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Legislator who had 'vision' of Chandra
'just a sweet little old lady,' colleague says
By JAMES SALZER
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer
From Shirley MacLaine Inc. to the National Enquirer, everybody has wanted a piece of Rep. Dorothy Pelote since she hinted to state House colleagues that she had been "visited" by the spirit of Chandra Levy.
To the national media, she might as well have said she had seen Elvis. Lawmakers blocked TV reporters from getting to the 71-year-old former schoolteacher, and she refused to return dozens of phone calls to her office.
"She's just a sweet little old lady," said Rep. Hinson Mosley (D-Jesup). "Legislators feel sorry she's in this position."
But not so sorry that it stopped them from asking Pelote if she had any vibes about whether they would win re-election in 2002.
And it's not as if they had not seen the media horde swarm over the 5-foot-3, 115-pound lawmaker before.
"She's been in USA Today more than any other legislator, except for [Speaker Tom] Murphy," noted Rep. Lester Jackson (D-Savannah).
Pelote has filed bills to keep grocery store sackers from licking their fingers to separate bags, to ban students in middle school and high school from having long fingernails, and to outlaw bungee jumping when bungee jumping was a fad.
In between, she has worked on issues that didn't garner much press attention, such as her push to increase testing and treatment for ovarian cancer. Still, after a decade in the Legislature, Pelote's colleagues are rarely shocked at what she files, or says.
"That's all I've been up here is a controversial legislator," Pelote (pronounced Puh-LOTE) said Thursday in an interview.
Pelote's indirect reference Thursday to Levy, whose disappearance four months ago in Washington has become an obsession with the national media, spiced up the daily devotional that starts each legislative day in the Georgia General Assembly. Pelote told fellow lawmakers she can prophesy and has contact with spirits of the dead.
"The last person who visited me was -- I don't know if I need to call her name," Pelote said from the speaker's rostrum. "Maybe I should not, because it's a controversial death now. She's missing. You know who I'm talking about. She has visited me. She has."
Pelote later told a reporter she "saw" Levy lying in a ditch with her eyes closed.
The Savannah legislator comes from Georgia's most eccentric city, home of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," the book and movie that enhanced its reputation as a must-see town for tourists attracted to the unusual.
Pelote was a community activist and Chatham County commissioner for years before being elected to the Georgia House. The Democrat said she entered politics for the same reason many citizens do, to help those who are less fortunate. "Where I lived, we didn't have paved streets or street lights," she said.
She has had "spiritual guidance," she said, since birth. "I believe you're born with it."
Every morning, Pelote arises at 4 a.m. and starts her day with an hour of meditation. "The spirit just wakes me up," she said. She also reads the Bible every day. Pelote grew up a Methodist, but she said now she attends every kind of church.
Sen. Regina Thomas (D-Savannah), a close friend, said Pelote has had visions before. Pelote doesn't read Tarot cards or palms or practice voodoo, like one of the characters in "Midnight" -- her spirituality comes from Christian faith, the senator said.
"Evidently, God was ready for her to reveal that to people," Thomas said of Pelote's comment about Levy.
Pelote wouldn't talk Thursday about Levy or her vision, but her fellow lawmakers couldn't stop talking. Wisecracks were plentiful. "I told her it doesn't take much to talk to dead people. The hard part is getting them to talk back," said Rep. Charlie Smith (D-St. Marys).
Rep. Mack Crawford (R-Zebulon) called Pelote "very sincere, whether you agree with her or not." Some of her colleagues wanted to talk to Pelote about their own spiritual experiences. And some were upset about the way she had been portrayed in the news media.
Several legislators noted that Pelote can be a feisty politician, known for not backing down from her convictions and will be missed when she retires next year.
Amid legislative redistricting last month, Pelote announced her plans to quit when her term expires at the end of 2002 to take her "spiritual ministry" full time.
This week, she conceded that the public stir over her Levy vision has bothered her. But, she added, "It comes with the territory. They gave Jesus a hard time, too."
'just a sweet little old lady,' colleague says
By JAMES SALZER
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer
From Shirley MacLaine Inc. to the National Enquirer, everybody has wanted a piece of Rep. Dorothy Pelote since she hinted to state House colleagues that she had been "visited" by the spirit of Chandra Levy.
To the national media, she might as well have said she had seen Elvis. Lawmakers blocked TV reporters from getting to the 71-year-old former schoolteacher, and she refused to return dozens of phone calls to her office.
"She's just a sweet little old lady," said Rep. Hinson Mosley (D-Jesup). "Legislators feel sorry she's in this position."
But not so sorry that it stopped them from asking Pelote if she had any vibes about whether they would win re-election in 2002.
And it's not as if they had not seen the media horde swarm over the 5-foot-3, 115-pound lawmaker before.
"She's been in USA Today more than any other legislator, except for [Speaker Tom] Murphy," noted Rep. Lester Jackson (D-Savannah).
Pelote has filed bills to keep grocery store sackers from licking their fingers to separate bags, to ban students in middle school and high school from having long fingernails, and to outlaw bungee jumping when bungee jumping was a fad.
In between, she has worked on issues that didn't garner much press attention, such as her push to increase testing and treatment for ovarian cancer. Still, after a decade in the Legislature, Pelote's colleagues are rarely shocked at what she files, or says.
"That's all I've been up here is a controversial legislator," Pelote (pronounced Puh-LOTE) said Thursday in an interview.
Pelote's indirect reference Thursday to Levy, whose disappearance four months ago in Washington has become an obsession with the national media, spiced up the daily devotional that starts each legislative day in the Georgia General Assembly. Pelote told fellow lawmakers she can prophesy and has contact with spirits of the dead.
"The last person who visited me was -- I don't know if I need to call her name," Pelote said from the speaker's rostrum. "Maybe I should not, because it's a controversial death now. She's missing. You know who I'm talking about. She has visited me. She has."
Pelote later told a reporter she "saw" Levy lying in a ditch with her eyes closed.
The Savannah legislator comes from Georgia's most eccentric city, home of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," the book and movie that enhanced its reputation as a must-see town for tourists attracted to the unusual.
Pelote was a community activist and Chatham County commissioner for years before being elected to the Georgia House. The Democrat said she entered politics for the same reason many citizens do, to help those who are less fortunate. "Where I lived, we didn't have paved streets or street lights," she said.
She has had "spiritual guidance," she said, since birth. "I believe you're born with it."
Every morning, Pelote arises at 4 a.m. and starts her day with an hour of meditation. "The spirit just wakes me up," she said. She also reads the Bible every day. Pelote grew up a Methodist, but she said now she attends every kind of church.
Sen. Regina Thomas (D-Savannah), a close friend, said Pelote has had visions before. Pelote doesn't read Tarot cards or palms or practice voodoo, like one of the characters in "Midnight" -- her spirituality comes from Christian faith, the senator said.
"Evidently, God was ready for her to reveal that to people," Thomas said of Pelote's comment about Levy.
Pelote wouldn't talk Thursday about Levy or her vision, but her fellow lawmakers couldn't stop talking. Wisecracks were plentiful. "I told her it doesn't take much to talk to dead people. The hard part is getting them to talk back," said Rep. Charlie Smith (D-St. Marys).
Rep. Mack Crawford (R-Zebulon) called Pelote "very sincere, whether you agree with her or not." Some of her colleagues wanted to talk to Pelote about their own spiritual experiences. And some were upset about the way she had been portrayed in the news media.
Several legislators noted that Pelote can be a feisty politician, known for not backing down from her convictions and will be missed when she retires next year.
Amid legislative redistricting last month, Pelote announced her plans to quit when her term expires at the end of 2002 to take her "spiritual ministry" full time.
This week, she conceded that the public stir over her Levy vision has bothered her. But, she added, "It comes with the territory. They gave Jesus a hard time, too."
