There are generally two type of people who populate the back offices of powerful men and women who hold elective office — call them aides, advisors or whatever you will — but two types predominate.
First and foremost, there are the “briefcase toters” — i.e., they function essentially to tote the briefcase of the elected official, to fetch him or her water or coffee, to laugh at his or her jokes and to remember that the answer to almost every question is: “Yes, sir (or ma’am), you’re absolutely right.”
That first category of functionary “aide” or “advisor” derives their value from pleasing the politician and then telling those outside the kitchen cabinet of their proximity to the throne.
Influence, integrity
But beyond that group of “briefcase toters” exists the people who in great measure make government at all levels work — the staffers who crunch and re-crunch the numbers, who possess the courage to tell the boss that he’s wrong when he or she is and who try to test and examine public policy to see who it helps, who it hurts and whether or not it works.
The good news is that Jim Perry, the 31-year-old policy director for Gov. Haley Barbour, is nobody’s briefcase toter. The bad news is that he’s leaving public service this week to become a public finance banker with Morgan Stanley in New York.
Perry, a Neshoba County native who was a 1994 graduate of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Ridgeland and a 1998 graduate of the University of Virginia in Economics and Government, has been involved in Republican politics since he was a kid. During his college years, he worked for the late Evelyn McPhail while she was co-chairman of the Republican National Committee.
After his UVA graduation, he became a staffer and was later promoted to legislative director for then-1st District U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker, R-Tupelo. He worked on the successful 2000 Bush presidential campaign and managed a successful Florida congressional campaign before joining Barbour’s campaign staff in 2003.
Hard-won respect
Perry was later named the Barbour administration’s policy director and served as deputy chief of staff — which made him a key political soldier walking the point for Barbour at the Capitol.
For some veteran lawmakers — particularly for some House Democrats — Perry’s youth coupled with his willingness to go to the mat over policy issues made his early relationships with some legislative leaders rocky. But when Perry’s decision to leave the Barbour administration for a private sector job in the Big Apple, even Democratic House Speaker Billy McCoy took time during floor debate to thank him for his service and sincerely wish him well.
A similar scene took place in the state Senate as well. Barbour said: “I don’t know if we can replace Jim with one person. He understands public policy, he understands the legislative process and he understands the politics of turning a policy idea into the law of the land. It meant a lot to me that the Legislature, particularly the House, gave Jim some recognition for that.”
Perry said: “Working for this governor at this time in Mississippi’s history has been really fascinating and I’m grateful for the experience. I won’t miss the pressure, but I’ll sure miss the people.”
Something tells me that Mississippi hasn’t seen the last of Jim Perry in the public service arena.
Contact Perspective Editor Sid Salter at (601) 961-7084 or e-mail ssalter@clarionledger.com.
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Barbour's losing key soldier in Jim Perry
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