Liston Ramsey, who represented Western North Carolina in the General Assembly for 38 years, died Sunday evening. He is generally regarded as the most powerful state legislator to ever represent the mountains. When he announced in January 2000 that he would retire at the end of that General Assembly session, I wrote this column in an attempt to sum up Ramsey’s unique style and achievements. We are reprinting it as a tribute to Ramsey.

In this day of hard-core ideological Republicans and flippant Democrats, where poll takers and image makers are part of the entourage of career politicians, it seems almost too easy to pay homage to a man like Liston Ramsey.

Ramsey — “The Speaker,” as he is known to politicos throughout the state — is a Madison County resident and a legend in North Carolina politics. He announced last week he would not seek another term, a decision that comes after 38 years of service to constituents in the mountains. His 52nd House District includes all or parts of Madison, Haywood, Jackson, Swain and Graham counties.

Ramsey’s career was peaking when I first began reporting at small newspapers in eastern North Carolina in the mid-1980s. His tenure as speaker of the state House was in its third term, and he was without doubt the most powerful person in state politics. The North Carolina legislature — by Constitution — is among the most powerful in the country. The governor had no veto authority at that time, and the budget was entirely a creation of the legislature. This made Ramsey both a dealmaker and a kingmaker, and winning his favor was priority one for those who wanted to bring money back home for needed projects.

Ramsey will be remembered in many ways by those who keep up with North Carolina history, but two aspects from his tenure are what stick out in my mind.

One, the mountain region benefited immensely. When it took eight hours to get from Waynesville to Raleigh, as it did before 1-40, Western North Carolina was a frontier few state politicians wandered into. We were left out of the loop, forced to sit by while the Piedmont and then the coast began to prosper. Ramsey, more than anyone else, was responsible for changing this scenario.

Not only did he bring projects home — from money for every WNC college and university to road projects and water and sewer money — but he changed the way state government allotted funds.

Wayne McDevitt, the chief of staff for Gov. Jim Hunt and also a Madison County resident (now a dean at UNCA), says the laws on the books throughout the state contain formulas to make sure rural and poor areas get better than a per capita share of many state funding programs — a direct result of Ramsey’s insistence that the money be spread around. Distributing funds according to population works fine when the playing field is level, but the mountains and other rural enclaves were so far behind that the status quo distribution formulas would have never allowed them to even come close to catching up with the state’s more prosperous areas.

Ramsey, always the fighter for the mountains and in turn for rural areas throughout the state, refused to accept this system. The dichotomy between the prosperous and poor areas of North Carolina is still pronounced, but Ramsey helped close the gap.

The other legacy from Ramsey’s tenure that stands out is his integrity. He isn’t leaving the legislature a rich man, and somehow I don’t think we’ll see him become a lobbyist, though I suspect many companies would love to have him. Even today his mere presence commands attention, as it still does on the floor of the legislature. Some leaders in state government or Congress seem to fight hardest for the business interests they are involved in, or even use their position to get involved in business deals. Ramsey fought all these years for the state’s country people and poor, not for his own benefit.

Like all of us, Ramsey had his faults and weaknesses. While speaker, he didn’t see a need for change until it was too late. Many in the state were tired of the secretive budget process the legislature had developed over the years. Ramsey and powerful lieutenants and senators would more or less write a budget and then expect its passage by the rank-and-file, always-in-the-majority Democrats. That was the way it was done.

Rep. Joe Mavretic, a Tarboro-area lawmaker, saw it differently. He led a coalition of Democrats and Republicans who wrested the speakership away from Ramsey in 1989. Republicans got more input into House dealings, and the budget process opened up. Perhaps Ramsey should have known colleagues and voters were ready for a change.

After that demotion, however, Ramsey showed another side to his leadership abilities. Waynesville resident and top state lobbyist Zeb Alley said Ramsey went right to work like a freshman lawmaker, still fighting for every dollar he could get for the mountain region and the state’s poor. Instead of sulking, Ramsey knew there was work to do.

Anyone who spends 38 years in an elected office, facing re-election every two years, must have an unusual ability to stay in touch with the people in the district. And perhaps that was Ramsey’s most enduring characteristic. Some politicians find success as back-slappers and hand-shakers, always ready with the glib comeback or ready to step up to a microphone and pontificate.

Then there are quiet, shrewd, workmanlike representatives who get the job done and garner respect from colleagues and constituents by their effectiveness. For one more short session, that’s what we’ll get from Liston Ramsey.

(Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com)

 

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