Prominent among civic leaders of Atlanta, Candler was elected and served as the 41st Mayor of the city, from 1916 to 1919. Candler Field, the site of the present-day Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, was named after him, as is Candler Park in Atlanta. As head of Coca-Cola, he built the Candler Building in Atlanta, as well as one in Kansas City (which became known as the Western Auto Building), a Candler Building in New York City, and one in what is now known as the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland.