Gary Franks: Those we lost in 2024 — a governor, senator and congresswoman

As we close out 2024, there will be some folks who we will deeply miss. For me there is a special governor, senator and congresswoman who quickly come to mind — Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and my classmate at Yale, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee.

Jodi, was placed in an unusual predicament. At the time she was completing her ninth year as lieutenant governor of Connecticut. She had to succeed a governor who was forced to resign amidst acts that betrayed the public trust. It resulted in a plea deal that landed her predecessor in prison. She not only assumed the governorship, filling out his term, but she went on to regain the trust of the people of Connecticut in a manner that resulted in a landslide reelection.

As a Republican, she masterfully got Democrats and Republicans to come together often to pass meaningful legislation during her years in office (2004-11).

The year 2006 also marked the last time a Republican won a statewide office in a state that has been a lock for Democrats ever since.

Jodi was on a shortlist to be the running mate of Sen. John McCain in his 2008 presidentialy run, as she quietly and quickly had earned the respect and admiration of national figures.

I was Jodi’s congressman when she resided in Brookfield, Conn., where she served as a state representative. Little did she know that I was looking over my shoulder to see if she had any ambitions to run against me in a primary challenge. She always assured me that she had “other” plans. I was happy to hear that, as she would have been hard to beat. In fact, I do not think she ever lost an election. She decided not to seek a second full term as governor in 2010.

She was always a friend and a staunch supporter of mine. When I took on a suicide mission of running for the U.S. Senate, she was quick to endorse me and welcome me to her office to offer encouragement and guidance. But Mother Teresa could not have gotten me over the top in that race.

Jodi led the state with high competence, class, steadiness and good old-fashioned straight talk. A true governor to be remembered.

This year we also lost Lieberman, a great American I paid tribute to in an earlier column, and Jackson-Lee, a Democratic congresswoman from the great state of Texas. We were both members of the Congressional Black Caucus. But Sheila and I knew each other going back to the 1970s when we were both attending Yale University. She entered Yale a few years before me, and I entered Congress a few years before her.

When the CBC, a taxpayer-funded supposedly bipartisan body, was voting to throw me out (as the only Black Republican) because of my conservative views, Jackson-Lee refused to participate in the circuslike act. She left before the vote, as did many members who were my friends, before the unanimous vote. Due to the extremely negative press, the CBC quickly “invited” me back in.

Years later, our friendship remained, largely due to our college connection.

When Sheila spoke, everyone listened. In that she remained in the tradition of her predecessor, the dynamic Congresswoman Barbara Jordan. Sheila was a highly effective member of Congress who will be missed.

Thus, we say goodbye to leaders who displayed the courage and willingness to give so much to help so many. We thank God for their presence at critical times in our history.

And I am so proud, humbled and honored that I could call them all my friends.