TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — As President, Jimmy Carter had a warm relationship with several prominent Arizona politicians. Special collections at the University of Arizona’s Library devoted to Arizona politicians include a lot of history about Carter.
“Jimmy Carter really valued opinions, even when they're really difficult to receive,” says Steve Hussman. He is a curator of special collections at the U of A Library.
Jimmy Carter was President at a time when people routinely wrote letters on real paper. He exchanged plenty of letters with Arizona politicians—signed Jimmy for the informal tone Carter tried to maintain.
A lot of the letters are in Hussman’s care in the Special Collections at the U of A library, along with photos of his contacts with Arizona leaders likeCongressman Morris Udall.
Mo Udall ran against Carter for the Democratic nomination for President. We can only quote part of Udall’s response when he lost.
Hussman says, “He got up a podium and he set out, he said, ‘The American people have spoken, those b—----.”
But that was more Congressman Udall’s sense of humor than any bitterness. He went on to work closely with President Carter on a wide range of issues including supporting gasoline rationing.
Hussman says, “You know, this is in 1980 you have gasoline rationing, and there's lot of concern about conservation and air pollution and so forth, and so, you know, you have a genuine letter from the President going to Mo Udall saying, ‘Hey, you know, I know it's, it's tough. It was tough for you to make that decision, but I really appreciate your stance on this issue.’”
U of A’s Special Collections also include President Carter’s interactions with Arizona leaders like Senator Dennis Di Concini and Governor Raul Castro. Castro was Arizona’s first Mexican American Governor. He left that job when Carter appointed him Ambassador to Argentina.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
