Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter weighs in on civic engagement, presidential race

ALBANY — Before a group of Albany area community leaders and elected officials, Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter spoke Friday on what she has learned about civic engagement. Carter also took the opportunity to weigh in on the current presidential race.

Carter’s appearance was part of an event for which state Rep. Winfred Dukes, D-Albany, had invited members of the community to a conversation and lunch at the Albany Welcome Center.

While introducing the former First Lady, Dukes mentioned that the first presidential election he was able to vote in was the 1976 election that earned former President Jimmy Carter the Oval Office.

He made note of Rosalynn Carter’s accomplishments in mental health awareness, and also paid her a compliment by saying the best decision the former president made was choosing a spouse — who he has now been married to for 70 years.

“She is an advocate for people,” Dukes said. “There is no better service.”

The mother, grandmother and great-grandmother began her remarks concerning civic engagement by talking about how she watched others interact with people in their community who were less fortunate, including a diabetic whose illness was exacerbated by a lack of air conditioning in their home.

“We learned at that time how important it was to seek out people in the community that need help,” she said.

At the same time, she encouraged those at the event to seek out opportunities to help others.

“Help them, and they can become people like you and help us. It will be a blessing for you,” the former First Lady said.

Carter then commented on the election by emphasizing that every vote counts, which was something she said the Carters learned during their race for the White House.

During that campaign, she said, the Carter family went into 48 states to promote their platform. It was an experience she reflected positively on.

“It was such a ball,” Carter said. “I liked it so much. It wasn’t until (grandson) Jason (Carter) ran for governor a few years back that I remembered how much I liked campaigning.”

Carter, whose husband was a Democrat during his political career, showed support for Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Clinton’s status as a mother and grandmother, Carter said, ought to make her very invested in the nation’s youth.

“It is not about the first woman,” Carter said. “It is about the first mom.”

Carter, while wearing a Clinton campaign button, acknowledged both presidential candidates have made mistakes and are not very well-liked.

Dukes echoed Carter’s support for Clinton while also indicating that a former first lady endorsing another former first lady carries some weight.

“I think it’s a First Lady thing,” he said. “There is not another First Lady that has endorsed the other candidate.”

Before breaking for lunch, the state representative gave a shout-out to his fellow elected officials.

“We don’t get into this for the money, we got into it for the service,” Dukes said. “None of us do (this for the money).”