BY NANCY COTTEN HIRST
Contributing Editor, Delta Business Journal

 Mississippi's fabulous Mike Espy, whose political career rose so quickly only to be caught in the web of a scandal-ridden administration, is home again in Mississippi.  He is enjoying a new career, a new wife, looking forward to a new child, and forging new bonds with his two older children.  He has time now for relationships that are important to him and to indulge his hobbies of fishing, horseback riding, and occasional Tae Kwon Do.
Espy seems happy with these circumstances.  His job with Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens and Cannada - a prominent Jackson law firm - is challenging and allows him to utilize the many national and international contacts he cultivated during his tenure in Washington, D.C.  "I can help," he explains, "when we have clients or are attracting new clients who need entre in Washington or in other countries.  It isn't lobbying at all.  It's representation, international or Washington representation."
With a daughter in college at MSU and a son at Madison Central, Espy says he has more time for them than when he was dashing about the country fulfilling political duties, and this is important to him.  He comes from a large, close family himself and believes these bonds to be extremely important.  His daughter, he says, started out in pre-med.  "I don't know what changed her mind, but she's studying English now and plans to go to law school later."
His son is a standout football player at Madison Central and Espy has time to both encourage and enjoy this pursuit.  "I am an avid sports fan.  I never played organized sports, except some intramural events.  I was too small.  But maybe my interest somehow translated into his genes," he chuckles.  "He was named in the top ten wide receivers in high schools nationally."
"I'm really enjoying this," he says.  "During my time in Washington, I supported them financially, but not in other ways, and that is so important.  Now I can be with them."  Espy explains that he and his first wife, whom he met during his law school days in California and married shortly after his return to Mississippi, were divorced after ten years.  Even though he was with them when they were young, they lived with their mother most of his Washington years.
He met his new wife in her native New Orleans, where she had a career in human resources with such companies as Shell Oil and Raytheon.  She now is with Entergy of Mississippi but still gets home often.  Both she and Espy enjoy "the Big Easy."  They are excitedly expecting their first child in February.  All in all, Espy's life seems fulfilling, challenging, and ideal and a welcome respite from the tribulations of the last few years.
There are many, however, who believe that Espy is not through with politics.  With his political acumen, his charm, and his ambition, many would like to see him re-enter the arena.  At this time, however, he says he has no such plans.  "I don't have any immediate desire to be involved again in any elective office.  I've been supporting other candidates for office.  I'm in a position where I can write a bigger check than I could before.  I've been giving advice and writing checks," he chuckles.  "That's pretty much it."
There is small wonder among those familiar with Espy's history that he would be disillusioned and worn out with the political process.  After his almost meteoric rise, the years since 1994 would have tried even the Biblical Job in faith and patience.  Fortunately, like Job, Espy had a strong foundation in religious faith and credits that faith with having ensured his survival of the years-long crisis.
Espy was born in Yazoo City and raised in the heart of a close and devoted family of seven children.  His parents, both college graduates, owned and operated funeral homes, and Espy worked in them from the time he was able.  He chuckles that the funeral home experience was what motivated him to leave Mississippi when it was time for college.  More seriously, he says that his parents always pushed him and his siblings to do their best, to make something of themselves.
He and his twin sister were very competitive academically.  "She was always at the top of the class and I was second.  One time I was at the top."  They were among the first students to enter the previously all-white high school, and endured some painful memories from that difficult period.  However, he says, he remembers most of his teachers fondly and got a good foundation for his college career.  He graduated from Howard in Washington D.C., which he says was overwhelming at first but wonderful once he accustomed himself to the culture of a big city.  He then obtained his law degree from the University of Santa Clara in California.  At both schools he was on scholarship, which allowed him to ease the strain on his parents, who saw that all seven children graduated from college.
"My father died when I was in my second year of law school," Espy says.  "We took it pretty hard.  I knew then that I would return to Mississippi, for many reasons, one of which was my mother."  The recently married Espy returned, passed the bar, and began work as managing attorney for Central Mississippi Legal Services.  Handling 200 cases at a time almost burned him out, but his brother put him in touch with Ed Pittman at just the right moment.
When Pittman was elected Secretary of State for Mississippi, he appointed Espy to an Assistant Secretary position, and when he later became Attorney General, Espy went with him as Assistant Attorney General for Consumer Protection.  ÒI really enjoyed that," Espy says.  "I was representing the public."  This desire to represent the public soon translated itself into elective office.
Espy ran for and won the Congressional seat from the Delta.  "During the Reagan era, I didn't think the district was being well-represented.  This is no condemnation of Webb Franklin.  He is a fine man and a friend of mine.  I just thought the district needed someone who didn't mind bringing federal resources into the Delta.  I didn't think that was happening."
The story of this election and the subsequent one would be stories of their own, but Espy entered Congress and won three more terms of office before he reached for higher position.  He remains dizzyingly popular in the Delta, so sure was his hand in representing his constituency.
Making it his business to become expert in affairs of agriculture and in programs to bring relief to the poverty-stricken areas bordering the Mississippi River, Espy not only earned the credentials but also made the right contacts to put him in perfect position for the Secretary of Agriculture post under Bill Clinton when he became President.  Having worked with Clinton on the Lower Mississippi Delta Development Act implementation process (a bill which Espy sponsored in the House) and later on the DLC (Democratic Leadership Conference), Espy was one of the first people Clinton drafted to help with his presidential campaign.
When Espy returned for his fourth term to Congress and couldn't get the right committee assignments due to term limits and demand issues, he felt that he had less power than he'd had in any of his previous terms, so he began to think of alternatives. It just happened that on the very evening of this decision, he attended a DLC dinner celebrating the election.  He sent a note to Clinton outlining ten reasons he should be Secretary of Agriculture.  "He read it and gave me a thumbs-up.  Of course it wasn't that easy, but I knew then that I'd be considered."
Espy got the position, and as he had done in his Congressional career, immediately set himself goals, which he set about to accomplish.  He never finished the first term of the administration.  Espy himself says that he was politically naive in that when he first heard of the rumors about gifts and ethics, he failed to take them seriously.  "I knew it wasn't true, so I didn't squash it while I could have.  By the time I realized that there was a real problem, I couldn't get any help from the White House.  The Democrats were about to lose Congress, the President's ratings were low, they were already putting out too many brush fires and they didn't want to put out another."
By all accounts, Espy was doing a magnificent job, and most people realized that the allegations of accepting illegal gifts and ethics violations were probably little more than efforts to uncover more Clinton misdoings.  Espy, however, was left holding a very large bag.
"My judgement was not the best.  I did go to the football game," Espy says in retrospect.  "I should have been more vigilant, more cautious.  The White House was under attack, so the Cabinet was too."  At this point, he was doing everything he could to quell the furor, but it was too late.  When he was called in to meet with Leon Panetta, White House Chief of Staff for Clinton at the time, Espy was fully prepared with a memorized brief of his accomplishments and answers to each of the allegations.
"I'll never forget what he said at the end of it.  He said that at any other time, under any other president, in any other administration, I'd have gotten a reprimand... but...!  I said, "So you're telling me that it doesn't even matter that I've done a good job and that none of this is true."  And he said, "No."  I resigned that afternoon, effective at the end of the year.  That was October."
The next four years were to be a nightmare out of a Kafka novel.  Espy's strength and forebearance  during this period were all but superhuman.  The upshot is that a very determined special prosecutor used every tool of unlimited funding, manpower and time to try to get a conviction.  Bringing 39 indictments on pitifully weak evidence and even offering three  increasingly desperate plea bargains, the prosecution seemed determined to get something even if only a misdemeanor, to prove that their efforts had not been in vain.
After calling 70 witnesses, they still could not get anything.  Espy says that one FBI agent made a statement which was not true, but that without calling a single defense witness, his attorneys were able to prove, under cross-examination, that no knowingly wrong-doing had occurred.  What this total exoneration cost Espy in time, money, mental anguish and shattered ideals can only be imagined.  He did say that the jury called him in and hugged him, saying that the exoneration took longer than it should because they had difficulty electing a foreman, since several jurors wanted to be the one to declare him innocent.
Most of the allegations had resulted from a long-time friendship from college.  Espy and his friend had always attended ball games, and although Espy says his friend should have known better, he expensed quite a few items to his company.  Needless to say, the friend didn't tell Espy, "but he was totally honest about it at the trial and I appreciated that."
Not only Espy, but his entire family was harassed, being investigated, subpoenaed, and even indicted in one case.  Espy says he isn't bitter, but that he is very cautious now.  "Bitterness only hurts you, but I'll find a way to answer my critics one day."  He says that the people of Mississippi 'uplifted me.  It was great to return to Mississippi because people here do give you the benefit of the doubt.  It was a pleasant experience, which I hadn't expected.  People would say the nicest things - we're behind you, we know it isn't true - things like that."
Espy has put this chapter behind him, but he values the lessons he learned.  "I learned that I can withstand pressure.  I learned what very few people do - who my friends are.  My spiritual side got a lot stronger.  In one experience that I have talked about a lot, I felt that somehow the Lord was letting me know that he'd tested me enough, that he'd let me go."
Espy says that his faith and the discipline of his tae kwon do classes were two very important elements enabling him to survive.  He spent two hours at Tai Kwon Do each morning.  Before he was beset with problems, he had already been heavily involved in this martial arts form.  He is very proud of having earned a second degree black belt, which he was told is the highest ranking anyone has achieved in the U.S.
Whether Espy will continue to just support politics from behind the scenes or choose to re-enter the arena in the future is still anyone's guess.  He needs more time to recover from the bloodletting, to let his bruised ideals regain their strength.  Many people in Mississippi, however, having seen his leadership and benefited from it, hope to see him back in the public eye before too long.
Whatever his future, Espy sees it tied to Mississippi and sees that future as bright.  "The economy in Mississippi is slowing down a bit compared to the national average, but we were running ahead for awhile, with the impact of casinos and telecommunications technology," Espy says, speaking of the last ten years.  "We're way ahead historically. We have a lot to be proud of.
"We're doing much better now in education, and that's where we'll make real strides in the economy of the future.  There's no question that we're doing better with racial relations.  You can see it in the economy and in the better balance of elected officials.
"The Delta is still behind the rest of the state and country in its economy, but you have to look at the negative history of the area.  It's being overcome and will be further overcome as we take advantage of the information economy.  Most of the country went from an agrarian to an industrial to the present information economy.  The Delta is still primarily agrarian, so it can leapfrog the industrial right into the information economy.
"Of course we'll have industry, but it won't be the smokestack type.  It'll be the type that makes use of the new technologies.  We can make new gains and uplift the Delta economy in the next 25 years.
"Mississippi farmers are leading the way in a lot of areas.  People throughout the country are looking at us for leadership.  A lot of our farmers are casting their eye to the global markets.  So in all, I see a bright future for Mississippi and not just in the economy but in everything that makes this state what it is.  Things haven't always been easy for this state, but the people are wonderful and that is changing," Espy concludes.
The same can be said for him.  Things have never been easy for Espy, but he has worked hard and proved himself in many arenas.  He still follows his parents' advice in trying to be the best he can be in all his pursuits.  He gets back on his horse when he is thrown.  That is a good object lesson for Mississippi and her people