One of the Best, Johnny Isakson
There are a few people in politics I can’t be objective
about. One of them is Senator Johnny Isakson. On Wednesday, he announced to the
state that he was retiring at the end of the year.
He said, in part:
“I am leaving a job I love
because my health-challenges are taking their toll on me, my family and my
staff. My Parkinson’s has been progressing and I am continuing physical therapy
to recover from a fall in July. In addition, this week I had surgery to remove
a growth on my kidney.
In my 40 years in elected office, I have always
put my constituents and my state of Georgia first. With the mounting health
challenges I am facing, I have concluded that I will not be able to do the job
over the long term in the manner the citizens of Georgia deserve. It goes
against every fiber of my being to leave in the middle of my senate term, but I
know it’s the right thing to do on behalf of my state.”
Johnny was a Republican elected official when
there were only 6 Republicans in the Georgia House of Representatives. He rode
the wave of Republican wins and served his state under Democrats and
Republicans. I voted for him every time I could. One of the times he came to
the station to do an interview, he asked for my vote. I told him, he already
had it.
He is a Republican who gets lots of votes from
Democrats and women across the board. I asked him about that. He said, “I ran a
company with 3000 1099 employees, mostly women, who could walk across the
street to the competition at any time, so I had to learn to get along.” And
Johnny Isakson always gets along, with everyone!
He’s not going anywhere until the end of the
year, and he will make his mark on the Senate in the time they have in session
for the rest of the year. Johnny is not going anywhere.
Here’s what I will say to close. They don’t
make politicians like Johnny Isakson anymore. He reaches across the aisle. He
respects people and he gets things done. I have considered him a friend for
more years than I’d like to count and Georgia is lucky to have the service of
Johnny Isakson to this great state.
God Bless Johnny and his family on all the
journey’s they have ahead.
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