Who inspires our leaders?
By Chip Drago
Mobile Bay Times
Who are the political heroes and heroines whose words and deeds inspire our present leaders? Some are surprising, some less so. Ronald Reagan stands tall for many. Perhaps to the surprise of those with teenagers, mom and dad are oft-cited as admired figures.
The Mobile Bay Times surveyed a number of area elected officials, past and present, asking them to divulge their political hero or heroine.
Their responses follow:
"I would have to say 'Phyllis Schlafly' because of her tremendous work in educating the public on the serious issues of the past four decades.
I would also have to say (U.S.) Senator Jeff Sessions because of his leadership in the immigration reform effort and his conservative outlook."
-- Rusty Glover,
state senator, Mobile County
"I know that you asked me for one political hero, but my favorite heroes are Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt. To say it in a few words, each of these gentlemen in my opinion, as they served, served the people of the United States.
Ronald Reagan achieved peace between the United States and Russia. Abraham Lincoln stated in the famous Gettysburg Address that "This nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom ~ and that government of the people by the people for the people shall not perish from the earth." President Roosevelt certainly had the welfare of the people in mind when he started Social Security, and it has benefited our citizens throughout all of these years."
-- Joe Faust,
state legislator, Baldwin County
"My political hero? Well, there's two: one is a politician, one not; both are no longer with us. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and President John F. Kennedy. Now my favorite living politician is Georgia's U.S. Rep. John Lewis.
All three of these guys tirelessly and without regard for their own safety served in a public capacity to serve mankind. They all worked to benefit the working class. They all knew that though they were like deacons in a church, tithing with their time and talents to serve, it was a dangerous task. They received threats and for two of them the threats became a reality.
As a State legislator, all I am faced with is serving at a time where entitlement politics and retaliatory politics is the climate. Serving today is akin to being married to a spouse that is constantly looking for fault in all you do.
One might ask, why then do you serve? In my heart and I always reply that King and Kennedy and (former state legislator John) LeFlore got threats and attempts on their lives. I just have to withstand lies and half-truths. If as a Christian I am able to help my fellow man, I have always done that and will continue to do so. As a successful person, I must be willing to give a little of myself to help my people, the working class. When I even think of being selfish and ask myself why do I subject myself to the foolishness that those against the working class put forth, I reflect that not two, but many blacks and whites gave their lives so that we could all live Dr. King's words, whereas a man is judged by the content of his character ..."
-- James Gordon,
state legislator, Mobile
"My political heroine is my wife (Janetta Whitt Mitchell). She has an intuitive political savvy that cuts through smoke screens, smoky mirrors and smoky personalities. She can pick 9 winners out of 10 football teams - collegiate or professional - and with either electoral politics or sports, she will to shout, holler and scream, kick and fight for her picks. She'll shout and fight just as loud and hard for that one-out-of-ten long-shot as she will for the other nine; prefers the sidelines, she says, because she can 'reference' the marital status of the referee's parents without getting penalized and because most of the very best players have yet to go on the field.
Rank Order - Top Five
1. My Wife - 1972-present
2. Michael Figures - 1987-1996
3. Benjamin Mays - 1965-1984
4. Araminta Ross - 1844-1913
5. Ann Bedsole -
-- Joseph Mitchell,
state legislator, Mobile County
"At the top of my list would (be) George Washington, along with a handful of others.
In short, President George Washington is at the top of my list not because of his military record during the Revolutionary War, not because he was the first President, and not because of specific actions during the heart of his two terms. He is at the top of my list because he voluntarily gave up power at the end of his second term as President. This single act confirmed the tradition of citizen service in our American system of government and confirmed that governmental power rests with our civilian citizenry."
-- Ben Brooks,
state senator, Theodore
"Ronald Reagan. He became President at a critical time in our nation’s history. Inflation was at record levels and the U.S.S.R. wanted to take over the world — literally. President Reagan tamed both the inflationary beast and communism. When he took office, people did not feel very good about our country or the future. When he left office, they did."
-- Judson Wells,
district judge, Mobile County
"My political hero is my father, Josiah Robert Bonner. In the later 1960's, he was appointed probate judge (in Wilcox County). The probate judge had been murdered and my Dad was appointed. He had to take a significant pay cut, but that was a turbulent time not only for Camden but all of Alabama. It was the time after the assassination of Martin Luther King. We were right in the middle of the civil rights era. And my dad thought it (serving in public office) was an important thing to do.
Let me tell you a story about a high school football field Wilcox County. There was still segregation at the time. The football field at the African-American high school had no grass, just dirt and rocks. It had only one goal post. Every time a team kicked an extra point or a field goal, they had to switch to that end of the field if they weren't already going that way. My dad pushed to have grass and other improvements to that field. He thought it was just a glaring example of inequality.
Whether it was a small thing or a large thing, he did what was right. It's important for young people to see that and expect that in their leaders. It's only later when you're older that you understand that doing what's right is not always easy or simple, but sometimes takes courage.
So my dad is my political hero. Ronald Reagan is my favorite president but my dad is my hero. I recall watching my dad introduce (retired U.S. Rep.) Jack Edwards in Wilcox County and I recall what an honor it was to meet Congressman Edwards. And then to not only have the honor of interning for him, but also have the honor of holding the seat he held in Congress for so long."
-- Jo Bonner,
U.S. congressman
"Winston Churchill. Because he never, never, never gave up."
-- Bradley Byrne,
chancellor, state two-year colleges
"My hero was my great uncle Leroy Stevens. He served on the County Commission from 1942 til 1972 and was chairman for about 25 of those years. I can remember, as a youngster of course, his anguish over the old Mobile General Hospital finances and one other instance when he stood out in the middle of a sage field at what is now the corner of Dauphin and Sage Avenue and stating to me that this is where the 'new' courthouse should be but the 'those damn lawyers downtown' want it on the old location. That was in the mid-50's before the 'new' courthouse was built.
My other hero was Speaker Jimmy Clark. He appointed me Chairman of House Ways and Means."
-- Taylor Harper,
former legislator, Grand Bay
"Locally, my hero has to be Congressman Jack Edwards. Jack served with integrity, honor and great distinction and then instead of dropping out of sight, he jumped into helping move Mobile and the State of Alabama forward on many levels. He has never avoided taking a stand on issues and even if you did not agree with him 100 percent, you had to admire him for his convictions! Jack's my guy!"
-- Hap Myers,
retired state senator, Mobile County
"I actually have two political heroes. Both are of equal influence. One is female and one is male. Both are deceased now.
Robert F. Kennedy
With RFK, I was very impressionable when he was running for President and was assassinated. I do believe his influence sparked my awakening of political activism and my desire to serve my community.
Margaret Chase Smith
(She) became the first woman elected to both houses of Congress. She originally served first in the Congress after her husband death and she succeeded him. However, she was elected on her own, both in the House and Senate.
Below are two messages from these great Americans out of no doubt multiple quotes which in particular have great meaning for me. I hope you will take a moment and read why I have two political heroes!
Margaret Chase Smith, U.S. Senator, Maine: "My creed is that public service must be more than doing a job efficiently and honestly. It must be a complete dedication to the people and to the nation with full recognition that every human being is entitled to courtesy and consideration, that constructive criticism is not only to be expected but sought, that smears are not only to be expected but fought, that honor is to be earned but not bought."
Robert F. Kennedy: "Listen, the environmental movement is not about protecting the fishes and the birds so much as recognizing that nature is the infrastructure of our communities ... If you're saying the values that drive the environmental movement are uncool and antithetical to America, then I would argue just the opposite. If you think being patriotic is not cool, I'd say that's not true either. I'd say the most patriotic thing you can do is to take care of the environment and try to live sustainability."
"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."
"Too much and too long we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values to the mere accumulation of material things…The gross national product measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile, and it can tell us everything about America—except whether we are proud to be Americans." (Address, University of Kansas, March 18, 1968)
-- Bess Rich,
former city councilwoman
"Ronald Reagan. He's the man that first perked my interest in the political system. To me he was everything a leader should be. In 1984 I was probably the only depressed 16-year-old at McGill-Toolen because I was not old enough to vote for Reagan!"
-- Jim Barton,
state legislator, Mobile County
"My hero is probably Jerry Ford. In 1965 when five inexperienced Alabama Republicans arrived in Washington to serve in the House of Representatives, he was one of the few national Republicans who would give us the time of day. Republicans all across the country had been defeated in the 1964 elections because of the Goldwater candidacy for President. I think there were only about 20 Republicans in my freshman class -- five from Alabama, two from Georgia, and one from Mississippi. There were only 144 Republicans out of 435 members of the House. Many northern Republicans referred to us as 'redneck racists.' They were pretty bitter about the Goldwater race and seemed to take it out on us. Jerry was one of the few who seemed to understand what we could bring to the party over the long term. He worked very hard as the new Republican leader in the House to get us good committee assignments and to support us as we learned the ropes. He and Betty became good friends with Jolane and me.
Years later when he became Vice President and then President, we continued that friendship. Jolane and I were at the White House when he was sworn in as President after Nixon resigned.
He dealt with the toughest of issues when he pardoned Nixon and even Jimmy Carter, in his inaugural address, turned to Jerry and said, "In a time of crises he healed our land."
Jerry was a very honorable man. In my judgment, very few people could have become Vice President due to the resignation of Agnew and then President under such conditions as Nixon's resignation and still hold our nation together as he did.
Jerry Ford will always be one of my personal heroes."
-- Jack Edwards,
U.S. congressman, retired
"Barbara Jordan (1936-1996) Eloquent Champion of Justice and Ethics
"The imperative is to define what is right and do it."
If Barbara Jordan is remembered for just one thing, it will be the power of her words. Her message united people from vastly different walks of life, bringing them together to stand as one. Throughout her life, Barbara Jordan was a voice for common ground. During the Watergate Hearings, her stirring words reflected her ethics, moral conscience, and respect for the U.S. Constitution (a copy of which she always carried on her). A dynamic leader, powerful politician, riveting orator, and pioneer for all, her impact transcended age, sex, and ethnicity."
-- Rose McPhillips,
municipal judge, city of Mobile
"My political hero was my father, Roger Norman. Dad was the President of the New Albany, MS school board in the late 60's. He was a consensus builder, a motivator and a problem solver. My dad was
well-loved and well-respected in business and his civic activities. I wish that my Mom and my Dad had been here when I made the decision to run for office!"
-- Jamie Ison,
state legislator, Mobile
"My political hero: John F. Kennedy. Even though he died when I was in grade school, I still remember being swept up by the sense of excitement and hope engendered by the Camelot years. JFK was an inspiration to all Americans, and his challenge ("Ask not what your country can do for you...") remains relevant today."
-- Mike Box,
former state legislator, Saraland
