Heir apparent? Bryant's blue-collar style belies keen ambitions
By Sid Salter
January 27, 2008
The Clarion Ledger
Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and state Sen. Hillman Frazier are - at least on the surface - polar opposites beyond sharing an ambition for public service.
Bryant, 53, is a glad-handing, effusive white conservative Republican who
wears cowboy boots to the Capitol and drives a vintage
Frazier, 57, is a quiet, reticent African-American liberal Democrat who wears bow ties to the Capitol and has more than a passing interest in the art of indigenous communities here and abroad.
But when it came time for Bryant to make committee assignments in the state Senate, Frazier said Bryant reached across the political aisle and treated him "more than fairly."
Bryant named Frazier chairman of a new Senate committee on Housing - a committee Frazier described as "a committee with an aggressive agenda to seek opportunities for available and affordable housing, particularly in areas of the state still suffering from Hurricane Katrina."
Frazier, who has served in the Legislature since 1980 and in the Senate since 1993, also won seats on the Senate Appropriations, Ethics and Public Health committees.
"Phil Bryant is a straight shooter and a straight talker," said Frazier. "That's been one of his trademarks. He's been working hard to learn the Senate process and I think he really wants to do a good job."
Bryant, who said he met with each of the state's 52 state senators prior to making his committee assignments, said his intent was "to let the Senate have input and ownership of the decisions made here."
"I'm not gonna be a dictator or make unilateral decisions," said Bryant. "Do I have a Republican constituency? Certainly. But in making the committee assignments, I looked for fiscal conservatives and those from both parties with whom I share a philosophy of government and tried to create a diverse and dynamic leadership team and I think we succeeded in getting the best players on the field."
But not all Democrats share Frazier's optimistic assessment of Bryant's assignments. Democratic consultant and blogger Jere Nash said: "Phil Bryant still appointed many more Republicans as chairmen than Democrats, even though Democrats hold the majority in the Senate."
Of partisan concerns, Frazier said: "If the governor (Gov. Haley Barbour) will leave him (Bryant) alone, I think we can avoid getting caught up in partisanship on the Senate side."
Beyond partisan concerns, Bryant faces a two-horned political beast in terms of his working relationship with Barbour. During the campaign, Democrats characterized Bryant as a potential "yes" man for the Republican governor while some GOP supporters privately worried that Bryant's own future gubernatorial ambitions might get in the way of Barbour's legislative agenda.
"Anybody who's been elected lieutenant governor and says they haven't thought about being governor is being disingenuous," said Bryant. "It's like a football player saying he doesn't want to go to the Super Bowl. But the worst thing you can do is look toward the next election and I'm not going to do that.
"I'm going to try to do what's right, make the decisions I have to make and let the chips fall," Bryant said.
"But I do find it strange that people want to talk about whether I'm going to be some kind of puppet to Gov. Barbour," said Bryant. "I don't remember them asking that question when you had a Democratic governor and lieutenant governor. It only seems to be an issue when you get two Republicans."
Bryant's chief of staff, Joe Nosef, managed Barbour's 2008 re-election bid.
Bryant said he "agrees with Gov. Barbour on the major issues."
Bryant said he does disagree with Barbour "somewhat on the issue of illegal immigration."
"He thinks it's more of a federal problem and I think the states have a serious role to play in problem," said Bryant. "But Haley is one of the most talented people I've ever met in government and I have a strong desire to work in partnership with him."
In the first month's official transition for his former job as state auditor to leading the Senate, Bryant said he was reminded of hearing college athletes talk about the transition to professional sports.
"They say the game is just a whole lot faster at that level and that's what I've found here," said Bryant. "But I think we've hit the ground running in several key areas and I think the 'new' Senate is up and running pretty well."