Presidential campaigning a family affair for the Perrys
Griffin Perry, son of presidential candidate Gov. Rick Perry, and his wife, Meredith, recently spent the weekend campaigning in Southwest Florida. Griffin joined the campaign last summer after resigning his position with Deutsche Bank.
“It was either stand on the sidelines and continue my career at the bank or get more involved in the campaign,” Griffin said. “I chose the latter. And, I’m no stranger to campaigning for my father.”
Meredith, who recently was accepted to the Texas Bar Association, works at an Austin law firm during the week and joins Griffin on weekends.
“I’m learning and liking campaigning for Ricky,” as she affectionately calls her father-in-law.
Griffin and Meredith met at Vanderbilt University where he was studying economics and history and she was studying pre-law.
“From the first time I met her I was smitten with her,” Griffin claims, although Meredith says they started as friends before beginning to date more seriously. “One of the things I was attracted to in Griffin was that he shared my values, family and faith being very important to me,” she said. They have known each other 7 years and have been married for almost two years.
Griffin, and his sister, Sydney, lived on his father’s farm in a small town of 2,500 in west Texas until he was 8. His mother was a nursing supervisor and Griffin recalls that the family was not well off but close knit and he enjoyed spending time with his grandparents.
When Rick Perry was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1985, the family would move to Austin during the time the House was in session, then return to the farm where father and son enjoyed outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing and camping.
“Even after dad became a statewide elected official,” Griffin recalled, “he always made time to take me to scouting events and worked with me when I was striving to become an Eagle Scout. I didn’t realize at the time how much becoming an Eagle Scout would teach me about life, especially values and commitment, but Dad did.
“Dad rarely missed my baseball games, even when he was governor. He’d be there yelling just as loud as all the other fathers.” Griffin remembers when his team came in second in the state championship.
“That was a tough day for dad because he gave out the medals,” he said. “His eyes welled up a little bit as he was proud of me and knew how disappointed I was.”
Griffin recalls that the family all gathered in Austin over Memorial Day weekend to discuss a possible run by the governor for the presidency.
“We spent a good deal of time talking about how his run would affect the family, what we would face, and we unanimously decided he should run,” he said.
When asked why he thinks his father is the best candidate for the presidency among the Republican field, he doesn’t hesitate.
“His record. He has the most proven record of any candidate. When you look at what he has done in his 10 years as governor, and especially since Barack Obama took office, Texas has thrived while the rest of the country has gone down hill, you see he has the executive leadership needed,” Griffin said. “His time in the military helped hone those leadership skills. You know what you are getting with my father, you know where he stands on the issues. When he says he’ll do something, he will do it in the best interests of our country.”
One question the couple is asked frequently is, if Rick and Anita Perry become the next occupants of the White House, will there be the patter of little feet there.
“Only if you count the patter of feet of our two black Labs,” Meredith said. “Griffin and I want to become more established in our careers before starting a family and, of course, right now we are totally focused on the campaign.”