Gov. Martin, back in the Capitol
Who says you can’t find a governor in the Capitol on a Saturday night? There was one there Saturday – only his name was Jim Martin, and has hasn’t been governor for going on 16 years.
But there he was Saturday night, beneath the Dome – delivering keynote remarks at the State Capitol Foundation’s annual ball and fundraiser.
Gov. Martin, who served in the corner governor’s office from 1985-1993 after representing the 9th District in Congress for years, was still in top form, telling funny stories about his days in Raleigh – beginning with his plan to have his office not in the historic Capitol building, but in the Department of Administration a block west of the General Assembly. His plan was to be closer to his key aides at a time when his administration included quite a lot of Democratic holdovers – so necessary, he joked, because “there weren’t that many unemployed Republicans” who needed the work.
But, he said, he was summoned to the Capitol office of the late Secretary of State Thad Eure, an institution in state, Southern and national politics because he served in that job for 63 years. Despite being called to Eure’s office rather than asked to come, Martin, said, he went anyway, Thad Eure being who he was. And Eure told him, “The office of the governor is in the Capitol – you understand what I’m saying?”
So it was, said Martin, that he decided to keep his office in the Capitol. After all, he reasoned, Eure had served in his office longer than anyone in public office except Queen Victoria (64 years) and what sounded like some ancient ruler whose name was lost to my aging ears in the high tide of laughter that swept in and over the crowd.
When Thad Eure spoke, people listened.
