‘He did us very proud’

David Ralston, Georgia’s longest continuously serving Speaker of the House of Representatives, was visiting a local funeral home when Kent Sanford saw him walk in on crutches.

“I asked him what happened and he said, ‘Well, I don’t want to talk about it — but I’ll tell you. I took a stumble coming off the platform in the House chamber. Of course, The Atlanta Constitution and everybody thinks I’m going to die from this fall,’” relayed Sanford, the director of the Greater Gilmer Joint Development Authority. “He was a very private public figure with everybody watching every move he made. It was a difficult combination, but he handled it well and with grace.”

Gilmer County native son Ralston, 68, passed away on Nov. 16 from an “extended illness,” according to his longtime spokesman Kaleb McMichen. He had announced just three weeks ago he was stepping down as House Speaker to tend to his medical issues.

After graduating from Young Harris College, North Georgia College and the University of Georgia School of Law, Ralston began a practice in Blue Ridge. From 1992-98, he served in the State Senate, then ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 1998. In 2002, he was elected as a state representative for District 7 (Dawson, Fannin and Gilmer counties), and after Rep. Glenn Richardson stepped down as Speaker, was elected to that post in 2002. Ralston became the first Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives from north Georgia in 150 years. He leaves behind his wife, Sheree, and two children, Matt and Elizabeth. He has four brothers, Wendell, George, Dennis and Steve.

Sanford called Ralston’s death “a great loss.”

“On a personal level for so many of us, he was just David to everybody up here in Gilmer and Fannin,” he noted. “But that was a very key position he’s held for the last 13 years. Some folks didn’t realize how important it was, but David was a champion for rural Georgia (and) understanding the importance of our rural communities, and that they could not be neglected in favor of Atlanta and the other populations centers like Savannah and Columbus. He knew that rural parts of the state are extremely important.”

Sanford recalled sitting in Ralston’s office with former Rep. Terry England also there.

“(England) was over appropriations, and the conversation got to the point where David said, ‘Terry, this is important, we need to get this done.’ Terry said, ‘Yes, sir,’ and in a matter of days there was confirmation that that particular project was moving forward,” he said. “David was instrumental in delivering for the citizens of Georgia the largest tax cut in state history. He led the agenda to drop our state income tax from the 6 percent level it’d been at for decades … he was tenacious about stuff like that, he was just a champion.”

Ralston was also able to “reach across the aisle and bring folks together,” Sanford pointed out.

“He worked alongside Gov. (Brian) Kemp on the heartbeat legislation, and it’s being challenged now by a liberal judge in Fulton County,” he said. “Gov. Kemp will not now have Speaker Ralston there to fight with him this time. I think the leadership will be good, but it will be different. Some folks in our area don’t know the advocate and champion that we had in David Ralston.”

‘He was just a gentleman’

Sally Forest and her late husband, Phil, moved to Gilmer County in 2002. She helped co-found the Republican Women of Gilmer County group and served as its first president.

“I think the first time I actually met him was in 2006 when he came to a reception we hosted for Gov. Perdue’s re-election campaign,” she said of Ralston. “Over the years I met him a number of times, and every encounter I had with him he was just a gentleman. I had a lot of respect for him.”

Forest remarked she was “so shocked” to hear Ralston had died.

“It has just left a big hole up here to so many people,” she said. “He was kind and seemed to know everybody; he was a personable — I don’t even want to call him a politician — Speaker and representative. He was one of a kind, and I just think he’s really going to be missed. When my husband died five years ago, the Speaker sent me a personal note. I was just so appreciative of that and how thoughtful that was. We will definitely miss that kind of representative; we were so proud of him as Speaker, he did us very proud.”

The other co-founder, Rita Odom, said Ralston not only was “very proud to serve the people in north Georgia,” but was also a friend.

“He was very active with seniors, always willing to help when he could,” she added. “As a past member with our (local) Republican Party he was always willing to meet and keep us informed. Our county has lost a great friend and leader.”

Mike Bushey teaches agriculture and the Young Farmers program at Gilmer High School, and also works with adults in the community besides operating the cannery in Clear Creek.

“Honestly, we have one of the premier ag ed programs in the state of Georgia, and without Speaker Ralston I don’t think we would be where we are today,” he believes. “As far as the ag center went, that was done through ESPLOST money. But it was his vision and his ability to see how important it is that agriculture is the economic engine of Gilmer County and Georgia as a state. He always saw the importance of our ag education program and what it does for young folks.”

The popular cannery came about through Ralston, Bushey revealed.

“Not only did he help push and support and advocate for the building of the ag center, but he got $300,000 advocated for our cannery — and we do on average about 20,000 quarts and pints of local produce that’s canned in that cannery each year,” he said. “It’s a tremendous asset to the community, and there’s only 23 of them left in the state. And by far, we have the best and well-equipped cannery in Georgia because of Speaker Ralston.”

The Speaker also knew Georgia’s future would eventually be in younger hands, Bushey said.

“When I brought FFA members down to the Capitol, he brought all of us up to the podium and treated the kids like they were important — not only being Gilmer County High School students, but in being advocates for our ag program,” he reported. “When I took our Young Farmers program down there, which is extremely important in our community as well, it was the same kind of respect, and he made them feel important.”

Bushey said Ralston always asked him three things: “How’s my family? How the ag program was? What can I do for you? Just having someone who was a political giant in the state of Georgia and being able to call him is what I’ll miss. A lot of times I would just call for advice, and (with me) just being an ag teacher in Gilmer County he would always take the time and give me the advice I needed and set me in the right direction on whatever topic we were discussing.

“And it wasn’t just us, he was an advocate for agriculture and the Young Farmers program throughout Georgia; he always saw that our programs were taken care of when the budget came around. He was always promoting agriculture because he grew up here and knew how important it was. Not having that (now), I just don’t know. Because it’s personal. He was not only my Speaker, but I could count on him as a friend, and he would push me in the right direction.”

Bushey said when Ralston came to a banquet or spoke at the ag ed center he would joke about how hard it was to turn down funding for the cannery when his own brothers — and especially his mother — did their canning there.