“Compassion.” “Moral leadership.” “Devoted.”

Southern California residents, as well as local lawmakers and politicos on both sides of the aisle, remembered former President Jimmy Carter’s public service, and his humanity, as news of his death reverberated through the political world Sunday afternoon.

Carter, the 39th U.S. president, was 100 years old. He was the longest-living American president and was in office from 1977 to 1981.

And his impact was greatly felt, even in Southern California.

It was Carter for whom Rep. Lou Correa cast his first presidential ballot after he had turned 18, the Orange County Democrat said Sunday.

And it was Carter’s presidency that inspired Mike Madrid, a longtime political consultant, to get into politics — albeit because of what he termed “the failure” of the Carter presidency.

Still, Madrid, a co-founder of The Lincoln Project who lived with “very pro-Carter” parents in Ventura County during Carter’s administration, had praise for the former president.

“Jimmy Carter was a genuinely good and decent human being — which are not qualities we’re looking for in leaders anymore,” Madrid said.

Carter, he added, “set a standard” for what presidents can achieve after their terms end.

“He was the last of his type, a Christian who put his faith ahead of his politics,” Madrid said. That mix “served Carter well in his life, but it didn’t work for him as a president.”

Madrid, and many Reagan-era pundits, say Carter’s presidency was marred by everything from the Iran hostage crisis to high inflation to the Soviet Union’s military adventure in Afghanistan.

Carter’s environmental work is a legacy David Dearing said he hopes continues to be protected.

Susan and David Dearing call themselves “very staunch Carter supporters.” The couple lived in upstate New York during Carter’s presidency, but have spent their retirement years, since 2006, in Laguna Woods, where they are involved with the Laguna Woods Democratic Club.

“He had a never-ending care for the environment,” David Dearing said. “Before green was fashionable, he was green.”

Both were teachers, and David Dearing, 81, remembers an essay by Carter that was used in an exam about the importance of protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

“I shared that with my students as an example of an essay on how to convince people to act in a certain way,” the former English teacher said. “It was a cornerstone of my teaching.”

“I thought he was one of the most decent human beings we’ve ever had as a president,” Susan Dearing said. “He was probably too decent to be president. ... What a good person he was, was so very evident in his work with Habitat for Humanity and his work with the Carter Foundation and he just really cared about people.”

Carter, who grew up during the Depression and came of age during World War II, tried to apply values from that era during the “me”-oriented 1970s, Madrid said. His solutions for the gas crisis of the era were to lower freeway speeds to 55 mph and ask Americans to turn down their thermostats.

“He wanted us to sacrifice and conserve our way out of the energy crisis,” said Madrid, a political consultant in Sacramento. “It was not what Americans wanted to do.”

And later, when Carter served as an envoy in the Middle East and in Africa, his integrity earned respect from leaders who often viewed America with suspicion. And Carter’s later work on humanitarian causes at home — housing, food and health care — are now emulated by nonprofits throughout Southern California.

“President Carter was a man of rare character — whose beliefs ran true and ran deep, whose moral compass never wavered,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “He saw the common humanity in all of us, building bridges between people of different faiths and factions abroad while working to meet the needs of those at home. Despite daunting challenges and trying times, his bright energy and spirit never faltered.

“President Carter’s candor and compassion, moral leadership and sense of duty set a standard we all should aspire to,” the Democratic governor added. “His enduring example reminds us that we can still find common ground despite our differences.”

Rep. Young Kim, a Republican whose district spans Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, said in a social media post that her “heart is with (Carter’s) loved ones.”

“President Carter devoted his life to serving the American people, whether in public service or through his charity and humanitarian work,” Kim said.

“President Jimmy Carter leaves a legacy unlike any other,” said new U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, who previously represented a Burbank-area district in Congress. “Ceaseless in his service, unbending in his dignity and revered for his commitment to our common humanity. He fought the good fight and kept the faith — and now he has finished his race. May his memory be an inspiration.”

Lacy Wright, who now lives in Fountain Valley with his wife, Jackie, joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1968, and retired after a 30-year career.

An important legacy of Carter that Wright emphasized is the creation of The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the Human Rights Reports that are published annually to this day.

“During his presidency, he introduced and enshrined human rights as a pillar of our foreign policy and did more in that direction than probably any president has done,” Wright said.

Wright and his wife met Carter in the mid-1990s when the former president visited Brazil while Wright was the deputy U.S. ambassador. During a dinner, Carter came over and had a long conversation with Jackie Bong Wright. A photo of the visit still hangs on a wall in their home.

Jackie Wright said she doesn’t know why Carter chose to sit with her that evening, but she took the opportunity to say thank you.

Wright had fled Vietnam as a widow with three young children and helped lobby for the Refugee Act Carter signed into law in 1980.

“We all Vietnamese refugees are so grateful to him,” she said, adding later, “He has done so much for people all over the world. He had such a generous heart.”