Former Georgia Gov. George Busbee dies of heart attack

<p>Former Georgia Gov. George Busbee, a Democrat who campaigned as "a workhorse, not a showhorse," died in Savannah Friday of an apparent heart attack. He was 76.</p><p>Busbee was in the Savannah airport for a vacation, said son Jeff Busbee. He collapsed between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. He appeared to be in good health before the attack, Jeff Busbee said.</p><p>He was governor from 1975 to 1983, the first in state history to serve two consecutive four-year terms.</p><p>Considered one of the most popular governors in recent history, Busbee launched the state's first kindergarten program and steered Georgia through two recessions.</p><p>"He was an excellent governor," said another former governor, Democrat Roy Barnes. "He had an intricate knowledge of the state, particularly the budget."</p><p>The head of the state Democratic Party, Bobby Kahn, said Busbee was a favorite among state Democrats and worked for successive candidates as recently as 2002.</p><p>"His slogan was, 'A workhorse, not a showhorse,' and that's how he was," Kahn said. "He was a great governor and believed in a strong party."</p><p>Just before leaving office, Busbee said he hoped he'd be remembered for a tough work ethic.</p><p>"I'd just like to be remembered for two things: one, that I worked hard. I tried," he told The Associated Press in late 1982. "I wasn't the smartest man that's been in this chair, but I tried as hard.</p><p>"And I certainly hope to be remembered as having as much intergrity as anybody that's ever sat in this chair."</p><p>Busbee was born in Dooley County on Aug. 7, 1927, and attended the Georgia Military College and Abraham Baldwin College before joining the Navy.</p><p>After military service, he graduated from the University of Georgia, where he met and married Mary Elizabeth Talbot of Ruston, La., and earned a law degree there in 1952.</p><p>He practiced law in Albany and won a seat in the Legislature, where he served 18 years. Busbee was floor leader for Gov. Carl Sanders in 1967 and became majority leader, a position he held for eight years.</p><p>Busbee won the Democratic nomination for governor in 1974, Jimmy Carter's final year in office, over better known rivals such as Lt. Gov. Lester Maddox and state highway director Bert Lance, who later became President Carter's budget chief.</p><p>As governor, Busbee was thought a calming influence in the Capitol after a few roiling years of clashes between Carter and Maddox.</p><p>Busbee faced the challenge of a national recession that plunged the state into financial crisis. The state faced a deficit of $108 million, leading him to call a special session of the Legislature that eliminated property-tax relief, pay raises for state employees and state funding for kindergartens, his major education priority.</p><p>After the economy improved, Busbee was able to obtain full funding for kindergarten and raises for public school teachers and college professors.</p><p>Busbee's administration also led efforts to revise the state Constitution, which was endorsed by voters in 1982. Seeing the demise of agriculture and textiles as the state's leading industries, he worked to attract the emerging high technology businesses that became the cornerstone of Georgia's growth in the 1990s.</p><p>His popoularity was great enough that voters approved a constitution amendment that allowed the governor to serve two terms. In 1978, he defeated Republican Rodney Cook of Atlanta for his second term.</p><p>After retiring from politics, Busbee settled in suburban Gwinnett County and became a partner in the Atlanta law firm of King & Spalding. He served on several corporate boards, and on the Export Council for Presidents Carter and Reagan.</p>

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