Roy V. Harris
Georgia House Leader

The wily Augusta lawyer never became governor, but was a Georgia ''kingmaker'' for decades until his death in 1985. Harris' state base of power was as speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives -- until 1946 when he was defeated by Chronicle owner William Morris. His Augusta power base was through the Cracker Party and, later, his Democratic ``South Augusta mafia'' political machine.

In the 1930s he was known as the architect of the state's modern public school system through his ``Minimum Foundation'' law that equalized educational opportunities, through a sales tax, and boosted teacher salaries. A fiery orator, he promulgated segregationist views in his Augusta Courier tabloid, and was well known during the 1960s as a top adviser to third-party presidential candidate George Wallace.