(Georgia Recorder) — Congressman David Scott, who rose from humble origins to a 50-year career in politics, including more than 20 years in Congress, has died.
Those who worked with him say they’ll remember him as a man of dignity and respect.
“The David Scott I met in the Georgia Legislature was the same David Scott I served with in the Congress and the same David Scott I continued to know up until the time of his death,” said former Congressman Buddy Darden, a Democrat who served with Scott in both the state and U.S. House. “He treated everybody with respect, treated everybody the same and was not a respecter of wealth, he was someone who always treated everybody the same, with respect and kindness, and he was especially kind to everyone less fortunate than he.”
Scott, a Democrat, was sworn in to the Georgia state House in 1975 and served in elected office until his death, winning election to the state Senate in 1982 and to Congress in 2002. He filed paperwork to run for re-election last month.
While in Congress, Scott supported legislation meant to benefit veterans and farmers. In 2021, he became the first African American to chair the House Agriculture Committee.
Congressman Sanford Bishop, an Albany Democrat, said Scott used that platform to fight for 1890 land-grant institutions like Fort Valley State University in Georgia and disadvantaged farmers.
“David’s devotion to the larger agricultural community — from small family farms across Georgia to cooperative extension and HBCU researchers — was personal and persistent,” Bishop said in a statement. “He understood that the health of our farms, the dignity of our workers and the nourishment of our people are bound together, and he labored each day to translate that understanding into results.”
‘Keep pushing’
State Sen. Nan Orrock, an Atlanta Democrat who worked with Scott while she was in the state House and he was chair of the powerful Senate Rules Committee, said she’ll remember his tenacity when it came to serving his constituents.
“I would say the lesson of David Scott’s public service is to persevere,” she said. “You have to keep at it. He would stay like a dog with a bone on his issue, and every time he saw you, he would be talking about it, he would be working on it. He often gave me advice about staying in the game, don’t let the pressure up. Keep pushing.”
Orrock gave the example of a bill limiting the expansion of landfills, often into low-income and minority neighborhoods, that Scott supported but that was opposed by powerful business interests.
Orrock said his influence campaign included taking lawmakers on trips to see and smell a landfill near his home.
‘He went on the warpath about the dreadful odors and the negative impact on the community,” she said. “He took every single member of the Georgia Senate, one by one by one, and drove them down to that landfill to let them smell the horrible odors, nauseating odors and asked them, would you want to send your kid to school here? Would you want this to happen in a place where you bought your home? Would you want to put up with this in your community?”
Former state Rep. Georganna Sinkfield rode along when Scott took then-House Speaker Tom Murphy to the landfill to convince him to support the legislation, which was ultimately signed by Gov. Zell Miller after a major pressure campaign.
She said going above and beyond to get the job done was baked into Scott’s character.
“That’s what it takes to be an effective leader,” Sinkfield said. “You have to do what you have to do. And I think that he did do that. He was a great leader in terms of delivering for his constituents.”
Sinkfield and Scott were neighbors, and Sinkfield lost to Scott in his first race for state House.
Sinkfield said there were never any hard feelings, and she went on to win the seat when Scott moved to the state Senate.
“I thought he was very astute, and he represented the people very well,” she said.
During his time in the state Legislature, Scott is also credited with helping to create PeachCare, which provides health insurance to children in Georgia.
From humble roots to Congress
Scott was born on a farm in Aynor, South Carolina in 1945 and spent the first part of his life living variously with either set of grandparents while his parents worked as live-in help for wealthy families.
After reuniting with his parents at 11, the family moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, where Scott helped his father start a garbage collection business and worked his way through school as a busboy, waiter and dishwasher.
While studying at Florida A&M University, Scott got a taste of life in Washington, serving for two years as an intern in the office of the assistant secretary of labor for labor management relations. After graduating from FAMU, Scott went on to earn his master of business administration at the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania.
He moved to Atlanta and began a successful advertising business before beginning his political career. In 1969, he married Alfredia Scott, the sister of Atlanta Braves baseball legend Hank Aaron. They have two daughters, and Sinkfield remembered him as a devoted family man.
Even at the height of his power in the state Legislature, Scott took care to look out for new lawmakers, said House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley, a Columbus Democrat.
“I will always remember the grace he showed me, a brand-new member of the legislature, from his senior position as Chair of the Senate Rules Committee when I was just starting to learn my way around the Gold Dome,” she said in a statement.
Orrock said she never stopped calling Scott “Sen. Scott,” and still sees him as an inspiration more than 20 years after he left the state Legislature.
“He stood up for African-American rights and access to the political process, and he stood up for women’s health and women in general, and he stood up for good environmental policy,” she said. “He was a champion in so many ways and always went at his issues. He put all his chips in and would go for the gold.”
State leaders react
Georgians from both parties issued tributes Tuesday after news of Scott’s death broke.
“The State of Georgia joins his family and those he represented for so many years in mourning the passing of Congressman David Scott,” said Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in a statement. “A devoted public servant, he served his state as a stalwart supporter of Georgia’s agriculture industry — our largest economic driver. Our prayers are with his family, colleagues, and loved ones at this time.”
Georgia Democratic Party Chairman Charlie Bailey praised Scott’s commitment to farmers and children.
“Today we lost one of our state’s most steadfast advocates for working people and families,” Bailey said in a statement. “Congressman David Scott moved our state forward over half a century of distinguished public service – from working to bolster farmers and rural communities to putting health care in reach for children across our state. Georgia Democrats join our state in mourning this tremendous loss, and we are holding his family and loved ones in our prayers.”
