- Collection:
- Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program
- Title:
- Transcript of oral history interview with Wayne Garner Part I & Part II, 2016 June 9
- Creator:
- Garner, Joseph Wayne, 1951-
- Contributor to Resource:
- Steely, Mel
Olivieri, Blynne
University of West Georgia. Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program - Date of Original:
- 2016-06-09
- Subject:
- Carroll County (Ga.)--History
Carrollton (Ga.)--History
Correctional institutions--Georgia
Douglas County (Ga.)--History
Douglasville (Ga.)--History
Garner, Joseph Wayne, 1951- --Archives
Georgia-- Politics and government --20th century
Georgia.General Assembly. House of Representatives
Legislators--Georgia
Politicians--Georgia
Georgia--Politics and government--20th century
Georgia. General Assembly. House of Representatives
Villa Rica (Ga.)--History - Location:
- United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
United States, Georgia, Carroll County, Carrollton, 33.58011, -85.07661
United States, Georgia, Douglas County, 33.70182, -84.76793
United States, Georgia, Douglas County, Douglasville, 33.7515, -84.74771 - Medium:
- oral histories (literary works)
transcripts - Type:
- Text
- Format:
- application/pdf
- Description:
- Wayne Garner was born in 1951 in Atlanta and moved to Douglas County at an early age. His mother died, when he was only 10, and he moved in with his grandma. At 15, he started working for the Wheatley family, who owned a funeral home. He attended West Georgia College from 1970 to 1972, where he met his future wife Jerry, with whom he had three children. From 1970 to 1979, he served in the National Guard, and a few times his unit was sent to Macon to resolve civil right issues. He identified politically as a Democrat and described Democrats such as, Zell Miller and Tom Murphy, as political conservatives, while Republican leaders were the state liberals. He argued that Democratic leaders focused on improving the state’s economy and education system instead of focusing primarily on social issues. Garner was a member of the Georgia State Senate from 1980 until 1994, when he left to chair the State Board of Pardon & Paroles, and he was head of the Georgia Department of Corrections from 1996 to 1998. A portion of Georgia Highway 61 through Carroll County is named after Wayne Garner. After Gerald Pilgrim decided to not seek a second term in 2003, Garner declared himself a mayoral candidate and won in a three-way contest, without needing a runoff election. His major issue was fixing the city water quality, an issue that he discussed in the interview. He also comments on police and policing as minority citizens were more frequently arrested and ticketed. Garner also discusses rebuilding business on Adamson Square, city built parking decks, the Carrollton Amphitheater, the Carrollton Green Belt, securing funds for a new fire station (located at Bankhead Highway and SR-166 intersection). Garner discusses the economic importance of the University of West Georgia and building of the Stadium on Lovvorn Road. Garner discusses Zell Miller as his political mentor who told him that the key to politics is " making less than half the people mad." Garner also comments on the Tea Party. He also discusses the renovation of the Carrollton Train Depot and the construction cost savings by using inmate labor. He also comments on the proposed showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Cultural Arts Center, which caused a backlash by anger parents, who did not want their children to watch a performance with graphic sexual material. Garner also shares his thoughts about different leading figures in modern Georgia politic history including Zell Miller, Roy Barnes, Sony Perdue, and Newt Gingrich.
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:uwg_phc_garner20160609-transcript
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/uwg/phc/do-pdf:garner20160609-transcript
- Language:
- eng
- Original Collection:
- Georgia Political Papers and Oral History Program oral history interviews. Annie Belle Weaver Special Collections, Irvine Sullivan Ingram Library, State University of West Georgia
- Holding Institution:
- University of West Georgia. Special Collections
- Rights:
-
