James L. Key
Encyclopedia
James L. Key lawyer who as the 45th and 48th Mayor of Atlanta.
By 1902, he was councilman representing the Sixth Ward and ran for mayor in 1904 and 1918 first losing to then defeating James G. Woodward.
He was easily re-elected in the 1920 election.
During that second term, he established Atlanta's first City Planning Commission and issued bonds to build the Spring St. viaduct (completed December 20, 1923).
He didn't run in 1922 but lost in 1924.
He was elected to a third term in the wake of the Atlanta graft ring
scandal and early in that term he made public statements against Prohibition
and the blue law
s bans of Sunday baseball games and Sunday movies.
This precipitated a recall vote in 1932 that he would have lost if not for support from the Black community.
He was instrumental in getting Harry Hopkins
and his WPA
program to update the city sewer system and nearly a million dollars to remodel the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium and Cyclorama
building.
He won a fourth term in 1934.
By the time he was campaigning for his fifth term against Hartsfield in 1936, the nearly 70 year old Key was accused of spending only an hour a day at his office and lost a contentious race. He died in 1939 after finally seeing the end of Prohibition.
By 1902, he was councilman representing the Sixth Ward and ran for mayor in 1904 and 1918 first losing to then defeating James G. Woodward.
He was easily re-elected in the 1920 election.
During that second term, he established Atlanta's first City Planning Commission and issued bonds to build the Spring St. viaduct (completed December 20, 1923).
He didn't run in 1922 but lost in 1924.
He was elected to a third term in the wake of the Atlanta graft ring
Atlanta graft ring
The Atlanta graft ring was a corruption scandal that erupted in 1930 that generated26 indictments and its exposure earned a Pulitzer Prize for the Atlanta Constitution in 1931....
scandal and early in that term he made public statements against Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
and the blue law
Blue law
A blue law is a type of law, typically found in the United States and, formerly, in Canada, designed to enforce religious standards, particularly the observance of Sunday as a day of worship or rest, and a restriction on Sunday shopping...
s bans of Sunday baseball games and Sunday movies.
This precipitated a recall vote in 1932 that he would have lost if not for support from the Black community.
He was instrumental in getting Harry Hopkins
Harry Hopkins
Harry Lloyd Hopkins was one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's closest advisers. He was one of the architects of the New Deal, especially the relief programs of the Works Progress Administration , which he directed and built into the largest employer in the country...
and his WPA
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
program to update the city sewer system and nearly a million dollars to remodel the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium and Cyclorama
Atlanta Cyclorama
The Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum is a civil war museum located in Atlanta, its most noted attraction being the Atlanta Cyclorama, a cylindrical panoramic painting of the American Civil War Battle of Atlanta...
building.
He won a fourth term in 1934.
By the time he was campaigning for his fifth term against Hartsfield in 1936, the nearly 70 year old Key was accused of spending only an hour a day at his office and lost a contentious race. He died in 1939 after finally seeing the end of Prohibition.