Jimmy Bentley

News Obituary Article

ATLANTA: Jimmy Bentley, 76, political risk-taker

By KAY POWELL

Jimmy Bentley secured his place in Georgia political legend when, as a state Democratic Party leader in 1968, he switched to the Republican Party.

Following the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Mr. Bentley, who was the state's comptroller general, and four other Democrats in state office thought Georgia was ready for a two-party system. They were called the Wiregrass Mafia in their defection.

None was ever elected to public office again.

"It was a very conscientious decision for him," said said former Rep. Doug Barnard (D-Augusta). "He felt there was a tendency for the Democratic Party to be leaving the conscience of the South. It was a forecast of what was to come."

The memorial service for James Lynwood Bentley Jr., 76, who died of a heart attack at his Atlanta residence Friday, is 11 a.m. today at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. The graveside service is 3 p.m. today at Trice Cemetery in Upson County. Pasley-Fletcher Funeral Home in Thomaston is in charge of arrangements.

"Jimmy was a smart politician," said Mr. Barnard, who had served as executive secretary to Gov. Carl Sanders. "He had a feel for the people."

Mr. Bentley as a young man was a delegate to the dramatic 1948 Democratic National Convention. Some liberals had broken away to follow the Progressive Party. Some Southerners walked out to protest approval of a platform plank on civil rights and formed the "Dixiecrats."

Mr. Bentley came home to Georgia and continued his career as a public servant, first as executive aide and later as executive secretary to Gov. Herman Talmadge until 1955. He was elected the state's comptroller general and served from 1963 to 1971.

The other members of the Wiregrass Mafia were Agriculture Commissioner Phil Campbell; Public Service Commission Chairman Crawford Pilcher; PSC member Alpha Fowler; and state Treasurer Jack Ray.

Mr. Bentley ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1970, losing in the Republican primary to television newsman Hal Suit, who lost to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Mr. Bentley never tried for public office again.

"He just kept his toe in a little bit," said his son, James L. Bentley III of Augusta. "He might have been feeling rejected by the Republican Party in the state, or not supported by the party. He did not feel like he could go back to the Democratic Party. He was still close friends with a lot of Democrats."

Mr. Bentley built a career in real estate, developing office parks, and as a broker for deals to buy and sell insurance companies.

"He was a real consensus builder," said his daughter, Betty Bentley Watson of Atlanta. "He loved to get people with divergent ideas together on a project. He was always bringing in new ideas."

He sought ideas while preserving Georgia's past. Through Emory University community classes, he taught courses that encompassed the state's history, heritage, food and politics, Ms. Watson said.

His historic residence, built long before Atlanta was founded, was the scene of many of Mr. Bentley's famous barbecues, which featured his 16-ingredient Brunswick stew and a 200-year-old family sauce recipe.

"He loved to put on a wonderful production," said his daughter. "He was enormously creative with food and loved to educate himself on food, even the science of it." His collection of cookbooks is a treasure of annotations and highlighting, she said.

"When Betty graduated from Yale, he drove up there with a refrigerated truck full of goats and pigs and cooked on the quad," said his son. "He just always liked throwing parties."

For his family, Mr. Bentley made chain saw sculptures --- mostly Winnie the Pooh for his grandchildren --- which dot his back yard, said another son, Sam Bentley of Baton Rouge, La.

Other survivors include his wife, Gwendolyn Mincey Bentley; a brother, Thomas Preston Bentley of Thomaston; a sister, Claire Bentley Foster of Decatur; and seven grandchildren.

Former state comptroller general Jimmy Bentley (right) was a member of the Wiregrass Mafia who left the party but kept many Democratic friends, Sam Nunn (L) and Bobby Lee Cook. Photo source: Archives.

© 2003 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution