“Ask Mickey”

Rest In Peace Mickey Channell

Harry Truman once famously said, “A statesman is a politician who’s been dead 10 or 15 years.”  Truman never met a man like Mickey Channell – because Mickey was always a statesman. 

A native of rural Georgia who proudly wore his allegiance to the University of Georgia as a badge of honor, Representative Mickey Channell came to the legislature in 1993 after years of community service in Greene County.  Through careful and thoughtful study, he became THE expert on health care in our state.  Shortly after I arrived in the General Assembly a dozen years later, I turned to one of my seatmates in the House in exasperation over a complex bill dealing with a medical issue and asked him what he thought. He replied, “Don’t ask me. Ask Mickey.”   I made the walk across the Chamber and sat on a window sill with him as he carefully explained both the good and the weaknesses in the proposal.  It was a path I would take multiple times in my career. 

Mickey’s proudest achievement in the Georgia General Assembly was guiding through the legislature PeachCare for Kids, the healthcare program in our state that provides medical care to over 200,000 children of working families in our state. May we all aspire to have such a lasting and meaningful legacy. 

May the Peace of the Lord be the family and friends of Mickey Channell during this time of deep sorrow and joyful remembrance.