Posted on 12/12/2003 6:59:07 AM PST by trueconservative17
"Clemmon's Courier" Thursday's Internet Edition, November 13, 2003.
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More than money: Ed Powell counts on credentials
By Dwight Sparks - His unshorn grandfather — long hair and long beard — had vowed not to shave or cut his hair until a Republican was elected President. Ed Powell’s grandfather missed it by four years — dying in 1948, not living to see Dwight D. Eisenhour finally reverse the GOP’s dismal fortunes during the FDR era. Powell grew up in the Davie County hinterlands, one of two sons of a lumberman who operated a sawmill where Lake Myers is today. Both boys left for law school. Although he’s well-groomed, Powell is his grandfather’s kind of Republican — a bedrock, dyed-in-the-wool party faithful, now running for Congress in the 5th district. He was elected to the General Assembly at age 31 in Forsyth County. He became one of Republican Gov. Jim Holshouser’s top lieutenants during that administration. He helped pick up the Forsyth County Republican Party from the ash heap of the Watergate fallout. He was chairman of the board of Tanglewood Park during its glory years. And he has served as a Raleigh lobbyist for high profile clients from tobacco to teachers — relationships that could generate both praise and criticism in a campaign. But when it comes to raising money for Congress, Powell finds himself trailing the field. So far, he’s raised very little money to throw at a campaign others are predicting will cost $2 million to wage successfully. At 62, he’s lost the youthful charm that translates effectively in television commercials. Several other candidates boast of raising more than a half-million dollars already, much of it their own money. One candidate, John Cosgrove of Clemmons, withdrew from the race last week, leaving eight in a crowded field. Powell said money isn’t everything, despite what he considers an annoying media preoccupation with dollars over substance. “I don’t think you can put a million dollars of TV ads on and convince people you can do the job when you have no experience. People want to know who the person is and something about him, more than just a 30-second commercial.” Powell said he has a history of service and commitment to the party and North Carolina to back up his message. He also has a knack for verbal punching, which he did last week. He took aim at money front-runner Jay Helvey of Winston-Salem, accusing him of being in bed with Democrats who tried to beat U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole two years ago. Helvey’s campaign chairman is Scott Livengood, head of Krispy Kreme and a supporter of Erskine Bowles during his campaign against Dole. “This is proof-positive of what I suspected all along: Winston-Salem’s Downtown Democrats are trying to hijack the Republican primary with their man, Jay Helvey,” Powell said. “It is beyond hypocritical for Helvey to praise Congressman Burr on the campaign trail and then have Erskine Bowles’ biggest supporter in the 5th district as his campaign chairman.” Boyles has been on the Krispy Kreme board of directors. “Prior to joining the Helvey team, Livengood had no record of involvement with Republican candidates in North Carolina,” Powell said. “I am not going to stand back and watch liberal Democrats and pretend-Republicans try to steal the 5th Congressional District. They know they can’t win the race with a Democrat so they have to try to steal it with Helvey. I am calling on all the good Republicans across this District to stand up with me and keep Helvey and the Democrats from stealing this election.” Helvey has raised about $750,000 to finance his campaign. Cosgrove endorsed him as he withdrew. “This race is not going to be decided on who raises the most money,” Powell predicted. “The ones who have raised the most money have the least amount of support. You can’t buy this race. These are independent people who are impressed by the quality of the candidate. “I think we’ll do extremely well in Lewisville and Clemmons an Kernersville, the traditional Republican areas of Forsyth. I think Helvey will get the (Forsyth) Country Day parents. About half of them are Democrats, and they’re not able to vote in the primary.” When Powell first ran for the General Assembly, he spent $5,000. A typical House race now costs $40,000 to $50,000. A state Senate candidate might spend up to $90,000. “It has just gotten totally out of hand,” he said. But Powell predicted a shake-out in the race — already started with Cosgrove. “People are going to start dropping out. There’s three kinds of money being raised. The Helvey kind of money, the New York chieftain kind of money from the people he worked for at J.P. Morgan. He’s getting his money from New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. “Vernon (Robinson) is raising his money from out of state. Robinson has borrowed a page from Jesse Helms. He has the unique ability to raise money from total strangers. He has something unique as a black candidate. “The vast majority of money is yet to be raised. The good Republicans are going to start giving their money after they see the way this thing shapes up. The good Republicans haven’t given much money.” He is counting on credentials to make a difference. “This is a Republican primary in which the turnout is likely to be at best 15 percent, and I have worked with and gotten to know and worked for the vast majority of those people in the 5th district. That counts for a lot in the Republican primary. “They (other candidates) are thinking ads are going to win this election. I think grass roots activity will win this election.” He has enlisted Coy Privette, former Christian Action League president, to join his campaign. “Coy and I first got to know each other when I was in the legislature. Coy was lobbying for highway safety when I was highway commissioner. Drunk drivers was his main thrust. We’ve been friends ever since.” Powell is the son of Margaret Green Powell and the late Harrell Powell of Davie County. His mother is 91. She grew up on Greenhill Road, her dad operating the community store there. Powell’s father and uncle, L.R. “Duck” Powell, and grandfather, Roberson Powell, ran the sawmill, cutting boards used to crate furniture. He and his brother, Harrell Powell of Bermuda Run, worked for their father. “We learned hard work at an early age. At 12 we were down at the sawmill.” His job was to off-bear the lumber as it was cut. Powell attended Mocksville High School before he was moved to the new consolidated Davie County High School for his sophomore year. He is a member of the Davie Class of 1959. He went to received his bachelor’s degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and law degree from Wake Forest University. “Growing up in rural Davie County makes you a different person. You learn the value of hard work. You learn the woods and branches and creeks. I’ve taken my kids out so they could appreciate what it’s like in the woods. It gives you a sense of independence.” His other grandfather, Sanford Green, ran a country store on County Home Road. “Green Store on Friday night was the rural meeting place. There aren’t many like that anymore. The ladies would go to the house, I don’t care if they were relatives or not. And the men would talk at the store. That’s where I learned about politics — around the potbelly stove. It’s sad there aren’t more of those places around. Politicians would go there to learn what was going on. Places like that and the barbershops is where public opinion was formed.” Powell was a young Winston-Salem attorney when he filed for a State House race in 1971. He was given little to no chance, running against five incumbents. He finished fourth in a race for five seats. He now practices mostly civil law, but he has been a lobbyist for Ford Motor Co., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., and the N.C. Association of Educators, which some consider an arm of the Democratic Party. He has helped push tort reform legislation to limit damages in lawsuits. As head of the Tanglewood Park board, he led the effort to remove politics from the park, leasing it from the county. “We had to make our own way, and we did. After a year or two we made a profit. We worked a very strong bipartisan board.” With Graham Bennett and leaders from RJR, Piedmont Airlines, Wachovia, Sara Lee and others, the park landed the Vantage Championship, and RJR dollars paid for vast improvements to the golf course. “I think we did a good job,” Powell said. Earlier in his career, Gov. Holshouser had made Powell his Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. “It was a place where you could abuse power if you were so inclined. But I think my record shows I took that job seriously, even as a young man. That’s part of this race — how will you react to the control of power? How you handle power, if you will use it wisely. I’ve said it many times, ‘Don’t get too big for your britches.’ People don’t want someone going up there for themselves. “It’s important to have someone (in Congress) who has worked with a team, with county commissioners. If you have somebody with no experience, obviously they start way behind.” He said Helvey doesn’t even know the other Republican congressmen in North Carolina, people he has grown up with in politics. But should Helvey be condemned for having Democrats as friends? “I’ve got a lot of Democrat friends. But Helvey has zero Republican friends. His first involvement in the party was as a guest of the state convention this year. He had never been to a precinct meeting or any other meeting, as far as I know, until he filed for Congress. “When you apply for a job, you don’t apply for president unless you’ve done some work in the business before. We have a lot of people who have worked in the business — Joe Byrd, Virginia Foxx, Vernon Robinson and myself — who have worked in the party. “His (Helvey’s) time will come, but you need to do some work in the vineyard first before you drink the wine. I think the feeling in the primary is that the one who has done the work in the vineyard will be the one who wins the race. “The last thing in the world we need is a Republican Congressman who has to be introduced to the other Republican congressman in North Carolina as part of his indoctrination. These people don’t have any idea who Jay Helvey or (Nathan) Tabor is. I welcome them, but I expect them to work their way in rather than buy their way in.” Two years ago, Powell had teamed up with former mayor W.C. “Bill” McGee to run for two seats in the State House. Redistricting changed all that, splitting the district and shifting Powell’s home to the 94th House district served by Rep. Michael Decker. Decker latter shifted to the Democratic Party and has now shifted back. Powell lost by a huge margin. “Obviously, he (Decker) had the district redrawn with the Democrats to benefit him. I had less than two months to run against an 18-year incumbent who — as we see now — had money from everybody in the world.” Why should voters consider him? “At my age, I’m not out to establish myself or promote myself for some other office. I can give the people good years. Richard (Burr) gave us 10 good years. We don’t need someone running for this office who will jump to something else in two years if they can raise the money.” The primary is set for May, but the General Assembly’s redistricting debate could push the date back as late as September. “If you took a poll today, there’s a lot of uncertainty about the race — not so much about who three or four of us are, but they (voters) are not quite ready to get into it. The hard core loyalists are out, but the rest of the people think it’s much too early and they’re not ready to make a commitment. It’s going to be the first of the year before you see a high interest in the race. But once you see that interest, you’re going to see people focus on experience and common sense. ‘Who’s had life experience? Who’s the most like me?’ That is what voters will be looking at. I think I will size up very well in that. “I expect to carry Davie County because people there see that I’m the most like them. I’ve worked hard, but nothing’s gone to my head in my life experience. I’m capable of doing the job. It’s a wonderful place to be from. They’re good solid people. They don’t like fancy pants people. I’ve moved my address, but I haven’t moved my character.” Family friend Bill Seaford of the Center community has told Powell he doesn’t know of any Davie County native ever being elected to Congress. “I hope to be the first. “I think long term relationships with the people of this district are going to pay dividends because I think people know me and trust me. This is a race based on knowledge, background, trust. That’s where I think people like me rise to the top. You can’t buy that. You have to work for it and do it over the years when people come to know they can count on you. “My life’s an open book. Republicans know about the hard work I’ve done over the years, the philosophy I have talked about. I don’t have to brag about being a conservative. My history proves it. I’m proud to have helped literally hundreds of other Republican seek office and win office. I think that’s what people are looking for.” He took the job as chairman of the Forysth GOP after Watergate, which had wiped out all but one Republican officeholder. Only Judge Abner Alexander survived that bloodbath, but he was unopposed. “We had to rebuild, totally rebuild the party.” At Gov. Holshouser’s request, Powell ran for Attorney General against Rufus Edmisten and his friend, now Congressman Howard Coble, ran for Secretary of Revenue. “We were the sacrificial lambs. Those were tough times.” Powell and his wife Bebe have been married for 29 years and have four children, Edward Jr., Joseph, Elizabeth, and Ashley. Edward Jr., Joseph, and Elizabeth are all graduates of R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem. Ashley is presently in the sixth grade at Whitaker Elementary School. The Powells are members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem. Powell was drafted into the Army and served 1967-69. He served at Long Binh Post in South Vietnam and was awarded the Bronze Star. Other candidates are Jay Helvey, a Winston-Salem businessman; Vernon Robinson, a member of the Winston-Salem City Council; N.C. Sen. Virginia Foxx of Banner Elk; Nathan Tabor, a vice president at Revival Soy of Kernersville; Joe Byrd, a former Wilkes County commissioner; Jim Snyder, a lawyer from Lexington; and Ed Broyhill, a Winston-Salem businessman.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is an on-line publication of The Clemmons Courier 3600 Clemmons Road P.O. Box 765 Clemmons, NC 27012 336-766-4126 Fax 336-766-7350
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