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THE NEIGHBORHOOD News • Features
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Remembering Sam Massell
The 53rd mayor of Atlanta was a tireless advocate for the city and his beloved Buckhead
By Amy Wenkand Collin Kelley
ormer Atlanta mayor and one of
Buckhead’s greatest champions,
Sam Massell, died March 13. He
was 94.
Massell helmed the city
from 1970 to 1974 and is credited with
establishing MARTA. Not only did he
get the state legislature to okay a sales tax
referendum to fund the agency, but he
worked to convince voters to pass the one-
cent sales tax to pay for the transit system.
“MARTA would not exist but for the
dedication and persistence of Massell, who
convinced the Georgia Legislature, and
later voters, to approve the local option
sales tax that continues to fund MARTA
to this day,” the MARTA board said in
a statement. “His political antics in the
early days of the MARTA referendum
are legendary, as are his grassroots efforts
riding the bus to communities and
explaining the sales tax on a chalkboard.
MARTA was fortunate to have such an
ardent support and we remain forever in
his debt. Our deepest sympathies go to his
wife Sandra, his children, extended family,
and his countless friends.”
A native of Atlanta, Massell also had
a successful career in real estate and as a
travel agent, after receiving a bachelor’s
degree in commercial science from the
University of Georgia and a law degree
from Atlanta Law School.
But his love for the city — and especially
the Buckhead community — led him to a
life of advocacy and promotion. In 1988,
he became the founding president of the
Buckhead Coalition, a position he retired
from in 2020.
“Sam was a tireless advocate for both
the Buckhead community and the city
of Atlanta,” said Jim Durrett, president
of the Buckhead Coalition and executive
director of the Buckhead Community
Improvement District. “As mayor
of Atlanta in the early 1970s, he did
truly meaningful work to diversify city
government, appointing people of color
and women to positions of significant
responsibility.”
Durrett added that after Andrew Young
lost his first bid to U.S. Congress in 1970,
Massell appointed him to a position in the
Atlanta government “that gave Andy the
reputation and name recognition that led
to his ultimate election to Congress.”
Massell was widely regarded as the
“Mayor of Buckhead” for his involvement
in the community. He supported the
extension of the Ga. 400 highway through
Buckhead, as well as the creation of the
Buckhead Community Improvement
District, which funds transportation and
public safety projects and programs.
“Sam’s impact on our city was
immeasurable,” Atlanta Mayor Andre
Dickens said in a statement. “His time as
mayor made history in so many ways. He
was Atlanta’s first and only Jewish mayor,
he laid the groundwork for MARTA—
which connected neighborhoods and
residents across our city—and he paved
the way for better representation of
women and minority participation in
city government. Sam was one of the
wittiest people I knew. He understood
the importance of collaboration and
inclusion. I call it drawing circles, but Sam
always said that we can get more done
through a conference call than through
confrontation.”
The Atlanta City
Council said in a
statement that Massell
will be deeply missed.
“His passion for civic
service and making
a difference in our
city will be forever
remembered.”
Anna Roach,
executive director of
the Atlanta Regional
Commission, called
Massell a visionary
leader who shaped the
region.
“He understood the
importance of looking
beyond the borders of
his own jurisdiction
to tackle big issues from a wider, regional
lens, such as his critical support of regional
mass transit that helped bring MARTA to
life,” Roach said. “We are indebted to his
life of service and sustained passion for the
Atlanta region.” QD
Biographer Pays Tribute
We asked award-winning writer and novelist
Charles McNair to share his memories of working
with Sam Massell on his biography, Play It Again,
Sam: The Notable Life of Sam Massell — Atlanta’s First
Minority Mayor, published by Mercer University Press
in 2017.
McNair — author of The Epicureans, Pickett’s
Charge, and Pulitzer Prize nominee Land O’Goshen
— spent two afternoons each week for 20 weeks
interviewing Massell for the biography.
“In 2015-2016, two afternoons a week for 20
weeks, (fastidiously beginning only after Buckhead
Coalition business hours ended), Sam and I talked
in his Buckhead Place office about his life and
times. I honestly wish we’d talked for 20 more
weeks, then 20 after that, and on until the day he
passed away, early on Sunday morning, peacefully
and at home.
“Sam was brilliant and funny and accomplished — he seemed to have met everyone
in the world at one point or other, and he had a story about every single person.
The scrolls that might have been written by historians capturing his adventures as a
realtor, politician, travel agent, and association management would be prized Atlanta
treasures. I did my best in Play It Again, Sam, the history we wrote, to preserve some
of the important stories, but there were so many more to be told.
“I’m not sure there’s ever been anyone alive who loved Atlanta, Georgia, more
than Sam. The experience of hearing that love expressed during those long, searching
afternoon talks will be among my most special memories as a writer.” QZI
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6 APRIL 2022 | DU
AtlantalntownPaper.com