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Times-Courier
The Georgia mountains region had another native son tapped for a state leadership position when Steve Gooch was elected Sentate Majority Leader just days ago. Gooch, of Dahlonega, represents District 51 that includes Gilmer County. David Ralston, the Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives for the past 13 years from Ellijay, died last week.
Gooch said his relationship with Ralston was “very positive” and that “we worked well together.”
“David was elected Speaker basically the same day I was sworn in on my first day in the Senate,” said Gooch, a former sole commissioner of Lumpkin County who later served on their board of commissioners. “So we both started our new journeys out together. I got to know him a lot more by being down there and as his senator. We would have worked even closer together in my new position.”
Ralston had stepped down as Speaker earlier this month to address his medical issues. His death came after an extended illness that has not been publicly named.
“I learned to respect him even more by watching the politics and maneuvering around that chamber down there,” Gooch continued. “There’s 180 people in the House of Representatives, and every one of them represents a different part of Georgia (and) there’s not two districts in the state alike. So everybody down there represents a constituency that is different. You can’t think that everybody’s going to think the same way you do. It’s real easy to get into that tunnel vision of ‘Everybody ought to be as conservative as Senator Gooch’s district or Speaker Ralston’s district.’ It’s just not true.
“We live in the most conservative part of the state up here, and sometimes our constituents don’t understand that we can’t just go down there and pass all this conservative legislation … it’s an art of working together with other people … you have to learn to compromise with other people … David had learned over the years of being in the Senate and as a House member that skill, that art of working with others and knowing how to negotiate deals and get things done. It made him a very competent and talented Speaker of the House almost from day one.”
Although Gooch described Ralston as “a political giant,” he added it didn’t include being meanspirited.
“He gained respect from people by working together (and) slowing down long enough to get things done,” he observed. “It’s not easy to guide that many people through that kind of process. It’s like a pressure cooker at times on all of us … and you’ve got a limit of 40 days to get it done with the shot clock ticking.”
Gooch listed some “standout, long-lasting legislation” that Ralston championed, including:
﹣ The University of North Georgia-Blue Ridge Campus — “That’s something he really wanted to do while he was Speaker, so we allocated money in the state budget to build a new campus … we just had a groundbreaking back in the summer, and unfortunately he had already gotten ill and missed it. (His wife) Sheree was there and she spoke and did a fantastic job … that campus is going to allow not only kids but older students as well from all up and down the (Highway) 515 corridor to get academic courses without having to drive (elsewhere) … he clearly deserves 100 percent credit for getting that UNG campus in Blue Ridge.”
﹣ The Boardtown power transmission line — “There in Gilmer County, we worked to get that transmission line coming up through Boardtown Road moved. We started hearing (from residents) about it, and David and I met with transmission (company) officials and expressed our concerns about the devastation it was going to have, not only on the environment but also to destroy some beautiful home-sites and farms, and displace a lot of people from their homes they’d had for generations … the power company decided to move that line out on the 515 corridor, which they have done.”
﹣ Natural gas lines — “We were able to get some natural gas lines run up into Gilmer County through the help of the (Public Service Commission); there was some funding there that was made available. That was to help primarily the farm industry, poultry farmers and even the orchards. They were able to lower energy costs … and save a lot of money on their heating costs in the winter.”
﹣ Broadband expansion — “Another big one personally that I’ve been working on for six years — and David was an instrumental help with that — is the broadband development and expansion into rural Georgia. We worked on (it) for several years, and last year made a big announcement about all the funding and the grants that are going to come to Pickens, Gilmer, Fannin, Dawson and all the other rural counties … roughly $450 million in funding … David and I worked well together on that. He led the charge with one of his chairmen in the House, and I’ve led the charge over on the Senate side. We’re going to continue to see big improvements on internet connectivity.”
﹣ Income tax reduction — “On a statewide level was the income tax reduction on the personal and corporate income-tax rate. I remember last session we were getting close to the last day and still had not reached consensus on that bill. David asked me to come over and see him, he was up in the rostrum there where he governs from. He saw me come in and motioned for me to come up there; I sat down with him and he actually turned the gavel over to his pro-tem … so she came up and presided while he and I sat there and talked about the final things that needed to be done to get that bill passed that night — we did not want to come home without that bill passing, so we were able to work that out for final passage and a huge income-tax cut there.”
Gooch said he’ll miss not only Ralston’s friendship but his “wisdom and calmness.”
“David did not get excited very often,” he recalled. “You can tell when a lot of pressure and tension gets built up in a room, and tempers start to fly, but David was always the calm hand in the room. He would listen to people and reserve comment till the end (and) come up with a brilliant decision on which direction to go on an issue, no matter what it was. He was careful not to jump to conclusions or speak too quick, to let everybody else have their say and then evaluate the options.
“Most of the time, it was him who would come up with the right plan or approach going forward. Overall, I’ll miss his friendship; you don’t meet many people like him who can have such an impact on so many lives. He was one of the most powerful — if not the most powerful — leaders at the State Capitol, yet his legacy will live forever as being that firm but fair leader. I was looking forward to working even more with him for the entire state and for our district.”