Mickey Starling: Greene Publishing, Inc.
Madison native Sadie Haire started dreaming big when she was very small. At the age of five, Haire remembers her mother taking her for a visit to the Florida Capitol, in Tallahassee. “I saw all these fancy looking people walking around and I said, ‘I’m going to work here someday,” said Haire. “I was so small, but I wanted to do something bigger than myself.”
The world of politics seemed a natural fit for Haire, who has two cousins who were involved in state politics. Former Florida House Representative Herb Morgan, who passed away in 2003, and Former Speaker of the House Donald L. Tucker, both gave Haire a glimpse into political life.
While still very young, the political world exploded into her daily life when 9/11 took place. “I was in school at Madison Academy when I saw teachers whispering back and forth and their facial expressions said something was terribly wrong,” said Haire, who was soon picked up from school by her mother, Rebekah Basford Kervin. Haire asked Kervin what was going on and Kervin replied, “We are going to war.” Haire’s first thought was, “I’m too young to go to war.”
Though she was too young to go to war, Haire wasn’t too young to begin contemplating how to stop such atrocities in the future and her mind hasn’t stopped looking for solutions since that fateful day.
In 2016, Haire attended the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), in Maryland. While there, she crossed paths with Fox News Anchors Sean Hannity and Jesse Watters. Watters went on to interview Haire for a segment on his program, “Watters’ World.”
This experience brought some negative reactions from some who had traveled with her to the conference and revealed just how divided the nation was becoming.
Haire’s career break came unexpectedly while she was searching for jobs in Tallahassee and experiencing quite a few rejections. “I kept seeing job openings in the Florida House and I questioned my ability to do that kind of work,” said Haire, who had the wisdom to seek her mother’s advice. “You can do all things through Christ,” was Kervin’s simple response.
Armed with a greater sense of purpose and a healthy dose of determination, Haire sent in an application to the Florida House, which was returned three days later due to a lack of postage. Though tempted to take this as a negative sign, Haire pressed past her feelings, loaded the application with excessive postage and mailed it again.
Several weeks later, Haire received a phone call and was asked to come in for an interview. As she sat in her car before the interview, she prayed for God to guide her through. On her way in, Haire stopped at the same spot where she had stood when she was five years old and repeated a familiar thought, “I’m going to work here.” Her “someday” was just around the corner.
Haire was hired on the spot as a Members Service Clerk, a not so flashy job that involved running many errands but also gave Haire a great opportunity to meet a lot of people. Chair of the Florida Republican Party, Blaise Ingoglia, was one of those people, and he soon became her mentor, helping her to get established in the Republican Party. Shortly thereafter, Haire took a new position as the Regional Field Director for the Florida Republican Party, where she coordinated canvassing efforts for all of the local campaign efforts, including Florida Governor Rick Scott and Governor-elect Ron DeSantis’ successful runs. The job put many miles on Haire’s feet, as she and a small team of volunteers would attempt to cover an average of 9,000 door-to-door visits or phone calls through parts of the campaign season on any given Saturday.
More importantly for Haire, her time working in the Florida House gave her a chance to build relationships with her counterparts in the Democratic Party; something she feels is of utmost importance. “If you can’t work together, you’ll never get anything done,” said Haire.
Before becoming the Regional Field Director, Haire worked briefly as the District Executive Aid for State Representative Jason Fischer, in Jacksonville. This proved to be an eye-opening experience about the present political climate and the need for rational conversation. Part of her job for Fischer was to help prepare bills for presentation before the House. A gun bill had recently been presented while Haire was working at the district office in Jacksonville and a stranger approached the office door while Haire was working alone. “He seemed safe enough, so I cracked the door open to see how I could assist him,” said Haire. “After asking how Fischer had voted on the gun bill, he apparently didn't like my response, and shoved the door towards me, landing the doorknob squarely in my sternum and sending me into the nearby wall.” Fischer voted against the bill putting various restrictions on gun registrations and banning the use of bump stocks. Fischer was concerned because of procedural reasons and not necessarily the bill's content. Haire asked the man why he chose to shove the door into her and he said it was “to prove a point about gun control.” He soon fled and was never caught.
Currently, Haire has started a new job working in the Madison County Clerk of Court's office and she fully intends to stay active in politics and make a difference however she can. “I feel like people here believe in me and I'm happy to be home,” said Haire, who is the daughter of Kervin and Tony Haire and the granddaughter of Gary Haire, of Madison.