would put more officers in close touch with the community, as a method of curtailing crime.

Statistics indicated that Atlanta had the highest rate of violent crime per capita in the country. In addition, the mayoral candidate tried to tie the Olympics effort to other issues facing Atlanta. But we still have the opportunity to use the Olympics to solve some of our problems, and none of the others have that opportunity. In an effort to appeal to the business community, Campbell pledged that he would not levy new taxes.

Rather than run on an ideological platform, he struck a pragmatic note. News and World Report. Atlanta is a business. The election for mayor, which by then included 12 nonpartisan candidates, took place on November 2, Campbell won 49 percent of the vote, just shy of the 50 percent needed to win the office outright.

Bill campbell mayor of atlanta biography

Because he had not gained a strict majority of the votes, a runoff election between Campbell and his closest competitor, Michael Lomax, was scheduled. Campbell received a B. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi. Campbell was heartily endorsed by outgoing mayor Maynard Jackson , and won the election. During his first term, his major accomplishments included overhauling the city's finance department, passing a major bond issue to pay for infrastructure improvements for the Summer Olympics , rebuilding the public housing system, and modernizing the legal, public works, and water departments.

Violent crime rates also dropped significantly during his tenure. According to Douglas A. Blackmon , Campbell was seen as a "post—civil rights movement black politician who would leverage the economic rebirth of Atlanta, build a bridge to white voters, and become a U. Campbell subsequently fell into disfavor during his second term, despite defeating then-president of the Atlanta City Council, Marvin S.

Arrington, Sr. The race was known for its emphasis on the racial overtones often not publicly seen in the African-American community, with Campbell being the lighter-skinned candidate and Arrington the darker complexioned. Campbell would later be criticized for deploying anti-Black racist messaging in an attempt to deflect criticism of his record as mayor.

Following his tenure as mayor, he moved to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida , where he worked as a practicing attorney. He was disbarred by order of the Supreme Court of Florida as a result of his tax evasion conviction. Scathing reports from both the U. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs revealed corruption, waste, bureaucratic incompetence, and specifically called out interference by mayor Campbell.

It was widely reported that Campbell pushed the FBI to indict someone for the Atlanta Olympics bombing, in an effort to continue the Olympics as normal. An effort that contributed to false targeting the FBI and the news media of the discoverer of the bomb Richard Jewell. In August Campbell retained high-profile attorney Billy Martin to defend him against several indictments by a federal grand jury on racketeering , bribery , wire fraud and tax evasion charges.

The charges came from a five-year federal investigation into possible corruption during his time as Mayor of Atlanta. Campbell was later acquitted on racketeering, bribery and wire fraud charges; however, on March 10, , a federal jury convicted him on three counts of tax evasion.