Former SC lawmaker reflects on Jimmy Carter; says former president helped shape her career in public service

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – As the nation mourns the passing of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter at age 100, one South Carolina woman is reflecting on his service and the role he played in shaping her political journey.

Mandy Powers Norrell is an attorney who previously served in the South Carolina House of Representatives and ran a campaign for Lieutenant Governor in 2018. She shared some of her personal stories about Carter – stories that go back to her childhood.

Norrell recalled the time she wrote a letter to Carter when she was just 7 years old, asking him to campaign in Lancaster, South Carolina, and even offered him a place to stay in her family’s home.

“I told him that I got permission from my parents that he could stay at our house,” she said while retelling her memory.

She remembered reading former First Lady Rosalynn Carter’s biography at age 10, and how years later, her father worked first-hand with the former president on an affordable housing project in New York City. Her dad brought back a coveted autograph from the president himself.

“I wrote to him again to thank him and point out that he could run again for president,” she said on X. “He wrote back to thank me and tell me that he wasn’t planning to do that but he appreciated my faith in him.”

Eventually, as an adult, Norrell had her encounters with Carter, even traveling to the former president’s native Plains, Georgia to attend his Sunday School classes, and said she cried throughout the lesson.

Her sentiments are indicative of how the former president is being remembered around the world today as a humanitarian who valued his faith, and family, and led with kindness. She also credits his humility, eagerness to serve, and no-frills approach to life as something she hopes will inspire a younger generation.

“I swear, nothing gets me emotional but President Carter and his service, always get to me, and I think it’s because of the authenticity that he had and just the goodness of service,” she said. “There are a lot of people who I have encountered in politics, who they talk a really good game, but you find out what their baseline is maybe when they are out of politics, or when they are really challenged – and I mean that is how you find out the true measure of anybody – and after President Carter lost his re-election, we got to see him just live his life in humility and service and love to his fellow man. That was just the model, I think, for everyone in politics.”

Norrell shared that President Carter is the reason why she went on to have a career in public service and said she will miss his presence on this earth.