Rep. Mac Gipson to Retire
State Rep. Mac Gipson (R - Prattville) will step down from his seat in 2010 at the end of this term, he told the Political Parlor yesterday.
“In 2010, I’ll be 75. First of all, the Good Lord has to let me make it to 2010. I would like to go out while I have some time to enjoy it. Some folks hang on too long, and I feel it’s best to hang it up.
“That’s four terms [for me], and that’s probably four more than some people wanted me to serve.”
“I’ve seen people stay too long. If something happens, the district goes without representation for too long. You’re sick, but you’re coming back, then you don’t come back. Or if someone dies, they have to have a special election. And there’s a time, sometimes a long time, when the district is not represented.
“My colleagues say, ‘You shouldn’t announce this early, you might change your mind.’ But saying it might keep me from changing my mind.”
Mac will be missed. He is a great man and there has never been a person so small or meaningless for him to speak to. He has done a lot for me and gave me my interest in State Government when he let me page for him twice before I was a registered voter.
Comment by Kyle — November 16, 2007 @ 12:24 pm
Mac Gipson will be missed in the Alabama Legislature! I have known Mac for 50 plus years and one will not find a finer person. He has done an outstanding job as a Legislator and I appreciate his service very much. Sometimes public service is a thankless job, but Mac has “stayed the course”, and has held to his good moral principles though at times his decisions have not been the most popular choice.
I love and appreciate you and Mary Lee, Mac!
Sonya Murphree
Comment by Sonya Murphree — November 17, 2007 @ 9:15 am