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Dalton
Roberts |
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When I provided a Christmas program for the City High Class of 1941, one of the members said, “Why don’t you write a column on how you learned politics and got elected so many times?” Writing such a story gives me a chance to honor some great political leaders. And my political story is certainly unusual. Some have said it is unbelievable. My parents introduced me to politics. Mother was an FDR Democrat and my father was a balance-the-budget Republican until Reagan and the elder Bush, with their tax cuts and deficits, turned him into an Independent in late life. Our dinner table was often a debating arena. They argued their positions as adroitly as any debaters I have ever seen. Sometimes things got hot. By the time I started to school I knew a lot about politics. In my twenties I joined the Jaycees when they were real players in local development. In heading up projects I saw that politicians had to be involved for anything important to succeed. I think those Jaycee years taught me most of what I know about getting things done for the people. Through Jaycee projects, I became friends with Mayor P.R. “Rudy” Olgiati. By trade, he was a builder and he brought those skills to his job. Through him I learned that visible, physical accomplishments are important to the success of a leader. In my early thirties, Mayor A.L. “Chunk” Bender hired me on his inner staff as Manpower Director. That was my introduction to practical nuts-and-bolts politics. Mayor Bender had no fancy college degrees but he was a bright man and a consummate politician. After a full day of work at City Hall, he would go to the Old South Restaurant after work and hold forth with friends for hours plotting strategies. This taught me that you must be completely immersed in politics to get good at it. The first eight years I was county executive I lived, breathed and ate politics, ala Chunk Bender. For weeks I would only go home to sleep and shower. It did not weary me. It invigorated me. Still, by my third term I had enough things done and in process to set a slightly healthier pace of living. Tips from the lips of great leaders stick with us. One thing Mayor Bender said that helped me in many situations was, “Son, if people can predict you, they can control you.” There is an amazing dose of truth in those deceptively simple words. It teaches you how to avoid being manipulated and helps you manage adversaries. In 1971 I became county manager and worked under County Judge Chester Frost and councilmen Jack Mayfield, Bob Long, Frank Newell and Luke Wilson. What a laboratory of political strengths and weaknesses this provided! Frost was a great government finance man. Newell, Long and Wilson had strong populist skills. For example, Newell made the rounds of funeral homes all the time and I learned that people appreciated that kind of personal touch. What you learn not to do is as important as what you learn to do. At this time, as unbelievable as it still is to me, the county had no personnel department. Frost and the four councilmen rotated responsibility for new hires and they mostly hired screaking wheels – persons who pestered them the most about a job. There was no one to evaluate applicants and we got as many bad apples as good. Nothing I did as county executive was more important than setting up a professional personnel department. If you serve well, the people re-elect you. You cannot serve well without good managers and skilled technicians. I had picked up good political skills from my mentors but the good work of the professional managers and skilled technicians I hired was most important in getting me re-elected. Working for the people of Hamilton County with that team is the one and only thing I miss about being in office.
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