More Important Than I

Dear Boo and Bubble,

What a harrowing series of events since I last wrote to you!  We came very close to losing Captain and now that the dust has settled somewhat, several perspectives are starting to come into focus.  First of all, I am grateful that he has maintained a physical regimen over the years that meant he was strong enough to withstand the clot passing through his heart and into his lungs.  Secondly, I am equally grateful for the amazing team of doctors and nurses who took care of him in the hospital.  Most importantly, I am grateful for the fact that he and I have more time together……and that you have more time with him to know who he is and learn from him all of the things that he wants to teach you. 

One thing that has become crystal clear is that I need to continue to be deliberate with The Bridge Project, in telling you the stories our families have accumulated over the years.  You may not understand it or appreciate it now, but as you get older, I think you will….especially after we are gone.

So, I want to pick up where I left off in telling you about Captain's legislative career.

As I mentioned before, with Governor Riley’s re-election, the agenda for the 1984 – 86 term centered around the revamping of South Carolina’s public educational system.  The Governor had learned a lot from the previous four years, mainly that the one penny increase in the 4-cent sales tax needed to fund his prescribed initiatives would never be embraced by a majority of the representatives unless they felt their constituents would allow them to vote for it.  This meant redirecting his lobbying efforts away from specific legislators towards the general populace. 

What ultimately took form as The Education Improvement Act began with teachers, administrators, involved citizens, government officials and students spending hours of time looking at every aspect of education in the state – from teacher certification and evaluation; to programs for lower and upper level students; to curricula; to class size; to expenditures per pupil; to parental involvement.  If it had anything to do with public education, these dedicated people evaluated it. 

Once the specifics of the Act began to take shape, the next step was to publicize the various concepts so that enough people would see their benefit and begin a grass roots swell of support.   The Governor’s office orchestrated town hall meetings all over the state where the details of his proposals could be explained.  As the representative for Cherokee County, Captain was very active in setting up meetings in our area.

Still, with all of this effort, there was a great deal of resistance due to the increase in tax required for funding.  Governor Riley knew that he would have to be very organized in both the House of Representatives and the Senate to garner majority votes in both bodies for passage of the Act.  Early on in the first year of Captain’s term, the Governor called for a meeting at the state mansion of a few select legislators whom he would appoint as floor leaders to manage the process of getting it enacted.  Even though he was just a freshman, Captain was one of those called.

Captain invited me to ride down with him to Columbia that day, not to attend the meeting, but to keep him company.  For the several hours that Governor Riley talked with his select few, I roamed around the “big city,” shopping and enjoying myself.  Captain asked me to be back at the Governor’s Mansion around 5:00 PM.  I drove up a little early and Tunky, the Governor’s wife, invited me in to visit with her until the meeting adjourned. 

I’ll never forget our ride back to Gaffney that evening.  Captain was pensive for the first part of the trip and I began to probe him about what had gone on.

“Well,” he said, “the Governor has asked me to be one of the floor leaders for the Education Improvement Act.”

“What did you tell him?”  I asked.

“Of course…..I told him I would,” Captain remarked. “But, you know what that means, don’t you?”

“Well, it certainly means you’re doing the right thing.”  After all, your mom and Aunt Bee were in public schools and we certainly wanted the very best for them.

“It means I won’t get re-elected.” 

The concept hung heavily between us as we drove along in silence for a while.

Then, as if almost talking to himself, Captain uttered these words…..”But, what a small price to pay if we can get it done.”

Whenever I remember these words, I am convinced all over again that Captain was a true public servant.  He never saw his election to office as a stepping stone to some personal gain or as a beginning without an end.  He saw it as an opportunity to make a difference, to do something about problems that needed to be solved and, if the chips fell against him in the process, at least he would have accomplished something.

Sometimes, in the midst of political campaigns that seem to be fueled by unfathomable amounts of money, and fraught with negativism and no commitment beyond re-election, I yearn for such an honorable soldier to come along.  In 1985, there were quite a few just like Captain and the Education Improvement Act became law.

As to what happened…..I’ll leave for next time.

A Real Squeaker

Dear Boo and Bubble,

Once again, I apologize for being so long in posting, but my apology can’t be too sincere because we have been together for the last two weeks and I’d much rather actually be with you than write to you. The Bridge Project is basically a recollection of memories.  What better way to celebrate it than to be creating new ones!

However, let’s get back to our current line of stories. A good bit happened politically to us between 1980 and 1983.   We came back from the national Democratic convention and Captain dove into his responsibilities as chairman of the county party.  With the presidential election coming up in November, he busied himself with setting up a headquarters on Main Street in Gaffney, organizing precinct leaders and coordinating “get out the vote” efforts for all of the Democratic candidates on the ballot for the various districts under his jurisdiction.  Ultimately, the results proved mixed.  President Carter was resoundingly defeated for his re-election by Ronald Reagan, but the local and congressional seats continued in the Democratic column.

There was a good bit of activity in Columbia as well.  Governor Riley set out on a major initiative to overhaul the public education system in South Carolina.  At the time, our state ranked 49^th in the nation in every positive measure such as test scores, resources, expenditures per pupil, teacher training. In those that were negative like drop-out rate and highest number of students per classroom, we were perpetually 1^st or 2^nd.  The old saying went “Thank God for Mississippi” because they always came in last.

Governor Riley understood that a solid education was not only the cornerstone in the foundation of a child’s life, but it served as the fundamental building block for the state as a whole.  Well-educated citizens would provide a good workforce which, in turn, would attract corporations to settle in South Carolina and create jobs.  Also, rapid advancements in technology affected every industry, especially the core textile manufacturers already entrenched in the state.  If the educational system failed to keep ahead of these changes, these reliable and traditional jobs would actually disappear due to lack of workers to fill them.

The Governor proposed solutions to address the issue and they began to work their way through the intricate maze of committees and sub-committees that make up the legislative process.  His measures met with strong resistance because they required a tax increase to fund the wide array of initiatives designed to improve the educational system.  Ultimately, his first attempt failed because a majority of the members in the state senate and house did not have the same political will to address the problem.

At the time, the law in South Carolina constrained governors to one term.  It became obvious about half-way through Riley’s term that any plan to overhaul and upgrade education would take longer than four years to achieve.  The governor’s supporters, both legislators and private citizens, began a campaign to have the state constitution changed to allow for one additional term of gubernatorial succession.  In their minds, the issue of educational improvement was too critical to leave to chance.  The next governor might not have the same priorities. 

After months of heated debate and tense discussions, sufficient majorities in both the house and senate voted to amend the constitution.  This paved the way for Governor Riley to seek re-election in November of 1983. 

During Riley’s first four years, a woman named Nancy Stevenson from Charleston served as Lt. Governor.  Even though both were Democrats, the two offices were not connected as a party ticket.  Each ran independently.  She decided not to seek a second term which opened the position up to a new candidate.  That person happened to be Michael Daniel, the state house member who represented the district encompassing Gaffney.  He could not run for Lt. Governor and maintain his house seat at the same time.  This chain of events led to a vacancy in the district that attracted several potential candidates – one of them was Captain.

We had extensive meetings with our close friends to determine if Captain should enter the race.  There is much to consider when planning a campaign.  It takes money, volunteers, lots of time, and immense amounts of emotional and physical energy.  With encouragement from those we trusted, Captain filed the paperwork to run for the office.  When the dust settled, there were six candidates in all.  Of the six, four were well-known to us.  When you live in a small town, this can be one of the consequences.

I don’t know if it’s still this way, but back then there was a system of “drivers” in Gaffney.  These were people who kept in their possession the voter registration cards of others.  Candidates paid the “driver” to bring those folks to the polls and make sure that their votes were cast properly.  In Captain’s estimation, this was not a legal or ethical practice and he determined to seek election through other means.  Taking a cue from Florida Governor Lawton Chiles, who walked the entire state shaking hands and asking for votes, Captain decided to use the same strategy.  Three afternoons a week, he left his law office and headed out to neighborhoods, farms and mill villages to knock on doors and leave information.

The task proved quite daunting and he asked me to join him in order to cover more territory.  Our campaign colors were blue and green, so when I would go out with him, I donned a green jacket and navy skirt.  I had a pair of navy espadrilles (shoes with a thickly bound high heel) as part of my uniform.  By the time the campaign wound down, I had ground the heels to the nubbin’s!

Going “door to door” can be quite interesting, exciting and scary.  Sometimes you find a supporter you didn’t know you had….sometimes vice-versa when someone explains that they like you, but can’t vote for you…..sometimes you get stared down by a Doberman Pincher and have to walk backwards out of the driveway calling for help from Captain who’s on the other side of the street.  I have no clue how many houses we visited, but we spent hours in the effort.

Almost every weekend, we attended camp meetings where the candidates spoke.  We held rallies and carwashes.  Our slogan – “Tally Your Vote, Vote for Tally” – appeared on billboards and newspaper advertisements.  We even had a song composed with the same exhortation for radio commercials.  Dedicated volunteers organized a phone bank and called registered voters to identify supporters.  All in all, it was a Herculean task that concluded with standing at critical polls for 12 hours on election day until they closed.

That night, we gathered at Captain’s office to listen to the results.  He had hoped to either win or lose on the first balloting.  A run-off meant two more weeks of campaigning.  Alas, that’s exactly what happened.  He and a woman named Donna Moss garnered the top percentages of votes, but neither had over 50%.  She was the candidate who bought the “drivers.”  The run-off became our opportunity to not only beat her, but beat the system. 

For the next two weeks, we worked even harder trying to shore up our support and make people aware of how important it was to go back one more time to the polls.  Most folks by then are tired of it all.

Out of 6,000 votes cast in the run-off, Captain won by six.  We had to endure a recount, but ultimately the election commission certified him as the new House representative for the district.  Governor Riley and Michael Daniel both won their races.  Education improvement would once again be the focus and Captain now prepared himself to be involved.

Let me tell you this though, boys…….winning the election isn’t the end of anything…..it’s only the beginning!