About CBA

Committee for a Better Atlanta (CBA) is comprised of representatives from businesses and business organizations that are concerned about the future of Atlanta.  CBA seeks to articulate a common civic and business agenda in an effort to assist the policy makers for the City of Atlanta. In addition, CBA provides voters with tools to assist in making informed choices by providing information on political candidates, including general qualifications and an assessment of each candidate’s understanding of and commitment to key issues facing the City of Atlanta.

The 2009 chair of CBA is Jeff Wansley, vice president for Equifax. The members are as follows:

• 100 Black Men of Atlanta
• Atlanta Apartment Association
  
• Atlanta Board of Realtors
• Atlanta Business League
• Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors
• Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Atlanta Licensed Beverage Council
• Atlanta Hotel Council
• Atlanta Restaurant Council
• Atlanta Urban League
• Buckhead Business Association
• Buckhead Coalition
• Building Owners & Managers of Atlanta, Inc.
• Central Atlanta Progress
• Council for Quality Growth
• Georgia Beverage Association
• Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association
• Metro Atlanta Chamber

• AGL Resources, Inc.
• Americas Mart
• AT&T Georgia
• Bank of America
• Business Wise Incorporated
• Delta Air Lines
• Equifax
• GE Energy
• Georgia-Pacific Corp.
• Georgia Power Co.
• McKenna, Long and Aldridge
• SunTrust Corp.
• Turner Broadcasting System

History

CBA started in 1996 as the brainchild of then-new Metro Atlanta Chamber President, Sam A. Williams and former Atlanta mayor, Sam Massell, president of the Buckhead Coalition. Business is the key to the success of a community by providing jobs, investment and tax revenues. Concerned that City Hall was not hearing from the voice of business, these two leaders wanted to make a difference in the 1997 elections.

Comprised of members from city-focused business organizations and large employers in Atlanta, the original purpose of CBA was to serve as a positive influence for candidate selection by the Atlanta voter. CBA has continued to evolve and in 2001, developed a more sophisticated evaluation system for candidates. The 2001 CBA evaluation booklet was distributed through the newspaper to the residents of the city. Citizens also heard about the booklets through mentions in several newspapers and through public service announcements which provided contact information for CBA. CBA has provided candidate information for the special election in 2004, the 2005 city council and mayoral election and the 2006 Fulton County Commission elections. CBA continues this process into the 2009 city council and Atlanta mayoral elections.

CBA has also taken positions on various issues such as sewer rates, early bar closings in Atlanta, the living wage, and the no solicitation ordinance. The organization becomes a vehicle for the business community and individual members to strengthen their relationships with political leaders.

What we do
Elected officials are critical, because they determine the infrastructure and services that make a city desirable. To help citizens make informed choices in electing city officials, CBA "scores" city council and mayoral candidates and releases the information in a Consumer Reports-style Voters Guide prior to elections. The CBA Voter Guide, as well as general information about city candidates is posted on the CBA web site during each election cycle at www.betteratlanta.org.