Challenging Wilbur Mills
In 1974, she gained national attention with her GOP challenge to entrenched Democratic U.S. Representative Wilbur D. Mills, the chairman at the time of the powerful tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. Mills' involvement with a Washington, D.C., stripper called "Fanne Foxe" provided an opening for Petty's conservative challenge to the veteran lawmaker. (Marshall Frady, Southerners, 128) She was the only Republican ever to challenge Mills. In a heavily Democratic year nationally, she still managed to gain nearly 42 percent of the vote.
Petty criticized Mills' integrity and focused on contributions that he received in his brief run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972. David L. Parr, a former special counsel with Associated Milk Producers, Inc., pleaded guilty to making an illegal $75,000 contribution to Mills' presidential campaign. Mills replied that his aides accepted the contribution without his permission. A similar donation was made by Gulf Oil Corporation in the amount of $15,000. Petty declared that Mills was "standing with his feet planted in sour milk."
Petty took a mainline Republican stand on defense and federal spending. She campaigned most actively in the district. In Conway north of Little Rock, she was refused permission by State Senator Guy Hamilton "Mutt" Jones, Sr. (1911-1986), to ride in the Faulkner County fair parade.
President Ford posed for pictures with Mrs. Petty in the campaign but declined to campaign actively for her, lest he anger his old House colleague Mills. (Arkansas Gazette, November 3, 1974) Ronald Reagan, however, came to Little Rock to speak on Petty's behalf. Petty hammered away at what she perceived as Mills' arrogance of power. "The most beautiful words in the Constitution are not 'he's the chairman' or 'he's the powerful,; it's 'we the people,'" she exclaimed.
Mills received 80,296 votes and won all nine counties in his district as he had always done. Petty trailed with 56,038 (41.1 percent). The Republican's better tallies were in Saline and Pulaski counties, where she drew some 46 pecent each.
Read more about this topic: Judy Petty Wolf
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