Self-Serving Ed Davis

I was frustrated by your article about Ed Davis as he slips into retirement (“Ebb Tide for the Chief,” Times Valley Edition, Dec. 6).

As a victim of one of his “recollections,” I think I should respond.

Ed’s story about me was a typical Davis anecdote--it wasn’t true. As with most of his rambling memories it was self-serving, inaccurate and a little paranoid.

Contrary to Ed’s version, it was he who insisted on bringing up his support of AB 101 each time we met.

He seemed to feel a great need to justify his support for the bill, which gave special rights to gays and lesbians. He just couldn’t accept that people who disagreed with him did so with sincerity.

Instead, he would loudly brand any opponent a “homophobe” and impute some sinister and/or salacious motive to them.

This odd character trait of attributing bad motives to anyone who disagrees was evident in his comments in your article too. For instance, he attributes his failure to reform our tort system to the malevolence of the opponents, and he denounces the press for failing to portray the “real” Ed Davis and characterizes them as “miserable bastards.”

Around the Legislature, Ed was widely viewed as a doddering and bitter crank; sort of a mix between Grandpa McCoy and Captain Queeg.

It’s unfortunate that his faulty memory and paranoid meanderings found their way into print in your paper.

PAT NOLAN

State Assemblyman, 41st District