David Childs of Ma'ili was noted for championing small U.S. towns
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
David Childs, small-town crusader, unabashed liberal and irascible contributor to The Advertiser's letters-to-the-editor section, died of cancer Tuesday at his home in Ma'ili. He was 59.
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In the mid-1970s Childs was elected mayor of his hometown of Shenandoah, Iowa, by the largest majority in the town's history. He was defeated in the following election by the same margin.
David Childs "always understood that the little guy was really the big guy," said one of his friends.
As mayor , Childs gained national attention for his crusade to expose the difficulties faced by America's small towns. Childs formed the National Rural Communities Mayor's Conference, a maverick mail-order coalition with representation from every state.
He drove his car to little towns from coast to coast, including a famous trip to Plains, Ga. His travels were followed by The Associated Press and all three major television networks. In Plains, he vowed to sit on Jimmy Carter's doorstep until the president-elect promised to befriend little towns, which Carter did.
Childs "always understood that the little guy was really the big guy," said his friend, author Will Campbell of Mount Juliet, Tenn., who became acquainted with Childs during his small-town crusade.
A frequent annual visitor to Hawai'i since the 1980s, Childs moved with his family to Ma'ili in 2000.
Never shy about expressing an unpopular opinion, Childs wrote letters to the editor favoring legalized gambling, claiming that pidgin holds back local students, and describing those who oppose cockfighting as hypocrites. His provocative stances, he once explained, were a means of getting others to consider alternative sides of an issue.
"Generally, when I write these letters I assume a certain intelligence in the reader," he said. "Editorial page readers are usually educated."
Shortly before his death, he worked as a substitute teacher at Wai'anae High School.
Childs is survived by his wife, Patricia; sons, Bill, Randy and Cody; brothers, Steven and Michael; and sister, Susan Hagemann.
Childs will be buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl during a service at 3 p.m. tomorrow. Arrangements are being handled by Moanalua Mortuary.
