From the Publisher:
Fordice: A moment in history
Just two months ago I was having lunch with my good friend Wyatt Emmerich in Jackson. During our conversation the talk turned to Governor Fordice. Wyatt mentioned that the Governor’s health had turned for the worse and that the end was near: “Cancer”, Wyatt said. “And if you want to see him again, you better go now.”
I met Kirk Fordice back in 1990. After he became the Republican nominee for Governor, I became a dedicated supporter. After he won the nomination, he called and made an appointment to come see me at my old Jackson office where I was publishing the Jackson Business Journal. After about an hour of mostly talking about hunting and the future of Mississippi, he abruptly said, “So, you gonna support me?” I sat back and had to laugh at the way he asked me that direct question right out of the blue. I liked his stories about hunting, and more than anything, I liked his vision of where he wanted to take Mississippi if elected. We shook hands, and from that moment on, I became a Fordice supporter and we ended up becoming great friends. Did we always agree on various issues? Absolutely not and that was part of our friendship. I always enjoyed listening to his side of an argument.
Through his first and second administration, I was fortunate to have a behind the scenes look of how the State of Mississippi is governed by the Chief Executive Officer. I always admired how he handled the media and anyone else that stood in his way when he thought he was right and they were wrong. I have also seen him take a stand and realize that he was wrong and quickly turn around and apologize.
By the middle of his second term, I think he was ready for his governorship to be over. Late one winter afternoon, during the second or third year of that last term, he had invited me to drive down to Jackson for a visit (by then I had moved back to the Delta). That afternoon the two of us sat in the residence part of the Governor’s Mansion and talked. He had just returned from one of his hunts in Africa and showed me the photographs of the hunt. That day, he said one thing to me I’ll never forget: “Scott, you are uniquely positioned for a career in politics. You have those newspapers going, everyone knows you, and you are a natural salesman.” I was just waiting for him to say, “Now, here’s what we need to do....”. However, his next words were a shocker: “Don’t even think about running for anything, period.”
I sat there not really knowing for a few seconds if he was joking or serious. He was serious. By that point, I think the media and the world of being an elected official had worn him out.
Because of his directness, because of his goals, and because of the positions he took on certain issues, the media ate him up. They loved to catch him making a mistake or twist his words. What a shame because Fordice took Mississippi to a new level economically. Even the liberal press cannot dispute this.
A perfect man? Of course not. None of us are. Fordice was a political leader who could not be bought, would not agree with you and then turn around and agree with me one moment later. In today’s political climate, it is rare to see an elected official who will be true to his word and take a stand.
After Fordice’s governorship ended, he and I became very close. During the past two years, he often flew up to Cleveland in his small plane, I’d pick him up, and he would spend the morning with former DBJ editor, Jack Criss, and me here in the office talking, and drinking coffee. We’d have lunch, then he’d take a long nap at the Hampton Inn. We would pick him up around 6:00 pm and go to Crawdad’s in Merigold which he loved. We did this many, many times during the past two years and we would talk about everything.
Last summer, when we had the launch party for our other publication, Delta Magazine, at The Warehouse here in Cleveland, he flew up and attended. That night was the first time he didn’t look well to me. I asked how he was feeling and he said “so-so” that his white blood cell count was up and that in the coming days he was going back for more tests. As I sit here and look at the photos of that evening, he looks weak, and thin - not the robust Fordice that I knew.
By the time Wyatt and I had lunch, I hadn’t spoken with the Governor in about two months. A few days later, I called him. He sounded great. Strong voice, talking about the upcoming presidential election, etc. He told me that he had saved several articles that he wanted me to read, that it might help with some story ideas for the DBJ and that he had something else he wanted to talk to me about the next time I was in Jackson. I said that I’d be down there in the coming weeks and I’d call and come by. I never made it.
To me, Fordice was a great man and a good friend and I will miss him dearly. DBJ
Scott Coopwood
Publisher
