Shirley Franklin easily wins re-election (4 more years)

[Charlie Brown]

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/atlanta/1105/09metfranklin.html

More jobs, thriving businesses, fewer homeless people and better public schools.

Those were Shirley Franklin's central pledges in seeking another four-year term as Atlanta's mayor.

And Tuesday, the politician seen as one of the nation's most respected big-city mayors appeared well-positioned to deliver on those promises. Early results showed Franklin far outdistancing her lesser-known rivals.

Many observers saw Franklin's re-election as a sure bet. Some of the wealthiest names in the city and state supported her campaign, and it didn't hurt that U.S. News & World Report recently named her one of America's "best leaders." That recognition came months after Time magazine called her one of the country's five best mayors.

Franklin, 60, came to office four years ago promising to restore confidence in City Hall and to make Atlanta "proud." She helped the city overcome some of its most entrenched problems, gaining supporters and critics along the way.

The mayor balanced the budget by cutting jobs and raising taxes. She initiated a multibillion-dollar overhaul of the city's crumbling sewers. She took on homelessness, calling for cooperation from the private sector to establish a 24-hour service center for the needy. And recently, Franklin gave high school seniors a hand in planning their futures, helping some to find jobs and others to attend college.

[xfundy]

1. "The" Charlie Brown?

She didn't do much to stop the closure of Backstreet.

[XanaDUer]

2. Whose jobs did she cut?

...