Mayor Shirley Franklin: "Invest or die"

MayorTV is a challenge from America's Mayors to 2008 candidates: start talking about cities! MayorTV asked Mayor Franklin what she thought a national agenda for cities should look like.

"Infrastructure isn't sexy."

So says Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta. In her far-ranging MayorTV interview, she was the first to admit that aquaducts, sewage facilities and desalination plants don't exactly grab headlines.

That is, until the worst drought in 100 years hit the Southeast.

With reports that Atlanta has only three months of water left, Mayor Franklin is dealing with an infrastructure problem of biblical proportions. Naturally, "It all comes back to water, water, water -- everywhere," says Mayor Franklin. "Water is my top 10 priorities. Or top 20."

Washington, meanwhile, has compounded the drought by drastically cutting their investment in water infrastructure. "In the 1970s, the federal government gave cities 75 cents of every dollar they needed to build water and sewer systems," she explained. "Today, we get pennies on the dollar." The result? Leaking pipes, failing equipment, wasteful systems -- at a time when waste means disaster.

"There was a major campaign for the last presidential election called Vote or Die," the Mayor told us. "I would modify that to say, Invest or Die. Invest, or Atlanta's economy -- and the national economy -- is going to shrivel up and die."

(More interviews and your comments at MayorTV.com)

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[v19d]

Where are the other jobs going to come from a jeannie

[v19d]

How lady is Atlanta going to invest with mass homes that aren't selling

[PUTSOUTHINYOURMOUTH]

I'm GLAD THIS FUCKING CUNT IS GONE. AND THAT ASSHOLE RICHARD PENNINGTON. WHAT A COUPLE OF BIBLETHUMPING LOSERS. BITCH STICK A HOSE UP YOUR ASS IF YOU WANT SOME SEWAGE.

[ccraig2008]

yep

[whitepearl724]

if she wanted to clean atl she should go back to philly w/ all the other trash.

[clintatl]

This woman is a complete joke. Atlanta is eaten up with crime and is falling apart and she sits quietly on the sidelines. She is USELESS!!

[Grudgeman]

Lesbian!

[lol0119]

shirley frank is a freak

[willia3r]

Black people especially. Its time to vote intelligently! Stop allowing these crooked politicians to fool you folks into thinking that voting against a democrat is like resurrecting Confederate General Robert E. Lee from the grave, and reverting the south back to days of slavery!

I mean really, have we gooten anything out of this constant fear-based voting pattern? Someone just tell me what it is that black america gain so far in the last 30-40 years from our black political leadership?

[willia3r]

Atlanta sucks so much ass... Mayor Shirley Franklin is so over-rated... The Atlanta School system is garbage, and the Clayton county school system while not a part of Atlanta is also rifed with bird-crap for leadership.

Well, after 30 years of tried & tested black leadership, it is now proven that no matter what what color and/or ethnicity a person is, all have the equal potential to suck in a position of power!

Okay southerners, can we FINALLY elect someone based on competence and smarts?