14 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JANUARY 9-15, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com Long Live the Legacy A former colleague and friend reflects on the continued relevance of Jimmy Carter’s impact. By Jim Copeland FORUM The last time I spent time with former president Jimmy Carter was 2019 in Nashville, for the occasion of President and Rosalynn Carter’s 36th Habitat for Humanity work project. With the onset of the Covid pandemic a few months later, it would be their final Habitat work project. In Nashville, the Carters and 1,000 volunteers built 21 new homes. President Carter, then 95, arrived with a black eye, the result of a fall which required 14 stitches. Undeterred, he traveled the same afternoon and participated in opening ceremonies for the build. I saw Carter’s exceptional work ethic many times over the years. My introduction to the Carter political operation took place in 1976 when I coordinated the Carter-Mondale general election campaign in Northern California. The enthusiasm in the campaign was incredible. Hundreds of volunteers walked precincts; thousands gathered to view a debate against Gerald Ford. In 1977 I joined the Carter Administration at the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, then moved to the White House Congressional Liaison office in 1978, where I had a firsthand view of the president’s legislative efforts on Capitol Hill. Though not widely recognized at the time, Carter’s legislative success scorecard was amazing—it has not been equaled since. One of my jobs was preparation of a weekly legislative report for the president, a summary of the prior week’s activity as well as a look ahead to the coming week. In those reports, we documented the successes and the failures. Wins far outnumbered losses. Congressional Quarterly reported 76.6 percent of Carter’s initiatives were passed by Congress. The victories included establishing two Cabinet-level departments, Energy and Education, and reform of the civil service system. Many industries, including airlines, trucking and railroads, were deregulated. With passage of Alaska Lands legislation in 1980, Carter achieved the largest expansion of protected lands in history, doubling the size of the National Park system. As staff, we worked long hours and only later did we understand that in our desire to implement the president’s agenda, we spent too little time touting his accomplishments. Carter was also not inclined to take time to talk about his achievements. The end result: We did not tell our story well. Biographies written in recent years by Jonathan Alter, Stuart Eizenstat and Kai Bird have done much to fill in gaps in public awareness of his record. With time, the reassessment has continued and Jimmy Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at age 100, is being recognized not only for his post-presidential work with the Carter Center and beyond, but as a hugely consequential president. I am thankful to have been afforded the opportunity to work for and know him. Jim Copeland served as Deputy Assistant for Congressional Liaison in the Carter White House. He served on the board of Habitat for Humanity International, at Carter’s suggestion, from 19982006. He lived in Carmel Valley from 2011-23. OPINION His legislative success scorecard was amazing. ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES Stop By To Shop And Find Your Vintage Treasure OVER 100 DEALERS 21,000 SQUARE FEET The Largest Antiques and Collectibles Mall on the Central Coast 471 WAVE STREET MONTEREY (831) 655-0264 P M canneryrowantiquemall.com Open Daily 11am-6pm ’24 Voted Monterey County's Best Antique Shop ♦ 3 Card Poker ♠ Century 21st No Bust Black Jack ♣ Texas Hold’em ♥ Baccarat FULL BAR! BLACKJACK BONUS POINTS PAYS UP TO $20,000 SMALL TOWN BIG PAYOUTS! 1-800-Gambler • Gega-003846, Gega-Gega-003703, Gega-000889 Gega-000891 Gega-002838 The Marina Club Casino ensures the safety and security of all guests and team members at all times, while providing exceptional service. 204 Carmel Ave. Marina 831-384-0925 casinomonterey.com ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦ Just minutes from Downtown Monterey Where Monterey Comes To Play
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