When Walter R. Cates tells people what he’s become, incredulously they respond, "You’re a what!" From the moment he took his first breath 63 years ago, Cates has been three things: "I’ve always told people I was born black, Baptist and Democrat." Now he’s a Republican. He recently switched parties, officially announcing it Thursday during a Buckeye Republican Club luncheon. Cates is one of the most recognizable and influential leaders in Columbus. As former president of the local NAACP chapter in 1973, he sued the Columbus school district, police and fire divisions for discrimination and forced them to change. Cates,...