Sunday Interview with Peggy Martin: ‘I’ll listen to the Lord and ask the people’
By Chuck Williams, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
At 77 years old, she represents
Asked if her political career would end when her current term expires in two years, Martin has a quick answer.
"I'll listen to the Lord and ask the people," she said.
That's
You were born and reared in
Yes, right up here on
At the risk of getting hit, how many years ago?
I am 77.
How has
It's really gotten to the point where you don't know your neighbors any more. Whereas when I was growing up, everybody knew everybody, children played out in the yard and we only came in when Mama called us to come eat.
So, it's a very different place?
Oh, yes it is. It's so fast-paced now. Everything is, and I find, as I age, time passes more quickly.
Having grown up here, you would have been in high school when
Yes, I was.
What do you remember about the early 1950s and
Actually, Chuck, when I was growing up we walked across the 14th
My dad (
And I think "The Phenix City Story" was truly a
So you don't think it was that bad?
No, I don't. If you lived here, you pretty much knew, like I said, your neighbor -- nobody bothered you.
What do you remember about the cleanup?
That was really very upsetting because they had martial law. So, that affected not only my dad but other policemen. He had the privilege of taking home one of the city cars. Bear in mind, he was one-legged and he couldn't wear a prosthesis -- it bothered his hip. He was our only income, really.
So, your family was affected by it?
Right.
Was your Dad a part of the underground network?
He probably knew about all that and of course as a child and as a teenager I really didn't focus on the problem, so to speak.
The prostitution and gambling?
Yeah. I remember him telling us that when he wanted to run for tax assessor, and I don't know who these men were, but they said, "Dewey, we'll give you
But he did, but he lost. I would say he was blue collar, so I think he would look at me and feel like he's living through me because I got into politics.
Really, the crunch came with me as a student, a junior at
So, being from
No, and you know how things get out of proportion, and it seems people invariably want to believe the bad stuff.</p>
But, wasn't the bad stuff happening? They shut down prostitution, people were killed. I mean, there was a lot of bad stuff or they would not have brought the soldiers in here, right?
You know, that's what they say. I even heard they tied stones or whatever around GIs and threw them in the river. I don't believe that.
You've been in politics for how many years?
My first venture was in 1994. Were you here then?
Yes, I probably voted for you. You ran for city council, right?
No. The first time was for probate judge. That was when I was sitting in my office at
And I ran on a Republican ticket. I was brought up Democrat -- whatever my daddy was, and that was it. Back then, the old South was totally Democrat. I did real well in the city. but the block vote got me in the county.
Later you ran ...
... For city council,
And
Yes,
So, you ran for mayor. What was it like being mayor of
It was awesome. I think because I was raised here, I had quite a few people who knew the Perkins family -- that's my maiden name -- and I had been active in different churches.
I'll pinch hit at the piano for a church if they needed me, and that's how I got into the community. It just seemed natural for me to have that to look forward to as mayor -- and the second woman -- and be a grandmother, not just a mother, but a grandmother.
Is the mayor of
The way the city charter is set up, it's pretty much PR and ribbon cutting, but I was there every day. I wanted to be near the telephone for the people to call and I could call back. I look at it as I am a public servant.
So, the mayor is more of a public relations job than running the day-to-day operations?
Because you have your city manager that runs the city. They bring it to the council and he will do the business side of it.
Do you think it should stay that way or should there be a stronger mayor/ weaker city manager form of government in
I think with the times like they are, there should be more powers to the mayor. But, keep in mind, it takes that majority vote. The mayor can't do it by himself/herself.
So, you would like to see the mayor of
I think so. I would be cautious. Now, if they are not experienced being in the business world -- you've got to be able to balance what is the responsibility -- but by and large, PR is No. 1 because people, you answer to them. You should; you're accountable to them.
I just think more power should be rendered to them, not to entirely turn it over to a city manager. Because the people want to talk to their mayor. They want to hear from the mayor.
Is that because the mayor is elected and the people feel like they have an ability to remove that person?
Right. Sometimes it's not good -- well, on popularity -- to elect any official. You really have to like people. If you don't want to hear their gripes, their problems, you shouldn't be out there in the public view, be in that seat as mayor or even city council or even commissioner. I have had people complain to me that "so and so is my representative but I don't hear from them." I try not to be that way.
You've been on the county commission now for ...
This is my third term, and they are four-year terms.
Are you going to run again in 2016?
I'll listen to the Lord and ask the people. My children do not want me to.
What is the difference in
The biggest difference I have learned -- and I'm glad I came into the county commission -- we don't have "home rule." The city can adopt ordinances, and by and large they don't have to go through the legislature and say "May I?" But we do. We have to do a resolution if there is something that really is of importance, and we want to see a law -- we want teeth put into it. For instance, it's coming up in November on the ballot, a referendum about a nuisance law.
What's the nuisance law?
That's like weeds, pest ...
So, people's property that is impacting your property?
That's right. It's not a popular thing to tell that property owner, "Hey, you've got to clean up." I think that's where society is changing, not just
I try to do this: I'll take a plastic bag with me as I go walking down
When you talk about county roads, hasn't the county traditionally been junkier than the city?
And that brings me to this: We have our own sanitation department now. A fine man named
What do you now know about the county that you didn't know when you were with the city?
I didn't realize they don't have any zoning ordinances or laws, and that's another thing, too. And I understand where the people are coming from. The people we hear from are living in rural (areas), and there's not much rural county anymore, it's all developing, which is good --
It doesn't work that way?
We should have had foresight on that. And I don't want to just stop with our administration; it was previous also. You have to be futuristic -- think ahead, you know, and prepare. The zoning law we don't have, but we did a comprehensive plan.
What did y'all learn out of the comprehensive plan?
We learned that we have to keep it revised, keep up-to-date as things change. There is constantly something new coming. Well, for economic growth. You've got to be on the ball. I think perhaps we waited too late now. When I say too late, we didn't have our ducks in a row -- our revenue -- and I just told you what happens to our revenue when the city annexes in.
You lose the sales tax, right?
We get ad valorem, but we need that sales tax. There's about 22,000 people who live in
The city gets most of the sales tax, right?
Right. Like I said, if it's in the city limits, they don't share with us. I understand that Mayor (
They're going to do it, right?
That's the political thing. And these abatements you do, it's all competition.
So, the city and the county are competing against each other?
Kind of like that, yes. I am a proponent of consolidation. I admire Columbus. I'm sure there is some drawbacks, but it is in one pot and they are seeing about the county as well as the city.
So, you would like to see
If possible, but I've been told it can't be done because the city annexed in part of
Talk a little bit about Columbus. How has Columbus changed in your lifetime?
Well, I miss the old
You don't like the new downtown?
Yeah, but it's not the same.
You're talking about Kirven's and ....
Yes, yes, and I worked at Kresses in high school on the weekends, and Woolworth was there, had the lunch counter, you had Lane's. I just think we lived in better times. It's developing, it's people friendly and I say we should work with Columbus and Columbus work with us.
Is that happening right now? It seems to be happening on the city level -- city to city.
I found this out. In my opinion, we're the last thought. Take Fort Benning. I don't think they realize that we're two separate governments. Now, I appreciate
And they have their one economic development department, right?
Yeah. But I think we can get more attention from the federal folks by being in this
What's the advantage to locating a business in the county where there is no water, no sewer, as opposed to in the city's industrial park? Is there an advantage?
No, unless we put in sewage. There is what they call a decentralized sewage system. It's still going to cost, but you've got to be prepared. We don't even have a spec building to show somebody that "Hey, here's a building that you might want to occupy with your business." We've kind of been laid-back, not futuristic, not planning for the future. This is
Before you got into politics, you worked for Tom's, right? What did you do?
For a good while I was executive assistant to the president and executive vice president. And then when
I said to myself, "I don't know, we don't know how long they'll stay here, I might be without a job," so they had an opening for consumer service to take over your insurance liability on products liability. I moved into that and I got my ears full with complaints and praises of Tom's products. I would even hear from inmates in different states: "I broke my tooth on a Peanut Plank." I said, "Spare me, please."
What was your favorite Tom's snack?
They had what they called a Full Dinner. It was a peanut butter bar, it was like a Butterfinger, with chocolate coating. Then they stopped making that, but they had a Milk Whip, and it had the nougat and caramel with chocolate coating. They quit making that. Those were my favorites, as well as the Peanut Plank.
How many years did you work for them?
From 1968 to 2001, 33 years.
So, you fully retired from there?
Yeah, I did. Can I tell you about the Citizen's Academy?
Yeah.
This is our second year that we are having Citizen's Academy for the general public from all seven districts of the county. They can register by sending in a form to the office here. We're signing letters to send individually thanking them for the interest and looking forward to their participation. It will start up this month.
What is it?
It will be one evening a month and they will meet downstairs in the commission chambers for welcoming.
So, it's like a primer on county government?
Right, because people don't really know who is doing what. You'll have the tag office, the probate judge, and they even go down to the jail and the Sheriff welcomes them and tells about his responsibilities. Engineering, sanitation, you name it. And they'll get a certificate at the end of the six-month course. It won't cost them anything because they are already paying taxes.
Do you ever get out and just ride around the county?
Yes. I have done that. I've been out in the rural area.
But your district is mostly
Do you miss city government?
Yes, I do. I see people who remember me and it makes me feel good. And I have had some to say, "You going to run again for mayor?"
Are you?
I don't know.
Are you surprised now that there's so much activity in and along the river?
Yes, and now that zip line. Are you going to get on it?
No, ma'am.
I'm not either. Have you been down the river in the raft?
Yes, ma'am. Have you?
No. I'm a scaredy cat.
When did your husband pass away?
In 1975. He was actually up in
So, you pretty much raised four kids as a single mom?
Yes. With the help of the good Lord, definitely. Today's mothers, or even the dad if he is raising them by himself, you've got to depend on God. I just don't see how people get through it.
How old were your children when your husband passed away?
I had two that were teenagers at that time, and two younger ones.
So he was stationed at
He had just gotten back from
Back then you could swap your MOS, your job category, with someone else. That's what he thought he had done, but it came down to the last two weeks that he had to report, the sergeant came to him and said, "Martin, my wife doesn't want to move to
That really was a shock to me; I won't forget that. I do appreciate the military, the
That's got to be the most difficult thing you can hear.
Oh, yes. And do you know, I have a grandson. He just turned 20. In fact, I went to
So, you never remarried?
I did, but it didn't last. It's difficult when you have children. It didn't last but seven months.
Can you think of one or two things that you'd like to see
I want to see that they can get a job here in
Age: 77
Job:
Education: Central High Schoo, 1955;
Family: Two sons and two daughters. Youngest son,
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