Kasim Reed, Atlanta’s 59th mayor, armed himself with the biblical story of Joshua to tell how he will fearlessly lead a beleaguered and frightened city into a brighter future — just as Joshua faithfully obeyed Moses’ commands and led the Israelites to the Promised Land despite their fears.
The former Georgia state senator, who just experienced his own miracle as he stormed back from a nearly insurmountable deficit to barely squeak by front-runner Mary Norwood, said he will embody the modern Joshua by aggressively creating jobs, reopening all the city’s recreation centers for the youth, hiring more police officers with higher pay and stamping out crime that’s been rising in the city since America’s historic economic collapse.
“When women cannot walk to their cars at night without feeling safe, when students don’t feel safe walking to class, when convention attendees don’t want to stay downtown, we have failed to take responsibility for the most sacred obligation of our present — the safety of our citizens,” he said to thunderous applause. “We must treat our officers better by paying them a wage that allows them to support their families and to afford to live in the city they have sworn to protect.”
Reed’s family sat alongside celebrities, dignitaries and former mayors from around the nation — including former Atlanta Mayors Shirley Franklin, Ambassador AndrewYoung and Sam Massell — as Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Carol W. Hunstein swore Reed into office during the midday ceremony while his parents, June and Sylvia Reed, held the Bible.
Immediately following the swearing in ceremony, Reed shared with the 4,000 plus people inside the packed Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center that city hall will have a “culture of customer service” and be an ally of small business. “I will be known as the mayor of the small businessperson. It is these people of vision that will employ our citizens, open new markets and take Atlanta to new heights in this new decade,” he said.
Despite the innumerable obstacles and adversities besetting the city, Reed said, “We will embrace the shared responsibilities we have, and we must undertake. And together, in spirit and in service, we will succeed. We will win. Come with me. Our journey has just begun.”
–terry shropshire
