Coca-Cola’s Woodruff bankrolled Mayor Hartsfield’s political rise

Evidence

When the young mayor took office in 1937, the financially strapped city was paying its employees with scrip. At Hartsfield’s request, Woodruff stepped forward not only to guarantee the payroll but to refinance the city as well. From then on, the pair remained inseparable. Woodruff’s financial muscle and personal support allowed Hartsfield to emerge as a formidable politician; in return, Hartsfield promoted Woodruff’s interests as he promoted the city’s. — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 71

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Coca-Cola’s Robert Woodruff wielded unrivaled power over Atlanta. — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of…, 70