April 4, 2001 AJC

Top aide to mayor is offered PUSH job

Chief of staff to consider Jesse Jackson's proposal but says he would prefer to stay in Atlanta.

Julie B. Hairston - Staff Wednesday, April 4, 2001

DeWayne Martin, chief of staff for Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, has been offered the job of vice president and chief operating officer for the Rev. Jesse Jackson's Operation PUSH in Chicago.

Martin said he has not yet decided whether he will take the job, which would require him to move to Chicago.

"I would prefer not to relocate," said Martin, who began his career with the city 10 years ago as an aide to Campbell when the mayor was a city councilman. He has been the mayor's chief of staff for the past four years.

Martin said he will consider Jackson's offer along with several other metro opportunities. If he accepts the Chicago offer, he said he will be making at least as much as his current $151,000 city salary.

"I have to talk to the mayor and my family and take some personal time to make sure it's the right thing for me," Martin said.

Martin, 33, is a graduate of Morehouse College and holds a law degree from Georgia State University. He was named chief of staff in April 1997.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2001