Atlanta Mayor Withdraws Name for HUD Job

ATLANTA (Reuter) - Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell announced that he has withdrawn his name from consideration for the top job at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

After a week of speculation, the 43-year-old Campbell told reporters that he had conveyed his decision to Vice President Gore, outgoing HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros and other White House officials by telephone on Tuesday.

The mayor said he called the White House "to tell them that I already have the job that I've wanted my entire life.

"I love Atlanta and her people. There is no better city, and there is much to do as we lead Atlanta into the 21st Century. My family and I have chosen to stay home," he told a news conference while flanked by his wife Sharon and their two children.

Campbell and Seattle Mayor Norm Rice have been among several mayors mentioned as possible successors to Cisneros, who has opted to remain in his current post until President Clinton's inauguration in January.

Another contender for the job is Andrew Cuomo, assistant secretary at HUD and son of former New York governor Mario Cuomo.

Rumors of a possible Campbell appointment surfaced last week, while the mayor visited Washington for a meeting with the vice president.

Elected mayor in 1993 after 12 years on the city council, Campbell has worked closely with Gore on Atlanta's $250 million Empowerment Zone, a federal grant project to develop one of the city's poorest neighborhoods.