We join the chorus of well-wishers praying for a full recovery for former commissioner and The Augusta Press columnist John Clarke who suffered a heart attack last week.
There are no updates to pass along, but we are told by family that Clarke is fighting the good fight, and they are hopeful the family patriarch will be home soon.
There is nothing new about former politicians and elected officials to find new relevance as media commentators after they leave office. John did not view his 2022 election loss to Wayne Guilfoyle as an end to his public service career, but rather as an opportunity to serve the community in a different role.
In fact, he came out as a Guilfoyle supporter the moment the ballots were counted.
Clarke has done quite a bit in life, touring as a country/western musician, working as a interstate semi-truck driver and retiring only to find himself the “country boy come to town” as a one-term city commissioner.
It is no wonder that Clarke only lasted one term. He was a gadfly to the (then) political establishment and stymied the other commissioners on both sides of the aisle by flaunting the unspoken rule of not cooperating with the press.
It would almost seem natural that Clarke would find himself continuing to be a fly in the ointment to the status quo. He relished in his new-found fame as the grumpy old man clamoring for an audit of city departments in the pages of Augusta’s daily newspaper.
“I found out quickly that I could do much more for the community as a loud-mouth private citizen than I ever could as an elected official with only one political ally and one vote,” John is quick to tell anyone who will listen.
This has been a rough year for The Augusta Press staff, having our senior reporter, Scott Hudson sidelined by battling an aggressive cancer and now watching from the sidelines as our colleague John recovers from a life-threatening cardiac event.
It is just another reminder of the fragility of life and how none of us are promised another day; it is also a reminder that we should all strive to make the most of the time we have, lest our final days are spent lamenting what could have been.
Please join us in continuing to pray for John’s full recovery.
