Legality of Cannabis by U.S. Jurisdiction

For other people named William McKinney, see William McKinney (disambiguation).
Billy McKinney
McKinney in a 1976 article
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 51st district
In office
January 11, 1993 – January 13, 2003
Preceded byThurbert Baker
Succeeded byNan Grogan Orrock
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 35th district
In office
January 1973 – January 11, 1993
Succeeded byTom Cauthorn
Personal details
Born
James Edward McKinney

(1927-02-23)February 23, 1927
Abbeville, Georgia, U.S.
DiedJuly 15, 2010(2010-07-15) (aged 83)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseLeola Christion
Alma materClark College
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1945–1946

James Edward "Billy" McKinney (February 23, 1927 – July 15, 2010) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. McKinney served as a Democrat in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1973 until 2003. He was also the father of former Georgia congresswoman and Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney.

Early life[edit]

McKinney was born in Abbeville in Wilcox County, Georgia. His mother, Ann Turner Lewis, was a jazz singer, and his father, who he reportedly only met once, was a saxophone player.[1] He attended Booker T. Washington High School and Clark College,[2] a historically black college. He became a decorated veteran of the United States Army. He was credited with integrating the Atlanta Police Department and spearheading the efforts of the Afro-American Police League.

McKinney was reportedly arrested in Florence, South Carolina, after returning from his military service and being on a railroad trip back to Georgia, due to him or one of his mates drinking from a segregated water fountain.[1][3][4]

Career[edit]

McKinney served as a Democrat in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1973 until 2003. In 2008 he joined the Green Party and cast delegate votes for their Presidential nominee.[citation needed]

In 1970, McKinney unsuccessfully ran for the Fulton County Commission, receiving 33.1 percent of the vote.[5]

In August 1972, prior to getting elected into office, McKinney filed a lawsuit challenging Georgia's property tax school funding, describing it as discriminatory and as violating the Equal Protection Clause.[6]

In 1974, McKinney successfully pushed through a bill that made carrying a gun without a license a felony; he stated, "We have lost our youth to Super Fly", referring to young people who "don't have respect for laws, for other people or for their parents".[7] In 1975, McKinney criticized gun control legislation, instead claiming that harsher sentences for crimes involving guns was needed and that police should focus more on those crimes.[8] In 1976, McKinney had intended to re-introduce the Equal Rights Amendment, although he was asked not to by female lawmakers as the amendment had previously failed in the legislature.[9] In 1981, he acted as co-chairman of the campaign of Sidney Marcus for Mayor of Atlanta. Marcus was a prominent Jewish leader; his opponent was the well-known African-American politician Andrew Young. McKinney's choice antagonized much of the African-American community in Atlanta.[10] During a 1982 special general election,[11] McKinney unsuccessfully ran as an independent candidate in Georgia's fifth congressional district;[12][13] he criticized the Reagan administration, claiming "His policies and programs are anti-people and anti-poor."[14] He received 13.7 percent of the vote.[11]

During the 1987 legislative session, according to The Atlanta Constitution, McKinney introduced a bill that would "legalize sodomy between men and women" and pushed legislation that would "allow health officials to examine a suspected AIDS victim under a court order."[15] He also introduced a bill that would allow individual counties to legalize bets on dog or horse racing.[16] In 1988, his daughter Cynthia, in contrast to herself, described McKinney as a "gay basher"; he denied the label, while also stating, "I simply have no respect for the gay community and I am repulsed by their lifestyle."[17]

Controversies[edit]

McKinney was known as a politician who did not shy away from controversy. In 1976, it was reported that McKinney "had to be physically restrained" after he "threw a punch" at fellow representative J.C. Daugherty; the incident took place while they were discussing a welfare question in the proposed state budget. The day after, McKinney said they had apologized to each other.[18] In August 1993, gay rights advocate Annie Archbold accused McKinney of punching her in the mouth outside of the Atlanta City Council.[needs context] McKinney denied the accusation.[19][20] In December 1994, McKinney was fined $500 for insulting and threatening congressman Gary Franks, after Franks had testified on behalf of a group of white plaintiffs who had accused the 11th Congressional District in Georgia of being unfairly drawn in favor of black voters.[21] In 1995, Dan Lakly, a white state representative, accused McKinney of threatening him with a pocketknife during an argument; McKinney denied the allegation, and two other eyewitnesses denied seeing a knife.[22][23]

In October 1996, McKinney apologized and resigned from his daughter's congressional campaign after he had called her opponent a "racist Jew".[24]

His daughter Cynthia had a contentious relationship with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).[10] In 2002, when asked about his daughter using an old endorsement in her primary campaign, he said that the endorsement would not matter because "Jews have bought everybody. Jews. J-E-W-S."[25] In that 2002 election, McKinney lost his seat in the Georgia House of Representatives, and his daughter lost her congressional seat.

Death[edit]

Billy McKinney died on July 15, 2010, at the age of 83 in his southwest Atlanta home after a long struggle with cancer. He was in hospice care. His wife Leola and friends were with him at the time of death.[26]

A portion of Interstate 285 is known in his honor as the "James E. "Billy" McKinney Highway" between I-20 in northwest Atlanta and I-75 near Cumberland Mall.[27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "McKinney battles health problems, controversy". The Atlanta Constitution. 2002-09-08. pp. C4. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  2. ^ "Brief Biographies of Aldermanic Candidates". The Atlanta Constitution. 1969-10-06. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  3. ^ "House honors World War II veterans". The Macon Telegraph. 2000-03-10. p. 23. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  4. ^ "Reapportionment battle touches nerves in South". Tampa Bay Times. 1991-08-30. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  5. ^ "Fulton Faces 2 Runoff Races". The Atlanta Constitution. 1970-09-11. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  6. ^ "Suit Challenges Property Tax". The Atlanta Constitution. 1972-08-09. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  7. ^ "House Okays Tougher Pistol-Packing Penalty". The Atlanta Constitution. 1974-02-06. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  8. ^ "McKinney Says Let Drunks Alone". The Atlanta Constitution. 1975-10-20. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  9. ^ "ERA Amendment Lost Issue in '76". The Columbus Ledger. 1976-02-15. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  10. ^ a b Nigut, Bill (November 5, 1999). "Deconstructing Cynthia McKinney". Jewish Times. Archived from the original on March 11, 2009.
  11. ^ a b "Election". The Macon Telegraph. 1982-12-01. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  12. ^ "Half of Black Caucus endorses McKinney". The Atlanta Constitution. 1982-09-28. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  13. ^ "Candidates fear apathy in 2 congressional races". The Macon News. 1982-11-29. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  14. ^ "Associations Rally For Billy McKinney At Dinner Meeting". The Atlanta Voice. 1982-11-27. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  15. ^ panel, Sodomy bills held for study by House (1987-01-30). "Rep. Billy McKinney: 'I do things differently'". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 42. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  16. ^ "Bill to let counties decide on betting introduced in House". The Macon Telegraph. 1987-01-14. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  17. ^ "The McKinneys: Daughter And Dad Split on Politics". The Atlanta Constitution. 1988-12-29. p. 155. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  18. ^ "Legislators Resorts To Haymaker Debate". The Atlanta Constitution. 1976-03-04. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  19. ^ "ATLANTA: Police "not going to rush" McKinney investigation". The Atlanta Constitution. 1993-08-05. p. 38. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  20. ^ Pendered, David (August 21, 1993). "Bell blocks order to arrest McKinney". The Atlanta Constitution.
  21. ^ "No jail for McKinney for taunting witness". The Atlanta Constitution. 1994-12-17. p. 44. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  22. ^ "Colleague says McKinney made threat". The Atlanta Constitution. 1995-03-19. p. 28. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  23. ^ Masters, Kim (1995-07-05). "THE WOMAN IN THE HOT SEAT". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  24. ^ "Campaign shake-up: McKinney's father no longer has role". The Atlanta Constitution. 1996-10-17. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  25. ^ Siegel, Jennifer (July 28, 2006). "Foes Take Aim At McKinney In Surprise Georgia Race". Forward.
  26. ^ Cook, Rhonda; Tagami, Ty (July 16, 2010). "Former state lawmaker Billy McKinney dies". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on July 18, 2010.
  27. ^ "Highways would lose McKinney connection". Augusta Chronicle. December 30, 2006. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_McKinney_(politician)