Lloyd Hagaman
 MCBC 8

Lloyd Hagaman recount his life's transition down to Florida and his directing of the famed "Demo-
Kirk" group that helped elect Kirk in 1968 and instilled Hagaman as a key aide to Kirk (page 1). His
responsibilities as a governor's aide and his account of how Kirk came to be involved in the Manatee
County busing crisis are on page 2. Pages 2-4 contain a succinct overview of the events in Manatee.
Mr. Hagaman conjectures on the role of Manatee County's burgeoning Republican population as a
factor in Kirk's intervention and the county's overwhelming support before and after the crisis
passed (4), as well as the minor role of the Florida teacher's strike as an antecedent for the busing
crisis (5). Mr. Hagaman also asserts that he felt that race relations in Manatee were fairly placid
(pages 5-6).

Page 6 contains the Florida leaders who Mr. Hagaman believes, or tends to believe were consulted
before the intervention. He speaks of the relative drudgery of occupying the superintendents's office,
(7-8) and the improvisational, seat-of-the-pants attitude towards dealing with the week's events in
Manatee (8). He comments on the interaction with the media during the week (page 9), and the
consistency of instructions from the governor throughout (10), which persisted despite Kirk's second
re-suspension order midway through the week (11).

Page 11-14 contain Mr. Hagaman's memories of the so-called standoff with the U.S. Marshals,
including specific anecdotes about his being armed and how that affected the course of events. He
also records his impression of Manatee County Sheriff Richard Weitzenfeld (12) and the widespread
news reports the U.S. Marshal Mickey Newberger was struck during the standoff (13). See also the
later incident with Kirk confronting the marshals directly on page 17-9.

Mr. Hagaman follows up with his impressions of the subsequent hearing in Tampa before Judge
Krentzmen (15). He comments on Governor Kirk's adherence to protocol in acting during the
Manatee crisis and the response of the Florida legislature to the busing edicts (16). He also
comments on Manatee County School Board attorney Kenneth Cleary's attempts to thwart Kirk's
intervention, allied with Congressman William Cramer, a persistent nemesis of Kirk's (17).

Mr. Hagaman shares his thoughts on Kirk's connection with the Justice Department during the
Manatee intervention on page 20. He also recounts his impression that Kirk was a vice-presidential
candidate in Nixon's mind (see page 20-1 and page 23). He comments on Kirk's claiming of victory
after withdrawing from Manatee and more broadly, the press's handling of the affair, including
Kirk's accusations of the press's sensationalism (22-23). Mr, Hagaman talks about the segregationist
pressure on Kirk (24), the rash of ill-advised quotes regarding the use of force (25), and the
comparisons of Kirk with past Southern segregationist governors (26-7). He discusses the political
ramifications of Manatee for Kirk's political loss in 1972, the compatibilities between
Republicanism and civil rights (29) and the ultimate significance of the Manatee situation to history
(29-30).