Posted on 09/11/2002 6:11:07 AM PDT by Lance Romance
Another McKinney falls: Billy loses House seat
By RHONDA COOK and BILL TORPY
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writers
Voters booted the elder half of the controversial father-daughter McKinney team Tuesday.
State Rep. Billy McKinney lost in the Democratic primary runoff in the 44th House District to political newcomer John Noel three weeks after his daughter, Cynthia, lost her congressional seat. Noel polled nearly two-thirds of the vote in the district, which includes parts of Atlanta and Cobb County.
"I did not expect this because I expected black folks to turn out for me," said McKinney as he left J.R.'s Lounge on Fairburn Road. "They did not turn out for me. They wanted a Klansman, a son of the Confederacy."
McKinney (D-Atlanta), who has become infamous for anti-Semitic remarks, was referring to Noel's membership in Sons of the Confederate Veterans.
Noel, at his victory party, shrugged off McKinney's comments.
"That's the kind of crud we don't need anymore," said Noel. "The days of divisiveness are over."
McKinney led the close race in the August primary, but his heart never seemed to be in the race this time. McKinney, 75, a civil rights activist whose health has been failing, faced an energetic 31-year-old candidate who outworked him, going door to door throughout the district that added tony and white Vinings to the predominantly black Atlanta neighborhoods that have been the core of McKinney's support.
"We plugged away all over," Noel said.
The end was clear for McKinney as he watched Noel rack up a big turnout in the Cobb County precincts. Meanwhile, turnout in the Atlanta precincts was reportedly light.
The precinct at the Vinings Library had 548 voters Tuesday, a dropoff of just 48 from three weeks earlier. In contrast, the precinct at Usher Middle School in Atlanta had not yet reached 500 just before the polls closed. Three weeks ago, voters cast 798 ballots there.
McKinney said he sent out sound trucks, knocked on doors and urged people to vote.
"I had a good 30-year ride," said McKinney, wearing a Billy McKinney T-shirt and a Cynthia McKinney for Congress ballcap as he nursed an Absolut vodka. "I don't regret anything. Hell, I was going to retire anyway. Take me out or retire me. I'm gonna have a good time."
Among those who came out for McKinney on Tuesday was Roberta Phillips, who has voted for McKinney for as long as she can remember.
"He gave our family our first little dog," Phillips said. "He has a lot of drive; he'll work hard. He's very outspoken. I like that."
Phillips said she was sad to see Cynthia McKinney lose last month. She noted that Billy McKinney is frail and she thinks he used most of his energy helping his daughter to the detriment of his own campaign. "But that's what parents do," she said.
Other Atlanta voters, like Jackie Ross, were ambivalent about McKinney. She was still making up her mind as she walked into her precinct.
"I'm a little disappointed in Billy," she said, citing some of his public statements. "I think he went across the line."
McKinney's pronouncement that "J-E-W-S" had cost Cynthia McKinney her seat was the latest in a long line of intemperate statements.
Tuesday night, McKinney looked like a man who no longer cared if he won or lost. He spent most of his time dancing.
And Maxine Hendrix, who has voted for McKinney in the past, said she voted for Noel this time.
"I think it's time for him to retire," Hendrix said of McKinney. "This other guy is younger. I just want to see how this guy does."
Cobb voters such as Jed Kenna, a money manager who lives in Vinings, came out to vote against McKinney because of his frequent controversial remarks.
"People were immensely motivated to get the son of a gun out of town," said Kenna, outside the Vinings Library. "9/11 has changed things. Extremism is less appropriate.
"[Noel] is a normal, rational fellow -- a big, big contrast to Billy McKinney."
A small bright spot on the saddest of days. Good riddance.
Nah.
. . .don't think so; but good to see both McKinney's booted out.
No doubt they are busy bribing for jobs. . .
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