Augusta Mayor candidate and former Mayor of Augusta Ed McIntyre. BRANT SANDERLIN/STAFF

McIntyre's past holds good, bad

Web posted September 20, 1998

 McIntyre's plank

By Sylvia Cooper
Staff Writer

He was the son of a preacher mom.

He rose to the top in Augusta politics, then fell from grace. Now he seeks redemption through a second chance as mayor of Augusta.

On Thursday, Edward M. McIntyre was on his way to speak to the Martinez-Evans Optimists Club. Earlier, he had met with Director General of Zambia Xavier Frank Chunge and had taken him and his entourage on a tour of Augusta National Golf Course.

As Mr. McIntyre drove to the Holiday Inn West, he spoke of his deceased mother, the respected and charismatic Rev. Essie Mae McIntyre, founder of the Good Shepherd Baptist Church.

``I miss her every day of my life,'' Mr. McIntyre said in his deep rumbling voice. ``I visit with her once a week. I used to go every day, but ...''

Mrs. McIntyre died in 1996. Both she and her son made history.

She was the first woman Baptist pastor in the nation, Mr. McIntyre said, and he was Richmond County's first black county commissioner and commission chairman and the city of Augusta's first black mayor.

On Thursday, Mr. McIntyre was dressed in a navy blue window-pane plaid suit, gold tie and starched white shirt with French cuffs clasped with amber and glass cuff links.

``I had a beloved professor in college who told me French cuffs were a sign of a gentleman,'' he said. ``He said it didn't make you a gentleman, but it was a sign of a gentleman. I started wearing French cuffs in college and have worn them ever since.''

At the meeting, he said people ask him why he wants to get back into politics.

``The simple answer is I love this place,'' he said. ``I see so much potential.''

He spoke of the importance of a ``public-private sector marriage'' in government and the need to bring in more industry.

MAYORS RACE  THE MAYOR'S RACE Each week until the Nov. 4 election, The Augusta Chronicle will feature a candidate running for Augusta-Richmond County mayor. Check back each Sunday for a new profile. •Ed McIntyre •Larry Sconyers •Elmer Singley •Moses Todd •Kenneth Winters •Bob Young  Q&A The Chronicle asks each candidate specific questions about their abilities and goals. Here are their answers. •Ed McIntyre •Larry Sconyers •Elmer Singley •Moses Todd •Kenneth Winters •Bob Young  ASK THE CANDIDATES Do you have a question you'd like to ask the mayoral candidates? •Click here

Mr. McIntyre, 66, said there are 10 planks in his platform, but he will not divulge them all at once because the last time he ran for office and did so, his opponent stole 75 percent of it and got credit for it with the media.

One of the planks involves Augusta's railroad tracks.

``My goal is to loosen up downtown Augusta from those railroad tracks,'' he said.

Cleaning up the downtown and inner city is another, he said.

``We're going to clean up this city, and we're going to do it together,'' he said.

People who don't maintain their property will be warned and told: ``Next time we're going to give you a fine and put your behind in jail,'' he said.

The pride has gone out of downtown Augusta, he said.

``The pride's gone, or it was never there.''

He called Augusta's high unemployment rate an embarrassment.

``There's something wrong, and it's proven leadership,'' he said.

And he has it, he said.

He was elected mayor in 1981 in a runoff with white candidate Joe Taylor and set about working to revitalize downtown Augusta and the riverfront.

He takes credit for getting overpasses built to alleviate the city's railroad track gridlock, successfully negotiating with the state Department of Transportation for the Walton Way and 15th Street overpasses.

Mr. McIntyre said he helped get Augusta Tomorrow started and legislation passed that paved the way for the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.

He also came up with Operation Paint Brush, an initiative to put a new face on some of the worst places in the city by providing free paint and brushes for needy elderly people.

He worked well with both black and white Augustans in and out of government, according to him and those who served with him on city council.

``I have never in my whole tenure used race to try to get anything accomplished,'' Mr. McIntyre said during an interview last week. ``My mother didn't teach me that.''

Many council members who served with him said that is true -- even those with whom he often clashed.

``We disagreed, but I really thought when he was mayor he worked toward the best interest of everybody, black and white,'' said Carolyn Usry. ``And he was a man of his word. We both had very strong convictions, but when he gave me his word, he was a man of honor.''

``He was very fair,'' said former Councilman Billy Calhoun. ``Most all the councilmen would say that.''

And he looked out for the little guy, said Councilwoman Inez Wylds, who described herself as ``never one of his favorites.

``He looked out for the trash truck driver and the lower echelon worker,'' she said. ``It would be difficult to find one who would say anything bad about Ed McIntyre. He did not have that condescending air toward them.''

But he was also controversial.

``Everything Ed did was controversial,'' said one former council member.

For one thing, he had his name put on the city limit signs, had two secretaries -- instead of one, as had been the custom for mayors -- and two bodyguards. The bodyguards were assigned to him after he reported receiving death threats.

One of the biggest mistakes of his first year may have been backing the opponents of two council members who sought re-election that first year.

Incumbents Pen Mayson and Mrs. Wylds won anyway.

Mr. McIntyre also caused a flap when he removed Buddy Jolles as Municipal Court judge and appointed lawyer Carl Brown to the job.

Another controversy arose when city council members voted to give themselves and Mr. McIntyre raises. They later learned that was illegal, and Mr. McIntyre refused his raise.

During last week's interview, he said the raises were suggested by council members who thought he was working too hard for the money he was making -- $22,500.

``I'm a workaholic,'' Mr. McIntyre said. ``Many days I was working 14 to 15 hours a day.''

Few ever said that he wasn't a hard worker or that he didn't do his homework or have good ideas. Many, including Mr. McIntyre himself, describe him as a visionary.

``He was a good leader, exhibiting vision and pulling the black and white communities together,'' said former councilman Gerald Woods. ``Then he made his mistake.''

Four days before Christmas in 1983 FBI agents arrested Mr. McIntyre, Councilman Joseph C. Jones and real estate broker Mary Holmes on bribery and extortion charges involving the sale of city-owned property along the Savannah River.

At rallies held to raise money for his legal defense, Mr. McIntyre said he would never go to jail, that God hadn't brought him that far for nothing.

But he resigned from office about four months later, after he was convicted of the charges. He was sentenced to five years in prison for taking $9,000 from developer L.D. Waters to influence city council to allow Mr. Waters to buy and develop riverfront property.

Mr. Waters was working with the FBI.

Mr. McIntyre served a year and two months in federal prison. His civil rights were restored in 1988.

When he announced he would run for mayor this year, he prefaced his announcement with an apology for the wrongdoing.

He said he made a terrible mistake and that he, his family, friends and supporters had paid dearly for it, but that he believed God and the public had forgiven him.

Since then, Mr. McIntyre, owner of a mortgage brokerage company, he has been campaigning quietly and persistently.

One seasoned political observer likened this election to the 1981 election during which the two white candidates slugged it out, alienating many people along the way, and the winner faced Mr. McIntyre.

Asked whether he was counting on a similar scenario this election -- with white incumbent Mayor Larry Sconyers and TV anchorman Bob Young splitting the white vote in a bitter contest, and the winner facing him in a runoff -- Mr. McIntyre had this to say:

``I'm not counting on history to get elected,'' he said. ``I'm counting on hard work and convincing the voters I have the best program, that I'm the best person for the job. I'm a proven leader with vision that has shown I can accomplish goals for our people.''

Many people agree he is a proven leader and perhaps the brightest of all the candidates, but can't see him overcoming his big mistake.

``I can forgive him for his indiscretion, but I just can't support him for that same office again,'' said Mr. Woods.

As part of our series on mayoral candidates, The Augusta Chronicle will ask each candidate to state his promises to voters if elected. The newspaper expects to check up on the winner's promises after the election.

McIntyre's plank

Here are Mr. McIntyre's promises:

1. ``I promise that I will be the kind of leader in this government that will use every resource within my disposal to enhance the quality of life for the people of the city of Augusta.''

2. ``I promise to reach out and find those resources wherever possible to make sure we enhance and do what we ought to do. I also firmly believe that we ought to try first of all to find talented people within this region to serve in governmental positions, and when we can't find those expertise that we need that we go outside, rather than going out initially.''

3. ``I also promise that I will put together a program, short-range and long-range, that would deal with the major problems that exist in our community and look for ways to bring in additional things that will be entertaining and serviceable in our community.''

4. ``I also feel that I can do more than any of the other candidates to foster better race relations and be a Chamber of Commerce representative to sell this community in this country and out of this country.''