Bill Campbell (mayor)

Bill Campbell
Campbell in 2012
57th Mayor of Atlanta
In office January 1994 – January 7, 2002
Preceded by	Maynard Jackson
Succeeded by	Shirley Franklin
Personal details
Born	William Craig Campbell 1953 (age 63–64) Raleigh, North Carolina
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Vanderbilt University (B.A.) Duke University Law School (J.D.)

William Craig "Bill" Campbell (born 1953) Was the 57th Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia from January 1994-January 2002. He was the third black mayor in the city's history. Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Campbell was the first black student to attend an all-white school in Raleigh City Schools at the age of seven. He attended William G. Enloe High School and is the youngest of three siblings.His older brother Ralph Cambell Jr. was the first black person to hold statewide office in North Carolina. William Campbell is a member of Omega Psi Phi.

In the fall of 1960, Campbell became part of history when his parents enrolled the then 7-year-old boy at Raleigh’s all-white Murphey Elementary School; this was the first step in integrating the largely white school Raleigh City School System. In 2010 he recalled this time while talking to WRAL NEWS over the phone. “My family prepared me by simply saying this. ’This is important, and you’re going to have to do it. You’re going to have to endure it…” Campbell’s parents also tried to enroll Williams older brother Ralph, who is a former state auditor, and their sister at the time; Though only William the youngest, was approved.

Heartily endorsed by his predecessor, Maynard Jackson, to take the reins in the 1993 election, Campbell subsequently fell into disfavour during his second term, despite defeating then-president of the Atlanta City Council, Marvin S. Arrington, Sr. The 1997 race was known for its emphasis on the racial overtones often not publicly seen in the African-American community, with Campbell being the lighter-skinned candidate and Arrington the darker complexioned. His term was from January 1994 to January 2002 Campbell would later be criticised for deploying anti-Black racist messaging in an attempt to deflect criticism of his record as mayor. Campbell was succeeded by Shirley Franklin. Following his tenure as mayor, he moved to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he worked as a practising attorney. He was disbarred by order of the Supreme Court of Florida as a result of his tax evasion conviction.