Shirley reflects … on her accomplishments
January 6, 2009 at 1:25 pm by Scott Henry in NewsThose who came to City Hall on Monday hoping to hear a revealing, or perhaps even forward-looking, State of the City address likely were disappointed. Firstly, the mayor read only a brief portion of her speech at the top of the Council meeting. But a full transcript of the speech, available online, isn’t much more satisfying or illuminating.
Watching Franklin over the past year has been interesting. At the beginning of her tenure, she seemed self-effacing and upbeat. But ever since the city budget troubles were revealed last January, she has used about half her time at the podium to defend her administration’s legacy.
As we say in journalism, sometimes she tells:
There is no question that our City is better today than it has been in years. We have made progress in improving the delivery of municipal services, upgrading and enhancing infrastructure, promoting transparent and fair business practices, advocating high ethical standards and upgrading employee compensation, training and investment. While it may seem that the light is a little dimmer today due to the recession and financial challenges we face as a nation and as a city – Atlanta’s future is a bright one.
… and at other times she shows:
We have expanded parks and greenspace since 2001 by 37% through the addition of 1179 acres.
Her speech yesterday — to Council members, department heads and whoever actually watches City Channel 26 — was essentially a litany of her administration’s accomplishments, large and small, delivered in excruciating detail.
I’m guessing she won’t give the same speech on Thursday when she shares the State of the City with the Chamber of Commerce crowd.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
That was no State of the City speech by Shirley Franklin. It was just a bunch of PR snippets poorly stitched together. It was no more than the Mayor saying look what I’ve done for you…and forget about all the screw ups, financial calamities, and broken promises. What is Shirley Franklin’s plan to get us out of the financial mess her administration created? What is her plan to boost the spirit among a terribly demoralized group of city workers, including our first responders? But I do agree with Shirley Franklin that the City has a great future… because we now have less than one year of her bumbling around as our leader.