By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Services
By the nature of what he does – Shreveport city councilman, real estate appraiser and broker – Grayson Boucher has a lot of contacts in his cell phone.
But only one number belongs to the leader of the United States Congress, who is second in the line of succession to become President.
“This is the type kid I was,” Boucher told the Shreveport-Bossier Journal. “My mother says when I was three or four years old, I was watching the Watergate hearings. I’ve always been a very engaged political person. Never in a million years would I have thought in 1987 or 1988 when I was going to Captain Shreve High School that, number one, I would have a congressman’s number in my phone, but now, the Speaker of the House? That’s pretty cool.”
Boucher and Shreveport’s Mike Johnson, who was elected Wednesday as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, went to Shreve from 1986-1990. During that time, Johnson – who now lives in Benton when he’s not in Washington, D.C., was class and student council president.
“I remember him to be very engaged, and it wasn’t just within certain sections of the school,” Boucher said. “We had a graduating class of about 500 people that year (1990). It was a large class. Mike was always very involved in school activities.”
While the two didn’t pal around outside of Shreve’s round building on East Kings Highway, Boucher picked up on some of Johnson’s characteristics.
“He was extremely friendly to everybody. It didn’t matter which circle you were in, or what group you were in. Mike was always very, very friendly. He was a serious guy. He was very smart – you could tell. He cared about his work. I didn’t see him as a partier or anything like that. He was just an all-around good guy.”
Even though Dr. Sandra McCalla was Shreve’s principal for many years, she came to know Johnson during her time as Dean of the College of Education at Northwestern State University. She, too, was impressed with Johnson’s demeanor.
“He was affable,” Dr. McCalla said. “I don’t ever remember him having a disagreement with anyone.”
Dr. McCalla worked with high school student councils. Many from the region would send their top representatives to NSU for events, but Johnson caught Dr. McCalla’s attention.
“He did well in controlling a meeting and conducting a meeting, whether it was in student council at Shreve, or up the ladder. His skills come to him so naturally. I think that’s why, regardless of his political leanings, he will do a good job on a national level.”
Boucher said he and Johnson are closer friends now than when they were in high school. That’s because the councilman has had political discussions with Johnson.
“(He’s) very professional. I’ve called Mike on a couple of occasions about things to do with the city, and things the federal government could help us with…Mike and I have talked before about the political divide between Democrats and Republicans…I believe Mike is the type that’s going to be able to work with both Democrats and Republicans and stay with his core views. I think Mike is the type of person that business is business. We don’t always have to agree on everything, but I do believe he will be able to bring some stability and civility to Congress.”
Closer to home, Dr. McCalla believes it says a lot that a Shreveport native and Shreve graduate is now Speaker of the House.
“That’s not what’s going to happen to everyone,” Dr. McCalla said, “but I think the leadership training has served him well over time, and that began at Captain Shreve.”
Meanwhile, Boucher still can’t get over the fact he has the cell phone number of someone so powerful.
“It’s incredible. You look at people like Tip O’Neil – that’s who was Speaker when I was in high school – Newt Gingrich, and all these different speakers we’ve had, and you never expect somebody that you know, or that you have their number in your phone…”
And Boucher now needs to update Mike Johnson’s caller ID, which reads “Congressman”.
“I need to change that to “Speaker”.
Contact Tony at SBJTonyT@gmail.com