South of the James

By Conaway B. Haskins III

In the 82^nd District of Alabama’s House of Representatives, an African American Republican has emerged as a legitimate contender in this traditionally Democratic stronghold. Lacy Ward, Jr. is the GOP’s standard bearer in a special election to be held on March 8, 2005 to fulfill the remaining portion of the term, representing the Tuskegee, Alabama area. A seasoned public servant, Ward is currently a writer and consultant working to complete a doctorate in public administration at Virginia Tech. He had worked in senior positions at Tuskegee University in senior positions until February of 2004.

A long-time Virginia resident, Ward first entered public service as a naval flight officer after graduating from Virginia State University – one of the nation’s oldest historically black universities – with a bachelor’s degree in geology. He was on active duty for nine years, and he did a tour in the 1991 Gulf War. In total, he logged more than 1,200 military flight hours and completed more than 200 carrier based missions. After leaving the Navy, he worked in the insurance industry before taking a position as field aide to Democratic congressman L.F. Payne of Virginia in 1995. After Payne resigned to seek another office, Ward continued to serve Payne’s successor, Virgil Goode until 1998.

His time with these two conservative, “Blue Dog” Democrats, one of whom left that party, left an indelible mark on his political identity. He came from a Democratic family, and he’d worked on Democratic campaigns, but he was not a liberal. He says that “[He] could begin to see the window closing on conservative Democrats” like himself. Eventually, Rep. Goode left the Democrats and joined the Republicans. This made Ward more circumspect about his political choices.

Although he had not officially joined the GOP, Ward says that he had worked with the Republican Party on several fronts since “the George Allen gubernatorial administration [starting in Virginia in 1993].” After leaving the congressional offices, he says that his “[political] activity was restricted by the Hatch Act while with the Park Service and by university policy at Tuskegee.” However, he remained interested in public affairs.

While working as a congressional aide, Ward was instrumental in the development of the Robert Russa Moton Museum and the Civil Rights in Education Heritage Trail in Virginia. This site commemorated the historic closing of the Prince Edward Virginia public schools by segregationist officials in response to the Brown decision. After leaving Rep. Goode’s office in 1998, he went off to graduate school at Virginia Tech, where he completed his masters in public administration, and took a civil service position with the National Park Service. It was this stint with the Park Service that led him to Alabama. After working on the museum effort, Ward did his graduate work was on Robert R. Moton, who was born in Virginia but went on to serve as the second president of Tuskegee University. He was the driving force behind the Tuskegee Airmen, the historic flight training program for Black aviators held at Tuskegee in the early to mid 1900’s.

Based on his expertise and passion for the Tuskegee Airmen, Ward was offered a position as superintendent of the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. His extensive experience in public history and heritage tourism lead to his 2002 appointment to serve on the Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Commission by President George W. Bush.

Ward was a natural fit in the Tuskegee community, and he serves on the boards of several community organizations, and has become a regular writer with the Tuskegee News. He was named as a vice president at Tuskegee University, where he spearheaded that institution’s marketing and communications initiatives until leaving to concentrate of consulting and his doctoral program. A father of five children, Ward and his wife, Ardeania, he attends St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Tuskegee.

His faith has played a large role in his decision to seek political office. When Alabama State Rep. John Ford gave up his seat to run for mayor of the city of Tuskegee, Lacy felt that “divine intervention” was telling him to go for the seat himself. According to him, “Too many things fell in to place for me to ignore the signs. I believe that this is my time to run.” Having written regularly for the Tuskegee News, people in the community were familiar with him, and he was recruited to run as Republican.

Though he had never run for office himself, he had worked “a number of campaigns” and he knew the ropes well. He says that he got an early start in the nuts and bolts of politicking. “My first campaigning was in elementary school when I went door-to-door for a Philadelphia mayoral candidate. This was in the late 1960s.”

Though the GOP had offered Democrats in the 82^nd District no opposition is either 1994, 1998 or 2002, Ward decided to toss his hat in the ring as a Republican. According to Alabama GOP executive director Chris Brown, the 82^nd District is not a “horrible seat [for Republicans]. Johnny Ford switched parties when he ran for mayor of Tuskegee and it didn’t affect him. He won.” Brown says frankly that, “normally, we [Alabama GOP] wouldn’t look at the race” But he feels that Ward is a “strong candidate” who has made him a “strong believer” that Republicans can have success in this district.

Ward was attracted by the party’s conservative philosophy, upfront moral values, and focus on “individual responsibility which is the foundation of individual freedom.” He says that, “the Republican Party expects communities to lead themselves. This is a powerful paradigm which more communities and families need to adopt.” Although he comes from a traditionally Democratic family, he was pleased that they supported his decision. “They know what my goals are and understand that I may use what some may perceive as unconventional means to achieve them,” he says.

As opposed to attacking the Democrats, he is running a campaign which focusing on providing an alternative for the majority-black 82^nd District. In Alabama, President Bush attracted less than 9% of the Black vote. In addition, there is the lingering suspicion of the GOP as the refuge for former segregationists, such as the late Strom Thurmond. Ward is candid about the negative perception that Black America has of the Republicans. He says frankly that, “[the] Republican Party is not patronizing to selected communities. Does that mean not friendly? Some would argue so. I am not one of them.”

Ward says that overall, the Alabama GOP has been “very enthusiastic” about his candidacy. He has been endorsed by Alabama’s Congressman for the 3^rd District, Mike Rogers, and a Republican who represents the communities in the 82^nd state House district. Chris Brown notes that the state’s “House Republican leadership is high on [Lacy] and promotes him. Lacy is an up and coming superstar in Alabama politics in any regard. He’s a dynamic individual. I’m 100 percent behind him.”

Ward finds his motivation in offering Black voters a real choice. Ward asserts that, “voters need to determine for themselves which platforms they can support. I, for one, can support a platform of individual freedom. Doing so empowers me. So I am comfortable being a Republican.” Brown notes that the Republican Party is “not opposed to supporting African American candidates. We just don’t have a lot who run.”

Ward says that the Black voters that he meets “have been open and receptive… Many voters still consider themselves Democrats, but are willing to vote for a progressive Republican.” He has seen opposition among Black officials aligned with Democrats. He says that “vote-getters, those who have established themselves as political centers of influence have been less receptive” to his candidacy However, he is committed to attracting every vote that he can, Black or White.

Brown asserts that, “Lacy understands what he needs to do to win.” He notes that the race will be difficult and “things have to align correctly.” But, he says that “this is [Ward’s] best chance” and despite the heavily Democratic nature of the district, a Lacy Ward victory is “very possible because this is a special election.” Brown believes that because turnout is typically lower among Democrats in special elections, if the GOP can turn out enough “identified Republicans” and draw independents, Ward can win.

As for his chances, Ward says that “Elections are won by garnering 51% of the vote. I am comfortable pursuing every vote. At times it has appeared more that I’m running a policy institute than a campaign. The voters have appreciated the discussions on community building in a two-party America and the reasoning as to why one-party politics is only a partial solution.” According to Brown, the state party will be “focusing solely on Lacy” once the other special elections that pre-date the March 8 race are done.

Running on campaign themes of “Leadership. Vision. Conservative Values,” Ward sees his biggest obstacle as “receiving sufficient audience before the voters.” He complains of uneven local media coverage, and he notes that, “many [people] vote by habit,” which inevitably means Democratic. However, he believes that the run up to the March 8 election will be “very competitive.” One upside is that he has had the opportunity to campaign without a set opponent, as the Democratic candidates are in the run-off with a vote scheduled for January 24, 2005. As such, Ward has been able to campaign on his own merits. The drawback is a lack of debates.

If there is any lasting impression that he wants the voters of the 82^nd District to understand is that, “You have the right to vote for the best candidate, regardless of party. To not exercise that right is to impose a self-segregation. Voters need to carefully examine why it is they do what they do.” He calls on Black voters, in the 82nd district and elsewhere, to “make your decision based on platform and principles.” To him, it comes down to a set of core questions.

“Do you favor less government, individual freedom, individual responsibility, strong defense, accountability in education, moral values? If so, you may be a Republican,” says Ward. As for life after the March 8 election, he says that he will “wait again on Divine intervention…I know that the answer will be presented to me in due time.”

For more information about Lacy Ward’s campaign for the Alabama House of Representatives, go to: http://www.lacyward.com.

Disclosure: Conaway Haskins briefly served as an intern in the Congressional offices in which Lacy Ward worked in 1995 and 1997.

By Conaway B. Haskins III

Black Athlete Sports Network, January 16, 2005

Lost amid the hype surrounding Peyton Manning’s history-making season, was the remarkable season that Minnesota QB Daunte Culpepper put up. Manning won the AP MVP balloting in near unanimous fashion, thus relegating Culpepper’s season to a footnote in NFL history. That the dynamic Minnesota signal caller failed to receive any MVP vote is testament to how underrated his 2004 season was. It is reminiscent of the 1941 baseball season in which Ted Williams had one of the greatest offensive seasons ever (.406), but lost the MVP vote to Joe DiMaggio and his 56-game hit streak record that captivated the sports world.

It goes without saying that Manning’s season was outright phenomenal. He threw for a record 49 touchdowns and posted an out-of-this-world QB rating of 121.1. Remarkably, his 4,557 yards was the third-best total this season, behind league-leader Culpepper (4,717) and Chief’s QB Trent Green (4,591). Peyton also completed over 67% of his passes.

Culpepper and Manning both achieved great numbers while playing their home games in domed stadiums. Given the overall move toward domes and artificial turf derivatives, this situation is a matter of modern NFL technology, and it should not detract from their accomplishments. By the same token, both guys play for teams whose defenses are among the worst in the NFL, with Indy’s at 28th and Minnesota at 29th. Therefore, a premium is placed on high-octane offensive output; schemes that helped both lead their teams to wild-card playoff berths.

On the other hand, Culpepper’s season was as impressive, arguably more than Manning’s. Statistically-speaking, the Vikings field general had one of the greatest quarterback seasons ever. While completing a league-leading 69.2% of his passes, Culpepper threw for 4,717-yard, 5th best of all-time. His 2004 touchdown tally (39) was second only to Manning, and only threw 11 interceptions. Culpepper finished with a 110.9 passer rating was 110.9, the 3rd highest of all-time. He also rushed for 406 yards and gained another 2 touchdowns on the ground. Thus, he accounted for over 5, 100 yards of total offense.

Unlike Manning, Culpepper did not have full complement of top-shelf receivers to throw to. While Peyton had 3 receivers who posted over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns, Randy Moss dealt with injuries all year that limited him to only 13 games. His 767 receiving yards were less than half of last years’ total (1,632). That we he was able to catch 13 of Culpepper’s 39 TD passes demonstrates how important Moss is as a pass-catching threat. Minnesota’s other two key receivers - Nate Burleson and Marcus Robinson - were not among the league’s leaders at that position.

Adding to Culpepper’s burden was the lack of a consistent rushing threat in the backfield. With Edgerrin James in the mix, Manning had one of the NFL’s best runners lining up behind him. James came in 4th place in the NFL rushing race with 1,548 yards. His 4.6 yards per carry was among the league’s best, and he added 9 rushing TDs and 483 receiving yards to boot. His role in Manning’s season cannot be overlooked as it opened up opportunities for the QB downfield.

On the contrary, Culpepper’s top RB was Onterrio Smith, who only played in 11 games due to off-the-field issues and injuries. He finished with a pedestrian 544 yards and only 2 rushing touchdowns. Smith was part of a 4-man running platoon that gained just 1,417 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground. In fact, Culpepper was Minnesota’s second-leading rusher with 406 yards and 2 touchdowns, accounting for nearly one-quarter of Minnesota’s total rushing game.

All things considered, Daunte Culpepper could have been the NFL MVP this year. At worst, he was the NFL’s second best quarterback and player of 2004. While Michael Vick and Terrell Owens gathered up the major headlines not relating to Manning, Daunte Culpepper talked softly and welded a huge stick against NFL opposing defenses. His steady progression to the top of the QB rankings is cause for more attention from the sports world. At the least, we can rest assured that he will be on the minds and in the nightmares of opposing defenses in the coming years.