Jack, I don't know. I was practicing law in Wilson County,
active in Young Democrats, beginning a family, caring deeply about the
schools, dissatisfied with the stand pat leadership and had seen Terry
Sanford give us a new kind. Richardson Preyer one of the finest leaders
ever to come along proposed to continue that. I had seen Bob Scott come
along and supported him very strongly. That was when I was state
president of the Young Democrats. I didn't talk about that to
you I guess. I ran for state president of the Young Democrats in fall of
'67 and was no, yes, fall of '67, served during
the fall of '67 and '68. When during the campaign
(and Tim Valentine was the state party chairman) I vigorously and
actively organized the counties and the colleges. I really built it up a
lot with others' help. But in thinking about it Kerr Scott
had come along and led us in the right direction vigorously, strongly,
powerfully. Terry Sanford did a, took it again especially in education
which to me was the most important issue. Dan Moore I know in retrospect
was a good governor. Because I had worked for Preyer I didn't
think
Page 23 he was as progressive as he ought to be. The
more I study about him the more I realize the good things he did
especially for children and so forth. But in '68 Bob Scott
almost lost to Jim Gardner. Jim Gardner was from my neck of the woods. I
knew he didn't stand for what I believe in. So I think I was
looking at the scene and had seen these great heroes of mine serve and
move North Carolina forward, and then in '68 we almost lost
it. Somebody who I would've thought would turn us back. In
'72 where was the leadership going to come from? We had a
good candidate for governor, Skipper Bowles who unfortunately lost. He
would've been a great governor, a great governor. The longer
I live the more I realize what a good governor he would've
been. But who else? Where was the next generation of leadership going to
come from? That's when I started weighing what should I do?
Again I had just gotten my law practice going. I remember being at
church one day, and I don't remember the topic of the sermon,
but it was sort of about being willing to take a risk. I'm
sure it was to live for the Lord. Do the right thing in your life. But
you can't be certain how it's going to turn out.
But you have to be willing to have faith and take a risk to do the right
thing. This was about and I had already begun, I think this is along
after I had already begun to, I'd written to Bert Bennett. I
was kind of feeling around you know. I'd gone around. As YDC
president I'd gone all over the state speaking to YDC clubs.
I remember saying to myself, ‘Now listen. How will I even
make a living if I devote myself for a whole year to a political
race?’ You drive yourself. You don't have any
drivers. I didn't have a campaign budget. I
didn't, I wasn't wealthy. I didn't have
a wealthy family. I figured up, I said, ‘Well you know as a
lawyer I've got enough fees coming in that will last me for a
year. I can feed my family for a year. At the end of that year,
it'll be gone.’ These fees, if you handle
Page 24 estates, you know within three months, six months
that estate will be closed, and you'll have this money coming
in roughly. But it was a big risk for somebody like me who was of very
modest means, young, very young, not part of a famous political family,
to get out there and do it. But the preacher's sermon, he
will never know it, had a powerful effect on me, and so it gave me the
courage to step out there and take the risk and commit myself to doing
it.