In 1981 , after being urged by a number of people , including Coretta Scott King , the widow of Martin Luther King Jr. , Young ran for mayor of Atlanta . He was elected later that year with 55 % of the vote , succeeding Maynard Jackson . As mayor of Atlanta , he brought in $ 70 billion of new private investment . He continued and expanded Jackson 's programs for including minority and female-owned businesses in all city contracts . The Mayor 's Task Force on Education established the Dream Jamboree College Fair that tripled the college scholarships given to Atlanta public school graduates . In 1985 , he was involved in renovating the Atlanta Zoo , which was renamed Zoo Atlanta . Young was re-elected as mayor in 1985 with more than 80 % of the vote . Atlanta hosted the 1988 Democratic National Convention during Young 's tenure . He was prohibited by term limits from running for a third term . During his tenure , he talked about how he was " glad to be mayor of this city , where once the mayor had me thrown in jail . " After leaving the mayor 's office in early 1990 , Young launched a bid for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1990 . He ran in a primary that included three former or future governors of Georgia : then lieutenant governor Zell Miller , then-state senator Roy Barnes , and former governor Lester Maddox . The field also contained then state representative Lauren " Bubba " McDonald . The first poll put Young at 38 percent to Miller 's 30 percent , 15 percent for Maddox and 10 percent for Barnes with McDonald trailing at 7 percent . Young campaigned hard but by the primary , with no central message , his campaign ran into trouble against the well-heeled and prepared lieutenant governor . Miller led the primary with 40 percent to Young 's 29 percent and 21 percent for Barnes , Maddox got 7 percent and McDonald rounded out at 3 percent . Future U.S. senator Johnny Isakson won the Republican nomination . After Miller 's stunning and broad-based primary win , Young 's campaign floundered . Many think he failed in his effort by trying to garner support amongst rural , conservative white voters , rather than turning out his urban and African-American base . Also , Young never found an issue that roused supporters , unlike Miller , who won voters by championing a state lottery . Miller won the runoff , 2 to 1 and ended Young 's gubernatorial aspirations for good
1988 Democratic National Convention
1988 Democratic National Convention
Andrew Young