As I entered the Winder Women’s Club building last week, I had no idea what was in store.
I was there to cover the Barrow County Republican Party meeting since state Rep. Terry England was to preview the upcoming 2009 legislative session. As I make it a habit of doing, I arrived at the meeting early and as I walked in the building, only a handful of people were there.
One of those already inside was Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Republican candidate for a seat on the state Public Service Commission. County Republican Party chairman Ken Young introduced McDonald to me and while I admittedly have a few differences of opinion with him on issues, I will say it was an honor for a Georgia political junkie like myself to be talking with him one-on-one.
It was 18 years ago, a generation now, that McDonald was stumping for the highest elected office in the Peach State. McDonald campaigned for the governor’s office that year although the race eventually went to Zell Miller.
During my conversation with McDonald (he doesn’t use the “Bubba” part in his campaigns these days), my mind drifted back to that time when I voted for the first time in the primary during the summer of 1990.
McDonald was campaigning as a Democrat then, although he has changed camps now to the Republican side. (Miller never officially changed parties, but since he hasn’t backed a Democrat for office in years, he might as well have gone ahead and made it official).
In 1990, Georgia still voted Democratic as Miller’s general election opponent, Republican Johnny Isakson had little, if any, chance against him, although years later he would be elected to the U.S. Senate.
I still have a copy of a Democratic primary debate from the 1990 governor’s race which featured McDonald, Miller, Roy Barnes (the first time he ran for governor), Andrew Young and the Lester Maddox. I admit to still watching the old VHS tape from time to time, although I need to have it converted to a DVD before I wear the tape too thin.
So there I was last Monday night in Winder, a place I had never visited back in 1990, talking with Lauren McDonald, former candidate for governor and current candidate for a seat on the PSC. I guess I should have felt fortunate the candidate would even say two words to any newspaper reporter, considering he had been raked over the coals that day by our state’s largest newspaper. McDonald’s opponent in the Dec. 2 runoff was endorsed by that paper in question and no doubt was trying to explain some of the allegations hurled at him by what had been written.
I wasn’t at the local Republican Party meeting to cover McDonald. In fact, I didn’t know he was even going to be there. However, to someone who has always had a passion for Georgia politics it was a moment to remember. When you get to have a one-on-one conversation with someone who has run for governor in your state, you seize the moment. To some, it would have not been a big deal. To me, it was special, if only for a few minutes.
Chris Bridges is editor of the Barrow Journal. He can be reached at: cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
