Getting people involved in state politics without becoming a political machine
Sanford distinguishes between his interest in government and his interest in using politics only to influence the government. He did not want to be a political boss, but he did want to bring innovative people into North Carolina government.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Terry Sanford, August 20 and 21, 1976. Interview A-0328-2. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- BRENT GLASS:
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I wanted to wind up a little bit with after Preyer's defeat in that
primary, how did you conceive of your role in state politics after that,
or at that point?
- TERRY SANFORD:
-
Well, I wasn't worried about my role in state politics. In the first
place, the last thing in the world that I ever wanted to be was a
political boss. My only interest in politics was that it was the only
path to government, but I really didn't have much interest in the
political machine, although obviously, since we were successful and they
were talking about the "Sanford-Bennett Machine," but
I just didn't much have any ambition to do that, I didn't want to be a
dominant figure in naming everybody. What I did want to do was to bring
a lot of people into government who would then give a new life to it and
get away from some of these things that weren't all that evil but were
not necessarily that progressive that V.O. Key was talking about. And
interestingly, in '72, everybody running for major office had supported
me.
- BRENT GLASS:
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Had worked in your campaign?
- TERRY SANFORD:
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So, the old factions were gone, it was now mostly people who had come out
of our new effort in what we called "The New Day."
