Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb says former President Jimmy Carter changed his life
Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb was in his early 30s, sporting what he called a "6-foot afro," when he got a call that would change the course of his life.
"Someone said that, 'The governor from Georgia is going to be down at the Executive Tower Inn on 14th and Curtis. Would you like to meet him?' I said, 'Sure,'" Webb told CBS News Colorado.
Fifty years later, Webb recalls his first impression of former President Jimmy Carter. "He wasn't afraid to say we're going to help poor people, and I was taken by that."
Webb, who was a first-term state representative at the time, forged a friendship with Carter, who he says was humble, compassionate and loyal.
"I don't think Wilma and I were making $10,000 between the two of us, and we said we should make contribution to him running for president. So we sent $25," Webb recalled.
Webb later learned It was Carter's first donation from Colorado. Webb went on to run Carter's Colorado campaign and work in his administration as regional director of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
"I was one of the inner-circle, field guys. I was there on the south lawn at the signing of the Camp David Accords between Sadat and Begin," Web shared.
The peace accords between Israel and Egypt were one of Carter's most notable achievements. He would continue global peacekeeping, winning a Nobel Prize after losing re-election.
Webb worked on his 1980 campaign too. "I think some of what got him elected in '76 turned on him in '80 because sometimes people like folksy at one point and then they don't later on," Webb said.
As Carter's political career came to an end, Webb's was just beginning.
"The Carter campaign gave me the opportunity to grow," Webb said. "That's a very special time in my life."
Among the memorabilia Webb has hung onto is a plaque from Carter thanking him and his wife -- former state Rep. Wilma Webb -- for letting the former president's sister stay with them.
He also has a peanut-shaped pin made for Carter -- a former peanut farmer turned president of the United States.
"What Jimmy Carter did is he defined that just because you lost an election, you did not lose your life, Webb said.
Webb says, of all the former presidents, Carter has made the biggest impact since leaving office by working for peace around the world and building houses here at home through Habitat for Humanity.
Carter also helped jump-start the careers of politicians such as Webb, South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn and former President Bill Clinton, who all worked together on Carter's presidential campaigns.
Wellington and Wilma Webb are among those who will attend Carter's state funeral on Jan. 9.
