Interview with James Oliver Eastland, U.S. Senator (D-Mississippi). Topics include his close association with Russell; Democratic National Convention (1952: Chicago); European trip following World War, 1939-1945; Assessment of Russell's influence and…
Interview with Marvin Jones, U.S. Representative (D-Texas). Topics include Democratic National Conventions; Walter F. George; Lyndon B. Johnson; Douglas MacArthur; National school lunch program; New Deal, 1933-1939; Franklin D. Roosevelt; Warren…
Interview with John Jackson Sparkman, U.S. Senator (D-Alabama). Topics include Democratic National Conventions (1948 and 1952); Filibustering; Freight rates; New Deal, 1933-1939.
Interview with William Proxmire, U.S. Senator (D-Wisconsin). Topics include Civil rights; Lyndon B. Johnson; Democratic National Convention (1952); U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services.
Interview with Carl E. Sanders, Governor of Georgia. Topics include Democratic National Convention (1960); Lyndon B. Johnson; U.S. National defense; U.S. Senate election (1966).
Interview with Martha tate, legislative mail clerk/receptionist. Topics include Georgia Democratic National Convention (1970); David Gambrell; Office management; Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975.
Interview with Jack H. Spain, administrative assistant to Senators Samuel J. Ervin and Clyde Hoey. Topics include Democratic National Conventions (1948 and 1952); U.S. Senate.
Herb Mabry studied labor law at Woodrow Wilson College of Law in Atlanta and entered union politics in 1950 through his carpentry work with Sears Roebuck and his membership with the Union Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. In 1969 he…
Bobby Kahn, a Democratic political activist from Savannah, Georgia, is the former chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia. Kahn was elected chairman in 2004; his term expired in 2007. He previously served as chief of staff under former Governor…
Charles C. “Chuck” Clay worked as assistant solicitor in Marietta. He went on to become district attorney, and then, in 1986, commissioner, for Cobb County. In 1988, Clay was elected to the Georgia State Senate as a Republican. After his election,…
Charles C. “Chuck” Clay worked as assistant solicitor in Marietta. He went on to become district attorney, and then, in 1986, commissioner, for Cobb County. In 1988, Clay was elected to the Georgia State Senate as a Republican. After his election,…
Jane Brevard Vandiver Kidd was involved in politics early, serving as chair of Youth for Herman Talmadge in Talmadge’s 1968 Senate campaign, and campaigning for her father during his 1972 U.S. Senate campaign. She graduated from the University of…
Robert J. Shaw was born on August 21, 1929, in Bronwood, Georgia. He attended Georgia Tech and Georgia State before enlisting in the Air Force in 1950. Shaw has served as the Chariman of the Development Authority of Fulton County as well as being an…
Rusty Paul grew up in the Birmingham, Alabama area during the 1950s and 60s. He has worked in journalism as a newspaper and radio reporter, chaired the Republican Party in Georgia, and served as a state senator in the Georgia General Assembly. In…
Ron Fennel has served in various political positions over his 33-year career, including two terms as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, representing his hometown of Brunswick (1988-1992). While a member of the Legislature, he…
Margaret Holliman is a conservative Georgian who has been active in many political campaigns and organizations. She worked on the campaigns of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. Holliman has also attended several Republican National Conventions and…
Billy Lovett is a former Laurens County Comissioner, member of the State Public Service Commission, candidate for Governor, and businessmen in Atlanta. Lovett discusses his work in the Public Service Commissioner, his campaign for Governor, and the…
Garland Pinholster grew up in Clyatville, Georgia in a farming family. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, served at Fort Benning during the Korean War, coached college sports at Oglethorpe University, and was elected to…
Charles Graves worked in the news industry, as a local reporter and then as the press secretary for U.S. Congressman George Davis. He also served as a Georgia State Representative and then Executive Director of the Georgia Democratic Party. In this…
In this interview, Dawn Bennett-Alexander talks about her work in order to attend the 2012 Democratic National Convention, the importance of the convention to her, and her experience at the DNC. This interview is part of the Georgia Narratives…
Rusty Paul discusses his early exposure to politics while growing up in civil rights-era Alabama and his involvement in Republican politics after moving to Georgia, including creating a statewide Republican Party newspaper. Paul recalls the political…
Bob Irvin grew up in rural North Fulton County in the 1950s and 1960s. He was elected as a Republican to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1972. He attended Harvard Business School, after which he came back to Georgia politics and was reelected…
Jane Kidd is the daughter of former Georgia Governor Ernest Vandiver and his wife, Betty Vandiver. She is a graduate of Grady College at the University of Georgia and became politically active on the Lavonia City Council as well as managing the…
Bob Barr grew up in California. He graduated from Georgetown Law School in 1977 and worked for the CIA from 1971-1978. He moved to Georgia to pursue a law practice and became involved in Republican party politics in Cobb County in the 1980s, where he…
John Padgett grew up as a Republican in Athens and has served in various roles in local and state party politics, including as Chairman of the Athens-Clarke County Republican Party, as Chairman of the 11th and 12th Congressional District Republican…
Bob Bell grew up in Atlanta in the 1930s-1940s. He served in the U.S. Army from 1950-1952 and received his Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Georgia's Atlanta Division in 1954. Bell ran as a Republican for the Georgia House…
Robert (Bob) J. Shaw was raised in Bronwood, Georgia and attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University before enlisting in the Air Force in 1950. Shaw served as the Chairman of the Development Authority of Fulton County as…
Billy Lovett grew up in Dublin, Georgia in Laurens County. Lovett is a former Laurens County Commissioner and later served on the State Public Service Commission beginning the 1970s. In 1982, he ran as an unsuccessful campaign for governor and…
Jay Morgan grew up in Talbotton, Georgia in Talbot County and attended the University of Georgia in the early 1980s. Morgan was a regional finance director for the Republican National Committee before becoming the executive director for the Georgia…
Alec Poitevint grew up in Bainbridge, Georgia in Decatur County and attended the University of Georgia in the mid-to-late 1960s. Poitevint became chairman of the Decatur County Republican Party in 1975 and was later selected as Vice Chairman of the…
John Stuckey grew up in rural Louisiana and served five years in the military, primarily organizing military intelligence at the Pentagon. He attended Louisiana State University and obtained his J.D. from George Washington University. Stuckey became…
Joyce Carter Stevens was raised in south Georgia. She served as Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at Del-Cook Lumber Company from 1964-1981. Stevens' first major involvement with the Republican Party was in fundraising for Mack Mattingly's 1980…
Steve Anthony was raised in a political family in Bremen, Georgia and attended the University of West Georgia. He worked as an aide for several state legislators and their committees, and later was the Chief of Staff for Speaker of the House, Tom…
Bobby Kahn is a Democratic political strategist from Savannah, Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia Law School and afterwards worked as a trial lawyer in Atlanta. He served as Chief of Staff for Governor Roy Barnes from 1999 to 2003. He…
Chuck Clay is from a military family and moved frequently growing up. He attended the University of North Carolina, and obtained his law degree from the University of Georgia Law School. He moved to Marietta, Georgia in the 1970s for work and became…
Oscar Persons talks about his first interests in Republican politics in the 1960s, recalling in particular Barry Goldwater’s presidential run in 1964 and Bo Callaway’s 1966 gubernatorial run. Persons then describes how the Republican Party grew in…
In this interview, Levison discusses his early life in Georgia and his decision to enlist in the military. He talks about going to college and law school at Emory University and his legal career in tax law. Levison then describes his early…
Reed discusses his childhood and describes how he became involved in politics. Reed discusses meeting Pat Robertson in 1989 and being coaxed into writing a memo explaining how to organize evangelical voters. Reed explains that the memo earned him the…
Mattingly begins by discussing his early life in Indiana during the Great Depression and World War II. He then talks about his service in the United States Air Force and why he decided to move permanently to Georgia afterward. Mattingly then covers…
Evans begins the interview by talking about his childhood and early involvement with politics. Evans then discusses the plans and factors of growing the Georgia Republican Party. He specifically talks about party organization and how that process has…
Giffin begins by discussing his early life in Canada before returning to the United States for his higher education. He talks about first interning for Sam Nunn’s office while in law school then permanently joining Nunn’s staff as chief legal counsel…
Lorie J. Smith was born in Atlanta. She attended the University of Georgia and Georgia State University before entering Democratic politics. Smith has worked, campaigned, and consulted for prominent Georgia Democrats such as former U.S.…
John Watson grew up in Centreville in Fairfax County, Virginia, and attended college at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Watson moved to Atlanta in 1993. He worked on Bob Barr’s successful 1994 congressional and joined the Georgia Republican…
David Worley was born in Germany and grew up in Griffin and Jonesboro. He graduated from Harvard University in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in government. Worley worked for U.S. Representatives Dawson Mathis and Elliott Levitas in 1980. He earned…
Tim Cairl was born and raised in rural, central Michigan. He relocated to Georgia with his family as a child and attended high school in Douglasville, Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in health sciences from Liberty University in 1997 and an…
Maxine Shapiro Goldstein was born on August 25, 1926 in Augusta, Georgia. She attended the Junior College of Augusta (now Augusta University) in 1945 and the University of Georgia in 1946. She married Jacob Louis Goldstein in 1947. Goldstein began…
Jeff DiSantis was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in various locations around the country while his father served in the military. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a J.D. from the Emory University School of Law.…
