In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

199 14 The Jorees At the conclusion of the 1958 legislative session, Marvin Griffin went on a fishing trip, and Cheney Griffin went on a firing spree. The dismissals involved state employees deemed to be disloyal to the administration. In fact, many of the employees were members of the legislature, and almost all fired legislators were those who had voted against the second bond proposal for the rural roads authority. At that time, no laws existed prohibiting solons from holding state employment, and it was not uncommon for state legislators to “enrich” themselves through a state job. In many instances, these state jobs did not even require that one show up for work. In early March, representative Tom Martin of Banks County, along with his three sons and a nephew, were fired from their highway department jobs. Martin charged that he was fired because he did not bow to pressure from Governor Griffin to vote for the rural roads bond. For his part, Cheney demonstrated his usual candor: “If you get your job through politics , and you lose your job through politics . . . so what?”1 At the same time, Red Williams fired ten people from the revenue department, including deputy revenue commissioner Vaughn Rice, who was accused of being a Vandiver supporter. Another of the revenue department employees fired by Williams was Jason Weems, deputy director of the sales-tax division. Weems stated that Griffin in 1954 had pressured state employees to donate to his gubernatorial campaign, and that Cheney had pressured employees throughout the past four years for donations for various causes. Weems claimed that $1,000 to $1,500 had been raised by Cheney in the sales-tax division alone to attempt passage of the rural roads bond. When Governor Griffin returned to Atlanta, Cheney and Williams had been busy firing people for several days. Griffin issued a statement 200 “Some of the People Who Ate My Barbecue Didn’t Vote for Me” that he was “calling on each department head in state government to remove deadwood or anyone not carrying his fair share of the load so that more money will be available for rural road construction and teacher salaries.”2 Griffin also reminded reporters that while most state employees were protected by the state merit system, the revenue department was mostly exempt so that dishonest employees could be fired more easily. As controversies continued to arise, newspaper investigations of the Griffin administration increased as well. In large part, reporter Jack Nelson of the Atlanta Constitution was the spearhead of a number of investigations of the administration. Griffin would recount in later years that whenever he saw Nelson at the governor’s weekly press conference he wondered, “What’s that little beady-eyed sonofabitch got on me now?”3 Griffin rarely held grudges, though, as one story demonstrates. Nelson and fellow reporter Bill Shipp were once in an Atlanta bar in the late 1960s. Shipp noticed Griffin come into the bar and catch sight of the two men. Nelson, whose back was to the bar entrance, turned white when Shipp told him who was coming over toward them. When Griffin arrived, he slapped Nelson on the back and said, “Jack Nelson, you sonofabitch, what you been up to?” According to Shipp, Griffin entertained the men for a couple of hours over drinks. During the midst of one story, Griffin reared back in his chair and it broke, spilling him out in the floor. Griffin exclaimed, “Well, that chair is half broke, and I’m half drunk. Time to get out of here!”4 One of the more interesting incidents from Griffin’s term as governor involved a trip he made to Cuba. In 1955, the Cuban government invited the governor and some of his staff, including Cheney, to the island to discuss strengthening trade with the state. Griffin went and gave a speech that he read in Spanish.5 The trip had hardly been covered at the time, but it did arise as an issue during the 1958 session. As it turned out, Griffin had reimbursed the Cuban government for the expenses of his trip, but the rest of Griffin’s party had not. When reporters asked the purpose of the trip and whether it had anything to do with the Bainbridge port, Griffin responded, “I’m going to be in the shipping business.”6 At a later press conference, Atlanta Constitution reporter Jack Nelson asked Griffin why he alone had reimbursed the Cubans for the 1955...

Share