Babe Davis went to his grave
thinking I was going to run for governor.
When I’d take 4-year-old Eric to the Babe Davis Mighty Mite Field, he’d
drape his big arm over my shoulder and say, “Tell the truth. I know you are going to run.”
“Nah,
Babe,” I’d say. “Where’d you hear that?”
With
the back of his other hand, he’d wipe the tobacco juice off the corner of his
mouth. And then the old major-league
pitcher would drawl, “I just know.
You’ve already got $10 million in your campaign account.” That was a good 35 years ago, and I can still
hear his deep-belly, gravelly heh, heh,
heh.
And
when we relocated to North Georgia, Babe was convinced I was expanding my
political base. No matter how hard I tried to say otherwise, Babe wasn’t buying
it. However, I did once toy with the
idea of running for state senator.
On a Monday
afternoon, I had a visitor to 252 W. Walnut St.
Sen. Riley Reddish said, “Very few people know, but I am not running for
re-election. Qualifying closes
Wednesday. If you’ll go to Atlanta and
sign up, you’ll probably be unopposed.”
When
our children were tucked in, I told my wife about Riley’s visit. Without hesitation, Pam said, “We have a
family. Our children are growing up
fast. You are building your
business. Do you really think you have
time for that?” In about three
hours—after Riley’s offer—my ballot-box itch was cured.
Babe
would have liked the possible political springboard, but I knew the answer to that.
The
next morning, I called Riley: “Thanks, but no
thanks.”
Patterson’s
Earl (Frog) Echols hopped to Atlanta and became the Sixth District’s senator.
And
all that had just about been lost in
my cobwebs, until I heard Rep. Chad Nimmer’s news. The Pierce County timberman has
been an up-and-comer in the Georgia House, but I’m not surprised he has shifted
gears with his personal priorities.
There’s
nothing part-time about part-time elected positions—local or state. Voters expect full-time access. I’m fortunate my then-young bride tugged my head
out of the campaign clouds.
Who
will take Chad’s place?
Three
folks want the job—Republicans Steven Meeks and Franklin Rozier, along with
Democrat Greg Odriscoll. More power to them.
It takes a special breed of cat to make a commitment to politics. Steven knows his way around the Gold
Dome. Do you think he had a
Riley-kind-of-visit from Chad?
Even
though I pay plenty of taxes in the district, I can’t vote. Nonetheless, I have strong opinions about who
represents us. It’s so easy for
officials to get sucked in and be compromised
by deep-pocketed contributors.
Those big check-writers
don’t give their money because they necessarily like you. They expect their dollars to influence how
you vote. That’s why voters should know who’s
contributing to whom. And by paying
attention, you’ll see how the sausage-making of laws typically works in Atlanta
and Washington.
Back
when Babe was cajoling me, I didn’t have a full grasp of the trappings of
politics. Now, after 47 years of putting
ink on paper, I am not so much a cynic as I am a realist.
Rep.
Chad Nimmer has done a nice job.
Who should replace
him?
If
I could vote, I would choose Screven farmer Steven Meeks.
My only request
of him—and any other candidate—would be:
“Don’t be pulled so deep into the pockets of lobbyists that you can’t see
what’s best for our corner of the state.”
dnesmith@cninewspapers.com
