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On my very first day in the Mississippi Legislature, I took the first empty chair I saw. Turns out, I - not paying attention to the name plates - accidentally sat between two icons: Rep. Steve Holland and Speaker Billy McCoy, whom I was about to vote against for Speaker...
Speaker votes aren't by secret ballot or machine. You literally have to call out the name of the person you're voting for; & of course...there were like 3 tie votes. For the youngest, newest member of the minority party, it was about as awkward a situation as you could imagine...
However, Billy McCoy was as gracious a man as you could imagine. He joked with me & gave me the best legislative revelation anyone could have given after I took the oath:
"You're now responsible for every bad thing that's ever happened."
"You're now responsible for every bad thing that's ever happened."
During my first term, our sides did battle. But one on one, he was encouraging, funny & loyal to the House. Even if you voted against him that day, you were a member of the People's House. That's all that mattered. He would defend your honor until your dying day...
Between Speaker McCoy & Holland, I received more opportunities to work than any freshman member should...particularly one in the opposing party. A few of my classmates & I would go to his hotel once a week & just listen to stories. I wish I would have recorded every word now.
He was stubborn, loyal to a fault & hot tempered...but he never backed down. He loved Mississippi. He loved the Hills in Northeast MS. He loved his family. He loved the House. They don't make them like Billy McCoy anymore, faults & all.
Billy McCoy's passing is a reminder to the 122 of the true value of the House as a legislative institution of the people. It is beautiful & messy. But it reflects the beauty and messiness of the people of our state. I am grateful I was there to witness it in his final days.
