Shirley Franklin was elected the 58th Mayor of the City of Atlanta in 2001. A first time candidate for public office, she became the first female mayor of Atlanta and the first African American woman to serve as mayor of a major southern city. Her accomplishments as mayor include improvements in services for the homeless, decreased crime and murder rates, a strong ethics reform program, and infrastructure enhancements to improve pedestrian and vehicle safety. Mayor Franklin also currently serves as a member of the Democratic National Committee and Treasurer of the Democratic Party of Georgia. In 2005, TIME Magazine named her one of the top five mayors in the country.