Best Local Political Figure BOA Award Winner

Year » 2006
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2006 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
Shirley Franklin

Best Local Political Figure BOA Award Winner

Year » 2005
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2005 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
Mayor Shirley Franklin

Best Local Political Figure BOA Award Winner

Year » 2005
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2005 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
Bobby Baker
Few politicians have stood up for the little guy better than Public Service Commissioner BOBBY BAKER. The Public Service Commission sets rates for utility companies that operate in Georgia, making decisions worth hundreds of millions of dollars in savings for residents and small businesses —more...

Few politicians have stood up for the little guy better than Public Service Commissioner BOBBY BAKER. The Public Service Commission sets rates for utility companies that operate in Georgia, making decisions worth hundreds of millions of dollars in savings for residents and small businesses — or in profits for big utilities. Over the years, Baker, a conservative Republican, has earned a reputation for opposing unnecessary rate hikes. He also has encouraged the commission to conduct its business in full view of the public. In short, he’s looked out for the average Georgian — and has refused to play party politics.
www.psc.state.ga.us/pscinfo/baker.htm.

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Best Local Political Figure BOA Award Winner

Year » 2005
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2005 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
Mayor Shirley Franklin

Best Local Political Figure BOA Award Winner

Mayor Shirley Franklin

Best Local Political Figure BOA Award Winner

Mayor Shirley Franklin
She took some lumps this past year, from the piling-on over water and sewer rates to her failed effort to create a parks authority, but MAYOR SHIRLEY FRANKLIN continues to fight the good fight. Her honor doesn’t pander or pontificate, but spends her time and energy tackling the big problems that previousmore...
She took some lumps this past year, from the piling-on over water and sewer rates to her failed effort to create a parks authority, but MAYOR SHIRLEY FRANKLIN continues to fight the good fight. Her honor doesn’t pander or pontificate, but spends her time and energy tackling the big problems that previous administrations (you know who you are) laid at her doorstep. She even resisted the temptation to jump ship and run for the Senate, deciding instead to finish the job she started. Now that her pick for City Council prez, Lisa Borders, has won that election, we expect even better things from Franklin. “www.shirleyfranklin.com” less...

Best Local Political Figure BOA Award Winner

Mayor Shirley Franklin

Best Local Political Figure BOA Award Winner

Shirley Franklin
Granted, all she had to do was stay out of jail, but after eight months in office, it’s safe to say that SHIRLEY FRANKLIN has exceeded just about everyone’s expectations as Atlanta’s mayor. She took on the city’s cratered streets with her pothole posse. She put the notoriously lousy water companymore...
Granted, all she had to do was stay out of jail, but after eight months in office, it’s safe to say that SHIRLEY FRANKLIN has exceeded just about everyone’s expectations as Atlanta’s mayor. She took on the city’s cratered streets with her pothole posse. She put the notoriously lousy water company on notice, and she told the truth about the hemorrhaging budget before going about trying to fix it. But it was perhaps the “way” she chose to fill her cabinet that says the most about the difference between her administration and Bill Campbell’s. She recruited unbiased and unconnected search firms to find the best people for the city’s top jobs. And that told Atlantans she cares more about “what” people know than “who” people know. less...

Best Local Political Figure BOA Award Winner

Year » 2001
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2001 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
John Lewis
Too often, politicians talk the talk and then, when it comes time to walk the walk, they scurry away into their little holes. John Lewis, now in his eighth term as congressman, is a refreshing exception. First and foremost, he is a civil rights icon. In 1963, Lewis, then just 23, spoke at the March onmore...
Too often, politicians talk the talk and then, when it comes time to walk the walk, they scurry away into their little holes. John Lewis, now in his eighth term as congressman, is a refreshing exception. First and foremost, he is a civil rights icon. In 1963, Lewis, then just 23, spoke at the March on Washington. Two years later, Lewis and Hosea Williams led 600 civil rights marchers across a bridge in Selma, Ala., into the waiting batons of state troopers. Today, Lewis is deputy chief Democratic whip, one of the most powerful legislators in the House of Representatives. This year, he’s sponsored legislation as grand as a bill that would create a National Museum of African-American History and Culture within the Smithsonian Institution. He also is working to enhance deductions for corporations that donate computer technology to community and senior centers. More importantly, Lewis has retained his principles and continues to fight for the same ideals, but he has never allowed the injustices he’s seen and suffered to give way to unreasoned anger. That strength of character is rare in Congress. less...

Best Local Political Figure BOA Award Winner

Year » 2001
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2001 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
Mayor Bill Campbell

Best Local Political Figure BOA Award Winner

Year » 2000
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2000 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
Roy Barnes
Seldom has Georgia seen such an effective combination of masterful political gamesmanship combined with a genuine drive to reform and reinvent state government. Since assuming office two years ago, this veteran legislator and lawyer has managed to cobble together coalitions spanning the traditional Democrat/Republicanmore...
Seldom has Georgia seen such an effective combination of masterful political gamesmanship combined with a genuine drive to reform and reinvent state government. Since assuming office two years ago, this veteran legislator and lawyer has managed to cobble together coalitions spanning the traditional Democrat/Republican and liberal/conservative gulfs, pushing through major changes to the state’s highway, environmental, educational and health delivery systems. Needless to say, he’s also stepped on some toes (to the point that the state school superintendent has pretty much quit her day job to conduct a 24/7 “I Hate Roy” campaign), but he remains genially unflappable. In the words of Mel Brooks’ Louis XIV, “It’s good to be king.” less...

Best Local Political Figure BOA Award Winner

Year » 2000
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2000 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
U.S. Rep. John Lewis
There are undoubtedly many people in Atlanta who disagree with John Lewis’ policies. An unabashed liberal and damn proud of it, Georgia’s 4th District representative has long been one of Congress’ strongest voices for social and economic justice, equal opportunity, environmental protection andmore...
There are undoubtedly many people in Atlanta who disagree with John Lewis’ policies. An unabashed liberal and damn proud of it, Georgia’s 4th District representative has long been one of Congress’ strongest voices for social and economic justice, equal opportunity, environmental protection and education. But even Lewis’ staunchest opponents have a hard time attacking him. It’s not just that he’s a minister and certified civil rights hero who still bears the scars of trooper clubs on his noggin; he’s just so nice. Unlike many of his millionaire wheeler-dealer colleagues, Lewis subsists on his congressional salary alone and stays in touch with his constituents, who’ve responded by handing him 70 percent (or greater) victories in every election since 1986. Thoughtful, honest and decent — how’d he ever get mixed up with that D.C. bunch? less...
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