My Friend Kay

My friend, Kay. We served on the board of the NCCJ together and we worked out at the same gym. One day shortly after the mayor of Greensboro decided not to run for re-election, I was sitting on a stationary bicycle next to Kay. Kay had told me that she came from a political family and that her uncle had been the governor of Florida. I said to Kay, “Why don’t you run for Mayor?” Her response was, “Being Mayor doesn’t interest me, but I am thinking about running for something else.”

A few weeks later, Kay announced her intention to run for the North Carolina State Senate. She won that election easily and was re-elected several times.

In the past few years, I have become much concerned about some of the votes taken by United States Senator Elizabeth Dole; particularly votes concerning veteran’s affairs, the war in Iraq and children’s health care. Every time one of her votes bothered me, I sent an email to Kay encouraging her to run against Senator Dole. Each time, I received a response from Kay that she would indeed consider the request.

Kay came very close to announcing her candidacy a year ago and at the last minute, decided that she would not run. Apparently, she did not think that Dole could be beaten or that she would be able to raise enough money as a candidate. Legend has it that the day after she decided not to run, Kay received several calls from prominent national Democratic Party politicians pledging their support should she run.

She changed her mind and after a significant primary challenge, started the campaign against Senator Dole more than 10 points behind in the polls. At this time, I helped the campaign write her policy statement concerning the state of Israel.

However, it soon would come out that Senator Dole in 2006 had only been present in our state for thirteen days. Kay’s campaign ads were indeed magnificent, with two southern elderly gentleman saying that Dole was 93, meaning 93rd in effectiveness within the US Senate.

At the end of the campaign, Senator Dole released a vicious attack ad on my friend Kay implying that she was “Godless.” Having known Kay for many years, I knew Kay as a former board member of her Presbyterian church and as a Sunday school teacher. She is a devout Christian. The ad seemed to have backfired.

On election night, the media declared my friend Kay to have won very early on in the evening. One of Kay’s favorites sayings is: “At least my husband can vote for me!” (Bob Dole is not registered in the state). Another was that she wanted to give Senator Dole “a pair ruby red slippers and send her back to Kansas.”

The night before the election at Kay’s request, I organized a telephone conference call with Kay and her family. The call was in the form of a “prayer meeting.” Kay and her family were all over the state. On the call were Kay’s two Presbyterian ministers, an African American Baptist minster who is a good friend, and me. We prayed that God would bless Kay and give strength to her no matter what the outcome of the election. We also assured her that as her friends, we would be with her then and in the future. For all of us, it was indeed a very spiritual moment.

I was privileged to be at the victory party for Kay as she gave her victory speech after the election. For me, it was indeed one of the more exciting moments of the entire political campaign season. On January 6, I was privileged to attend her swearing in ceremony and to say a hearty “Mazal Tov!” to her.

They say that all politics is local. Kay is an outstanding human being and humanitarian. She is a good friend of Israel and the Jewish people. I think she will make a wonderful United States Senator and I am indeed privileged to call Senator Kay Hagan, my friend.