Joe Frank Harris: Personal Reflections on a Public Life

by Joe Frank Harris

In 1982 a Georgia legislator with, as one journalist put it, the charisma of a bowl of cold grits, came out of nowhere to be elected governor of the state. Serving two terms from 1983 until 1991, Joe Frank Harris compiled a strong record of accomplishment and honesty in government. When he left office, the same journalist who ridiculed Harris's lack of personal magnetism wrote that he had set a standard of personal integrity that will never be surpassed in state government. In this autobiography, former Governor Harris reflects on his public life, which includes nine consecutive terms in the state legislature as well as his years in the governor's office. Along the way the reader learns of his childhood in Cartersville, his deeply religious upbringing, his strong work ethic, and his commitment to serving the people of Georgia. Writing in a popular style, Harris describes his initiation into state government, narrates his surprising gubernatorial campaign, and highlights his accomplishments as Georgia's chief executive. Readers of Southern political and Georgia history will find this a fascinating and well-told story.

280 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Louis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike the authors of other books I've read, I've actually gotten to know personally Governor Harris and his dear wife, Elizabeth, to some extent. I never expected to have the opportunity to meet them and, to be honest, I never really had a desire until recently (he was a two-term Democrat governor, and I am a lifelong conservative Republican). However, a few years ago, through business networking, I met Governor Harris' son Joe, who was serving as the interim president of the Cartersville-Bartow Chamber of Commerce. We began with the normal pleasantries, and a few minutes into the conversation he realized that I was the same person who writes a weekly Sunday column for our county newspaper. That lead us to a discussion about the Founding Fathers and the role of religion in public life (topics I cover frequently in the articles), and we soon were deep in what would be the first of many such conversations.

Over the last two years or so I have had the opportunity to become close friends with Joe, and through that friendship, I met his father and mother. I can say unequivocally that I found in Governor Harris and his wife something that is all too rare these days...public servants in the truest sense of the word, and a couple whose devotion to God and family rose, and still rise, above all other considerations. They are a family who take seriously their obligations as Christians, and those obligations extended all the way into the highest office in the state. As Governor, Joe Frank Harris held the highest standards for himself and his staff, and even refused to allow alcoholic beverages into the Governor's Mansion, something he was told would be considered an affront to the powerful and which would hurt his governorship. Not only did it not hurt, it set the tone for an administration which would be executed with integrity, and leave a lasting legacy for the State of Georgia.

It has been my sincere privilege to get to know the Harris family, and I can personally attest that, while most biographies and autobiographies of this sort are filled with self-serving grandiosity, if anything, this book understates the power of an honest man in high office, with a wonderful woman of integrity at his side. I pray that we will have, across this state and nation, more men and women of high office that truly see their role as servants to the public good, and who govern their decisions not by polls, but in accordance with those actions which would earn the approbation of their Savior, Jesus Christ.