10 Political Figures I'd Want Watching My Back...And Why: Gerald Adams

Photo: Gerald Adams, at far right with clipboard, in the House Gallery with First Lady Kim Henry during Governor Henry's State of the State address.
By Mike McCarville ~ Some say they are the ones they'd want in a foxhole with them when the shooting starts. To me, it is the individuals I'd want watching my back in any kind of peril or stress. However we describe them, they are those who have our absolute confidence and trust. In my case, a lifetime (40+ years!) around Oklahoma politics and government, and those who toil in both arenas, has resulted in friendships not forgotten with the passage of time. Beginning here, and for the next 10 days or so, I'll share the names (in alphabetical order) of those "10 Political Figures I'd Want Watching My Back...And Why." There are others for whom I have the same degree of confidence; many of them are not directly involved in politics, and some of them are not well-known while others are. Surely you have those you'd trust to watch your back; if so, and you want to share their names and the reasons why, log on to the "Comments" section below and share your story with us. The more, the merrier.

Gerald Adams. Democrat. Chief of staff, Governor Brad Henry, 2003-Present. Spokesman for three attorneys general, Robert Henry, Susan Loving, Drew Edmondson 1986-2001. Previous: Shawnee News Star, Oklahoma Baptist University, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. I've known Gerald Adams for almost 20 years. The road to prominence in Oklahoma politics and government often rests in that oldest of things, long-standing personal relationships. Gerald's residence in Shawnee put him in early close proximity to Robert Henry and when Henry ran for attorney general, Gerald managed his campaign. When Henry was elected attorney general, Gerald became his spokesman. Today, 20 years later, Gerald is chief of staff to Henry's cousin, Governor Brad Henry, another friend of many years dating back to Shawnee High School days. That Gerald lasted 15 years in the attorney general's office through three occupants (unheard of!) is testimony to his professional expertise, networking abilities and solid character. While I'd known Gerald before 1991, it was then that I developed a new respect for him. Remember that year: Neva Hill and I, as publishers of The McCarville-Hill Report, began examining the campaign contributions of newly-elected Governor David Walters, and recall also that Neva and I were deeply involved in the campaign of the man Walters defeated, Republican Bill Price. So we had a partisan side going in. But because we'd been involved in that campaign, we knew something didn't look right about Walters' list of campaign donors. I obtained a mail program, generally used for direct mail, and used it to input the hundreds of Walters' donors. We then sorted those donors by last name and then, by zip code. The story began to tell itself. Working with KOCO-TV Investigative Reporter Terri Watkins and KTOK News Director/Investigative Reporter Jerry Bohnen, we began making discoveries that soon had agents of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Criminal Division of the Internal Revenue Service, and others, knocking on our door. The Oklahoman's investigative team (Nolan Clay, Robby Trammel) charged into the story as well. Long story short: Walters copped a plea to a misdemeanor charge, thus avoiding the felony charges he faced for campaign donation violations. Then-Attorney General Susan Loving was in charge of the multi-county grand jury investigation. It was a tense time; repeatedly, we had doors slammed in our faces as we tried to determine how contributions were made to Walters, where the money really came from, and what rewards, if any, awaited the donors. My life was threatened. Walters once held a news conference to describe me, and Neva, as "political terrorists." It is a label I treasure today. As we continued to dig into those donations, we had a million questions and tried to pry answers out of almost anyone. Gerald, as Loving's spokesman, became the point of many of my questions. Ponder the circumstances: Here's this Republican gun-for-hire (me) going after a Democrat governor asking questions of a Democrat in a Democrat attorney general's office, an AG appointed by the very man about whom I was asking serious questions. Gerald at first wouldn't give me the time of day. As the days passed and I continued to pester him with questions, he began to realize, I later learned, that I was more than just a partisan hack; I was a reporter at heart who was asking questions about what looked like "a real deal." Often, my questions were contentious. Sometimes, I was in a room with two other reporters, firing questions at Gerald about the investigation. Sometimes, I'd track him down late at night at home and badger him with new questions. Gerald never was a source of any information about Walters' donations. He was candid, however, in saying what he could about the status of the investigation. Once that investigation really began to roll, and it was obvious Walters was in serious trouble, the answers came more freely, although still guarded. Late one night near the end, in the midst of an especially contentious conversation (I'd called him at home), we were yelling at each other. For some reason, I started laughing and said, "I love you, man, even if you won't tell me anything." Gerald laughed as well. Later, I realized the pressure I'd put on this guy for months and how he'd always reacted with grace and professionalism no matter how distasteful he found my sometimes rude and pointed questions, and the whole episode. In the years since, I've had occasion to think of those days, and Gerald, often, and when I began thinking about the political figures I've encountered over the years and what I admire about them, his was the first name into my mind. I know Susan Loving felt this way, and I'm equally certain Robert Henry and Drew Edmondson feel the same way, as does Governor Henry: When the stress level gets high, when the bullets are flying, when the pressure's on...I want Gerald Adams to be one of those watching my back.

Next: G. T. Blankenship

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