42 local affiliates and 87,000 members make up the Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council. Today State Senator Kasim Reed received their endorsement for his bid to be Atlanta's next mayor. Following Senator Reed's remarkable second quarter fundraising reports this puts him in good stead against current City Council President Lisa Borders and Councilwoman Mary Norwood.
A mid day press conference today featured representatives from: ANGLC, CWA Local 3204, Teamsters Local 728, AFT Local 1565, BCTGM Local 42, IBEW Local 613, and AFSCME Local 3. Complete press release below the fold.
Congratulations Senator Reed!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATLANTA LABOR COUNCIL ENDORSES STATE SENATOR KASIM REED IN 2009 ATLANTA MAYOR'S RACE
State Senator Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta) Clinches First Major Endorsement in Bid for Atlanta Mayor from Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council AFL-CIO
(ATLANTA) July 9, 2009 - Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council AFL-CIO has endorsed State Senator Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta) to be the next mayor of Atlanta, union leaders announced today at a press conference at the IBEW Auditorium. For the last 20 years, the Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council has endorsed every successful candidate for mayor of Atlanta.
A candidate screening panel comprised of members from the Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council interviewed leading candidates and concluded that Sen. Reed is the best qualified candidate to serve the citizens of Atlanta as mayor. The Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council represents 87,000 union members across metropolitan Atlanta.
"After a thorough review and screening of the major candidates for mayor of Atlanta, The Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council is proud to endorse State Senator Kasim Reed as the next mayor of the city of Atlanta. We believe Kasim Reed is the right person to move Atlanta forward," said Charlie Flemming, President of the Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council AFL-CIO.
On the heels of reporting the strongest financial quarter to date and besting any candidate in the race with more than $500,000 raised, Sen. Reed has now received the first major endorsement of the 2009 mayoral campaign.
"I am deeply grateful that the Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council has decided to support me in my candidacy for mayor. Through my 11 years in the Georgia General Assembly, I have been a consistent supporter of the hard working men and women of labor and this will continue if the people of Atlanta honor me by allowing me to serve as their next mayor," said Sen. Reed. "Labor serves as the backbone of so many of our industries in Atlanta and their contributions to our economy are immeasurable."
Speakers at the press conference included Charlie Flemming, President - ANGLC, Walter D. Andrews, President - CWA Local 3204, Eric Robertson, Political Director - Teamsters Local 728, Verdaillia Turner, President - AFT Local 1565, Isaac M. Gobern, Business Agent - BCTGM Local 42, Beatrice Andrews, Assistant Business Agent - IBEW Local 613, and Greg Fann, President - AFSCME Local 3.
ABOUT ATLANTA NORTH GEORGIA LABOR COUNCIL AFL-CIO
ANGLC is comprised of 42 local affiliates that represent 87,000 union members across metropolitan Atlanta, including workers in the building / construction trades, communication and transportation sectors, as well as city, county, and federal governments. Workers represented include employees from AT&T, UPS, Kroger, Nabisco, Kaiser, Owens Corning, City of Atlanta, Fulton County, Lockheed, MARTA, Northwest Airlines and Pilots Association at Delta Airlines, among others.
ABOUT KASIM REED
State Senator Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta) has a well-established track record of legislative excellence. Sen. Reed was first elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1998 as State Representative for District 52. In the House, Sen. Reed served two terms as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Education Committee and Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee.
Sen. Reed has continued his successful leadership in the State Senate, where he has served since 2002. Sen. Reed is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus and currently serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Higher Education Committee, Ethics Committee, Transportation Committee, and the State and Local Government Operations Committee.
For more information, visit www.kasimreed.com
Comments (6)
I had talked to a couple of people about the endorsement and it came down to one candidate wants to privatize the city, another who is in bed with developers, and a slightly arrogant SOB.
Kasim Reed is the guest speaker at tonight's Fulton County Democratic Party meeting. 7:00pm at the Communications Workers of America (Local 3204) Hall at 307 Logan Street SE Atlanta, GA 30312.
You should come out and hear his plans for the city!
I haven't been to an FCDP meeting in at least four months and I don't think I've missed anything.
I really had a good time being one of the first speakers at the press conference.Although noone will probably recall my speech because i was followed by Walter Andrews of CWA who is a much more accomplished speaker.I have been in Kasim's corner for a while now though and it felt good to finally be able to back him up with my union's full public support.The crowd was at least as large as the Rally for Jim Martin that labor had and the crowd was fired up.members of my Local are already voluteering.It should be noted that no candidate that I am aware of has ever won election for Mayor of ATL.And to the "arrogant sob " remark, no politician in my memory that has ever moved up has not had a degree or arrogance and raw ambition.I appeciate that Kasim asserts himself in what i actually see as a very purposeful and thoughtful way. Not to mention he has close to a 100% pro worker voting record which says more to mee than anything I may not like about his style.
Kasim is a strong candidate. With Labor behind him he can put a ton of boots on the ground making phone calls, knocking on doors, etc. I don't see how Lisa or Mary will be able to match the help that organized labor is about to give Kasim.
Eric's speech was good by the way.