May 18, 2022 - Governor’s Race Down to the Wire
We are down to the last few days in the 2022 Governor’s Race. For the first time in my memory, the governor’s race has been overshadowed by another race. The race to fill the void left by retiring senior U.S. Senator Richard Shelby has eclipsed the interest in the governor’s race. It is an obvious fact that our open senate seat is more competitive and interesting than a race with a popular incumbent governor running for reelection.
Kay Ivey has been in control of this race since the get go. National polls have ranked her as one of the most popular incumbent governors in the nation. Alabama’s polls have consistently shown her with a commanding lead. Most polls have her winning without a runoff. She has been bombarded by ads from two well-financed opponents. Lindy Blanchard has spent over $8 million of her own money and Tim James has spent over $4 million. They both have primarily run against transgenders. A recent Cygnal poll indicates that either Blanchard or James could force Ivey into a runoff
Kay Ivey will be reelected governor. The question is whether she beats her eight opponents without a runoff. My guess is that she wins Tuesday without a runoff. However, I disagree with some Ivey naysayers and her opponents that forecast that if she does not win straight out with 50% plus one vote, she is in trouble in a June 21 runoff. My thoughts are that if she dips 45% to 48% that still does not make it a close race in the runoff. She would be at 48% and whoever finishes second will be at about 15%. She can pick up the phone as an incumbent governor and raise $2 million dollars for the six-week runoff in two days.
Polling depicts a picture of the entire Republican electorate in the state. The polling is only skewed if there is a lighter than expected turnout. The turnout Tuesday is going to be large due to the U.S. Senate race and the avalanche of Potomac money being spent in our state. Therefore, my belief is that Ivey’s polling numbers will hold. She will probably win outright Tuesday, if not she will win on June 21.
Most of us thought Kay would not run for reelection when she won overwhelmingly in 2018. However, when she announced she was going to run for another four-year term, early polls revealed that she would be tough to beat. Those of us who follow and pontificate on Alabama politics felt like that the only way she could lose is if she beat herself with a faux paus or misstep.
She has avoided any potholes in this six-month campaign for reelection. Matter of fact, she has run a flawless and almost perfect campaign. Her media firm has done an excellent job with her television ads. The one with her saying, “Bless Joe Biden’s heart” and “No Way Jose” captured the essence of why she is popular. Her best attribute politically is that she comes across as your grandmama. How in the world can someone run negative ads about people’s grandmama? She has also been fortunate to have fielded a much weaker field of opponents than she had in 2018, which by the way, she beat without a runoff.
Kay Ivey has done a good job as Governor and I think people, deep down, know this. They trust her as being honest and straight forward. She is running for the right reason. She has some more things she wants to accomplish for her state. You cannot say that Kay Ivey does not love Alabama.
The only serious opponents that Kay has endured are Tim James and Lindy Blanchard. They have both run valiant campaigns and given it the old college try. It will be a close race to see who finishes second. However, finishing second only counts in horseshoes and it will be a distant second at best.
This will be Tim James third try for the brass ring his father garnered twice. Three strikes and you are probably out.
Lindy Blanchard has really given this race her all. She has spent a lot of her personal money, more than anyone expected. She has also crisscrossed the state campaigning hard every day. If you meet her, you cannot help but like her. However, the hill you must climb to defeat an incumbent governor is steep.
We will see next Tuesday.
See you next week.
May 11, 2022 - Senate Race Down to the Wire
The GOP Primary is less than two weeks away on May 24. It has been an interesting and expensive race to fill the seat of our venerable and powerful senior Senator Richard Shelby.
There are three major primary contestants. Katie Britt, Mike Durant, and Mo Brooks are the horses or as some might say combatants given the nature of the prevalence of negative advertising. Two of these three gladiators will be the recipient of the most votes on that momentous day and will face off in a runoff set for six weeks later on June 21. The winner of that June 21 runoff will be our next U.S. Senator. Winning the GOP Primary is tantamount to election for a statewide office in the Heart of Dixie, especially for a U.S. Senate Race.
This race will probably wind up being the most expensive race in Alabama political history, especially when you add up the third party expenditures. In modern day national politics, a candidate’s individual war chest is not the telling story. We live in a world of third party political action committees (PACs). These third party PACs, based out of Washington, have spent more on their preferred candidate than has been spent directly by the candidates’ campaigns. These PACs are not supposed to coordinate with their preferred candidate, but they do. They share all information and polling, and script their attack ads based on what they think you want to hear. These innocuous PACs have the meanest hired guns, who relish negative ads and seek to destroy their opposition. Why? Because negative ads work.
The other political adage that has never changed is that money is the mother’s milk of politics. These three candidates possess or have received plenty of campaign resources, mostly from out of state. Allow me to summarize the top three U.S. Senate candidates, as well as their benefactors, their positions and potential.
Mo Brooks is backed by the Club for Growth. This group of very rich folks want less government and free trade with China. They and Mo Brooks are made for each other. They have been tied to the hip during Mo’s entire 11-year career in Congress. They want a senator who will have total disregard for their state or district and have total allegiance to their laissez-faire pro-China trade agenda. That is why Mo has voted against the needs of his district and Alabama. He has actually voted against agriculture and military defense spending, which are the mainstays of Alabama.
Mo has dropped dramatically in the polls since the race began this time last year. He will now probably finish a distant third. When the race first began and it looked like Brooks might be a player, the popular, wise and witty Republican Senator from Louisiana, John Kennedy, quipped, “A senate seat is a terrible thing to waste.” The runoff will probably be a Mike Durant and Katie Britt contest.
Mike Durant has been the wild card in this race, who nobody saw coming but he is a perfect prototype for winning an open U.S. Senate Seat, especially in a pro-military state like Alabama. Durant is a war hero, a POW, and started his own military defense business. He has spent some of his own money, but has been extensively backed by a national liberal group called the “More Perfect Union PAC.” The founder and major benefactor, Jake Harriman, is striving to elect more moderates, including Democrats and Republicans. This PAC wants “Republicans in Name Only” (RINOs). Therefore, RINO probably is the more accurate description of Durant.
Durant is a phantom candidate, who has run primarily a media campaign revealing he was shot down as a helicopter pilot over 40 years ago. If the term carpetbagger ever applied in modern day Alabama politics, it applies to Durant. He has barely campaigned in Alabama and he probably knows very few Alabamians. He hails from New Hampshire, but prefers his palatial home in Colorado. A vote for Durant is like a pig in a poke, you do not know what you will be getting. However, you would be getting a person who decided he wanted to be a United States Senator, but does not care what state you put behind his name: New Hampshire, Colorado or Alabama.
With Durant running a slick television only campaign and not discussing issues, nobody knows where he stands on important issues. The one group that is extremely skeptical and apprehensive of him are the second amendment gun owning NRA members of our state.
Katie Britt is the mainstream conservative, pro-business candidate that understands Alabama and our needs. Most of her campaign contributions have come from Alabamians. In fact, she is the only real Alabamian in the race.
May 4, 2022 - Richard Shelby – Alabama’s Greatest U.S. Senator
Our iconic senior United States Senator, Richard Shelby, turns 88 this week. Shelby is in the waning months of his monumental career in the Senate. He will end his tenure at the end of this year after 36 years in the U.S. Senate.
Shelby is one of the most influential senators in Washington. His prowess at bringing federal dollars to our state from Washington is unparalleled in the annals of Alabama history. Indeed, Shelby may go down in American history as one of the greatest procurers of federal dollars funded to their state from the U.S. Treasury. He may only be surpassed by the late Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.
There is not a city or county in Alabama that has not benefitted from Senator Shelby’s seniority and power. Every major university has received additional federal dollars for development and new buildings. He has literally transformed the University of Alabama. An entire section of the massive campus has a cadre of buildings, mostly science, technology and engineering that are or should be named for him, because he brought the money from Washington to pay for them.
UAB is one of the premier research and medical institutions in America because of Richard Shelby. Huntsville is one of the fastest growing and most prosperous high technology cities in America due to the influence of one Richard Shelby. The largest FBI facility in America has been moved from Washington D.C. to Huntsville, Alabama under the direction of Senator Shelby. In his last hurrah Shelby essentially has brought immense federal funding to completely rebuild and deepen Alabama’s port in Mobile.
His last years have been spent chairing the United States Senate Appropriations Committee. However, during his illustrious career he has also been Chairman of the Banking Committee, the Intelligence Committee, and the Rules Committee.
There has never been nor will there probably ever be an Alabama U.S. Senator to reach the pinnacle of power of Richard Shelby. It should be noted that Shelby served with distinction and effectiveness in the U.S. House of Representatives for eight years prior to being first elected to the Senate in 1986.
In my 2015 book Of Goats and Governors, Six Decades of Colorful Alabama Political Stories, I have a chapter entitled “Alabama’s Three Greatest Senators.” The Chapter includes Lister Hill, John Sparkman and Richard Shelby. If I were writing that book today, Shelby would be alone as the greatest. Folks, that is saying a lot.
Senator Lister Hill and Senator John Sparkman were giants in Washington and tremendous ambassadors for Alabama. Both Sparkman and Hill served for 32 and 30 years, respectively, in the Senate with austere distinction. They served in tandem for more than 20 years and were respected giants on Capitol Hill. Our Hill-Sparkman team was unsurpassed in power and prestige from 1946 to 1970. They were admired not only in Alabama but throughout the nation.
Lister Hill was considered one of the greatest U.S. Senators. He was a statesman and the ultimate southern gentleman. He was chairman of the Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee, as well as a ranking member of the Appropriations Committee. He was known as the father of most of Americas rural hospitals through his authorship and stewardship of the Hill-Burton Act. He also was the father of our crown jewel, UAB Medical Center.
John Sparkman was a U.S. Senator from Alabama for 32 years. He like Hill served a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives prior to his Senate career. Sparkman was chairman of the Banking Committee, which also oversaw housing. He was the author of all housing legislation, including creating HUD. Sparkman is also the father of the space and rocket development in Huntsville. In fact, Huntsville would probably be more appropriately named “Sparkmanville”. Senator Sparkman was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1952.
Shelby has continued Sparkman’s and Hill’s legacy sustaining our crown jewels of Huntsville Space and Rocket Center and the UAB Medical Complex in Birmingham.
Senator Shelby has left an indelible mark on our state that will be felt by Alabamians for generations.
See you next week.
April 27, 2022 - A Mo Brooks Story
Over the years I have shared a lot of stories about Alabama’s colorful political figures. We have had some characters like Big Jim Folsom and George Wallace. Big Jim was gregarious and fun loving. Wallace was a political genius and without question the most prolific politician in Alabama history. Both Wallace and Folsom used theatrics to get elected governor, but both were effective once elected to office.
Ole Mo Brooks will make the history books as a colorful Alabama political character. However, unlike Wallace and Folsom, Mo will never be considered effective or important but Mo Brooks is no fool. He knows what he is doing. He is a graduate of Duke and Alabama Law School. He has always been a right-wing ideologue. He truly believes in less government even if that means cutting your district’s or state’s throat. He does not want to be an effective emissary for his people. He is proud of the title of being the least effective congressman in Alabama history. He believes his role is to be the most conservative person in the halls of the Capitol.
Mo and I were freshman legislators together in 1982. Mo served one four-year term in the Alabama House and left in 1986. He was immediately recognized as a right-wing nut, who was driven by an ideological agenda rather than being an effective legislator for his constituents. He was laughed at and ridiculed by the entire House and placed on the back row by the Speaker. They would recognize him, occasionally, his first year to make a reactionary speech on an issue. However, after a while, the Speaker would not recognize him to talk. Prior to that, if we had a bill we wanted to pass and we knew Mo might be for it, we would quietly go back to Mo’s desk in the far-right corner and say, “Mo, I would like for you to vote for my bill. However, please do not speak for it.” We knew his speaking for it would be detrimental to the bill’s passage.
Having been relegated to not having any power, which he preferred, he decided to become the Czar of conservatism in the House. He made himself the appointed keeper of all the House members voting records and would rank us on our conservatism based on how we voted on legislative issues. Mo got a computer, which was a rare device in those days, and sat at his desk keeping track of our daily voting record and ranking us. You can imagine how that upset some of the old crusty legislators, some of whom had been around since the early George Wallace segregationist days. They figured that the word conservative meant voting against Civil Rights and integration. I was one of the few who would visit with Mo. I would go back to his desk and ask how he was doing with his list. Some of the old timers would ask me what Mo and I talked about. You can only imagine the indignation they had towards the young nut from north Alabama when I told them he was keeping their voting record and ranking them on their conservatism.
Ole Mo moved on to the Madison County Commission for a decade or so. They say that every vote during that time was five yes and one no. Guess who the “no” vote was.
He has continued that same consistency of longing to be a loud voice in the wilderness of ineffectiveness during his 11 years in Congress.
Recently a respected fellow member of our 1982 Freshman Legislative Class and I were visiting and the subject of Mo’s race for the Senate came up. He said, “You know, I have never known anyone besides Mo Brooks who has served nearly two decades in a legislative-congressional capacity and never passed a bill nor ever accomplished anything.”
However, my 1982 colleague and I were from the old school that believed you should look after your district first. My perception of today’s Republican primary voters is that there are a good many who prefer a total less government conservative senator. If you are looking for a true long term proven conservative, then Mo Brooks is your man.
See you next week.
April 20, 2022 - Who is Mike Durant?
Many of you have asked the question, “Have you ever seen anyone simply run a media only campaign and avoid campaigning like Mike Durant has done in this year’s U.S. Senate campaign.” Surprisingly my answer for many of you is, “yes, I have.”
Ironically, the man that Richard Shelby beat for this U.S. Senate seat 36 years ago, Jeremiah Denton, was almost a carbon copy of Mike Durant. Denton was a POW/national war hero of the Vietnam era.
Like Durant, Denton had very distant ties to and knowledge of Alabama. They were both National War/POW celebrities who wanted to be a United States Senator from whichever state was convenient.
Alabama had an open seat for the Senate in 1980. Denton called Mobile home but had not lived there since he was a boy. His father was a Naval officer and Jeremiah followed suit and went to the Naval Academy and became a navy officer and rose to the rank of Rear Admiral.
When the race began, Denton was basically living in the Washington D.C. area. Alabama had not had a Republican senator since Reconstruction over 100 years earlier. The Republicans recruited Denton to break the barrier. Denton really did no personal campaigning in Alabama. He was a short-tempered military man whose personality had been even more exacerbated by seven years and seven months of captivity by barbaric Vietnamese.
Denton was swept into office in 1980 in the Ronald Reagan Republican landslide. He never aspired to go into politics. He only wanted to be a good soldier. After his release from captivity, he came back to a hero’s welcome. Denton became Alabama’s first Republican and Catholic Senator and never really campaigned.
Denton became Alabama’s least effective and insignificant senator in our state’s history. He only served one six-year term, 1980-1986. During that one term, he never came to Alabama, never returned a phone call, and never responded to any letters. He began his career by announcing he was a United States Senator and not the Junior Senator from Alabama. He said his role was bigger than just taking care of mundane, senatorial duties and “kissing babies’ butts.” Thus, he immediately forewarned Alabamian’s that for the next six years, we would only have one U.S. Senator – the country would be blessed with our other senate seat.
Mike Durant is amazingly similar, almost a clone to Jeremiah Benton. Unlike Denton who was born in Mobile, Durant was born and spent his entire formulative years in New Hampshire. Like Denton, Durant’s father was a military man. Mike Durant followed his father. As is well known, Durant was shot down and captured and made a prisoner of war for 11 days.
Durant’s life is really a mystery after that point. He calls Huntsville his home and he has had a military defense company in Huntsville, which made him very wealthy through federal defense dollars. Durant’s being an Alabamian or Huntsvillian has come into question. Nobody seems to know him in Huntsville, much less the rest of the state. Speculation is that he lives in Maryland, and he also has a very expensive home in Colorado. If he were to be elected to Alabama’s Senate Seat, he would probably go home to Maryland. Durant would not only be a phantom senate candidate, but he would also be our phantom senator.
Durant has only voted in a Republican primary in Alabama one time in his life and that was in 2008. That means one of three things about him: (1) he is not a Republican, (2) he is not an Alabamian, or (3) he is not a Republican or an Alabamian. The only thing we do know about Durant is that he was born and raised in New Hampshire. Where I come from in Alabama, that would make him what we call a carpetbagger. A carpetbagger, who refuses to meet or ask any Alabamians for their vote. The only thing we know about him is that he can fly around in a helicopter and he can afford to buy a lot of television ads. Guess he thinks we are dumb enough to fall for that pig in a poke or he might find that after a while we will wake up and realize that Emperor has no clothes.
Durant makes no pretense about the fact that he will not personally campaign in Alabama or even do interviews. You can bet your bottom dollar that wherever you live in Alabama, Durant has not been to your town or city and probably could not even tell you where it is located. You can rest assured that he does not know the difference between the Wiregrass and Sand Mountain.
See you next week.
April 13, 2022 - Congressional Lines and Congressmen will Remain the Same
For several years leading up to the 2010 Census count, the national projections were that Alabama would lose one of our seven congressional districts and drop to six. When the count was taken, we surprised ourselves and the nation and kept our seven seats in the United States Congress.
Therefore, the legislature’s task in drawing our seven congressional districts was relatively easy. Except for some tweaking here and there due to growth in Madison, Limestone, Lee, Shelby and especially Baldwin counties, and the loss of population in the Black Belt, our congressional district lines were kept basically the same as they have been for the past few decades.
We essentially have six of our seven districts that are safe Republican seats. We have one dedicated majority minority African American Democratic Congressional District.
That Democratic seat is held by Congresswoman Terri Sewell. She has been in that seat for over a decade and has become a respected leader in the Democratic House leadership. The Democrats are in the majority which makes her a powerful member of the House. However, most political experts and polling indicates that this year’s election will bring a swing of 30 or more Republican seat pickups or takeovers, thus making the Republicans the majority party. This will be beneficial for Alabama since six of our seven seats are held by Republicans. It will be particularly beneficial to folks in the fourth district, who have Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) as their Congressman.
Aderholt is the most senior member of our delegation and is the ranking Republican on the House Appropriation Committee.
Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Anniston) is also gaining ground in seniority. He is a ranking member of the Armed Services Committee.
Congressman Gary Palmer (R-Jefferson) represents the suburban areas of metro-Jefferson, Hoover and Shelby. It is considered one of the most Republican House districts in America.
We have two freshmen Republican Congressmen, who are finishing their first two years in the House. Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) represents the coastal first district of basically Mobile and Baldwin Counties. He has taken to Congress like a duck to water.
Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) represents the second district made up of the Wiregrass and the fast growing Pike Road area of Montgomery as well as the populous counties of Autauga and Elmore.
All six of the aforementioned incumbents will be reelected without opposition.
The only excitement in Congressional politics in the Heart of Dixie will play out in the fifth district. This Huntsville-Tennessee Valley seat is currently held by Mo Brooks, who has opted to run for the U.S. Senate, thus leaving a seldom seen open congressional seat contest. There are six Republicans vying for this open fifth district seat. The contestants are Dale Strong, Paul Sanford, Casey Wardynski, Harrison Wright, Andy Blalock, and John Roberts.
Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong appears to be the strongest candidate. He is far outdistancing the field in polling and fundraising. Some say that he could eclipse the field without a runoff.
The most ardent challengers will be former State Senator Paul Sanford and former Huntsville City School Superintendent Casey Wardynski. Dr. Wardynski has done a good job fundraising.
There will be a large turnout in this congressional race. In fact, this Huntsville-Madison-Limestone Tennessee Valley area of the state will more than likely have the largest percentage turnout in the state. Not only is there an open congressional seat, but Mo Brooks is the local candidate for the open U.S. Senate Seat, and popular, incumbent Republican state school board member, Wayne Reynolds, will also be on the ballot with token opposition.
In addition, the only hotly contested Republican State Senate race between Tom Butler and Bill Holtzclaw is in the Madison-Limestone area. There are also three open hotly contested State House races, including filling the seats of Speaker Mac McCutcheon and veteran House member Howard Sanderford. There is also a hotly contested open sheriff’s race in Limestone County. Furthermore, the phantom candidate for the U.S. Senate, Mike Durant, claims Huntsville as his home. All of these ingredients are a recipe for a larger turnout in the Tennessee Valley than the rest of the state on May 24.
The Congressional lines and six of seven congressmen will remain the same for this 2022 election cycle. However, hold the phone. The federal courts could change that for 2024.
See you next week.
April 6, 2022 - Fob James Story, 1978 Governor’s Race
The crowded field for governor striving to oust incumbent Governor Kay Ivey, includes Tim James. He has run before. In fact, this is his third try for the brass ring. His last race was in 2010 when he barely missed the runoff by a few votes. He was edged out by Robert Bentley, who went on to win.
Tim James’ primary calling card has always been that he is the son of former Governor Fob James. The elder James was an ultra-successful businessman, who was first elected governor in 1978 as a Democrat and then elected to a second term as governor as a Republican in 1994.
Governor Fob James first election as Governor in 1978 is one for the record books. The 1978 Governor’s Race is one of the classics in Alabama political lore. That governor’s race, which began with three heavyweights – former Governor Albert Brewer, Attorney General Bill Baxley, and Lt. Governor Jere Beasley – was expected to be titanic. The Republicans were relegated to insignificance on the gubernatorial stage. Therefore, the winner of the Democratic Primary would be governor.
Meanwhile, over in east Alabama, a little known former Auburn halfback named Fob James strolled into the governor’s race. Fob’s entry evoked very little interest, only curiosity as to why he would want to enter the fray against three well-known major players. Fob was exposed as a card-carrying Republican but even a political novice like Fob knew he could not win as a Republican, so he qualified to run as a Democrat along with the three B’s.
Fob had become very wealthy by starting a successful manufacturing company in Opelika. When he signed up to run for governor the press wrote him off as a rich gadfly who simply chose politics rather than golf as his pastime. Little did they know that the fact he was rich and had a lot of time on his hands could spell trouble for the average political opponent, who had to worry about fundraising and feeding their family while running a full-time campaign.
Fob realized he was no political professional like the three B’s who had spent their entire political adulthood in public office, so Fob sought out professional advice. He had the money to think big and wanted to know who the best political consultant in the South was. It was an easy answer: Deloss Walker was political public relations genius who lived in Memphis. His track record for electing governors of southern states was 5-0. Walker was the most renowned and expensive political guru in the country in 1977.
Fob quietly sought out Walker, who at first refused to take Fob’s race. Walker’s first impression was that even he could not mold Fob into a winner against three well-financed, experienced thoroughbreds.
Nobody was aware Fob had garnered the genius Walker and had already been to political school when he signed up to run for governor in the spring of 1978. Brewer, Baxley, and Beasley ignored Fob. Baxley even praised him saying, “Fob would be a good governor. Too bad he’s not a serious candidate.” Those words would come back to haunt Baxley.
Fob traveled the state in a yellow school bus and let the three B’s tear each other up. Baxley, Beasley and Brewer spent all their time and money attacking each other with negative ads, all the while Fob ran positive ads. Folks were of the opinion that the three B’s had all probably shot their mothers in a bar fight but they liked old Fob James, even if they thought his name was “Bob” James.
It was too late for the three B’s when they saw a poll about a week before the election showing Fob ahead of all three of them. Baxley refused to believe it and kept hammering at Beasley and Brewer, ignoring Fob. When the votes were counted, Fob was in first place, Baxley second, Brewer was third, and Beasley finished fifth behind State Senator Sid McDonald.
Fob easily beat Baxley in the runoff. After all, what could Baxley say? He had run all over the state for three months saying Fob would make a good governor. Fob James had pulled off one of the most amazing upset victories in the history of Alabama politics. The Fob James story of the 1978 Governor’s Race is truly one for the record books.
See you next week.
March 30, 2022 - Young Boozer, State Treasurer
Young Boozer is state treasurer, again, and deservedly so.
Boozer was first elected as Alabama’s State Treasurer in 2010. He did an excellent job during his first four years and was reelected in 2014 without opposition. Thus, serving eight consecutive years as state treasurer. He could have been elected to a third four-year stint. However, constitutionally he was term limited to two successive terms.
John McMillan was elected treasurer in 2018, after serving eight successful years as Agriculture Commissioner. Mr. Boozer was not ready to leave public service, so he agreed to become Assistant Superintendent of Banking with Superintendent Mike Hill.
During last year’s regular legislative session, the legislature passed a medical cannabis bill along with the legislation to allow for medical marijuana. They created an agency to oversee the prescription and regulatory process. The commission asked John McMillan to be Executive Director of the Cannabis Commission. Governor Kay Ivey subsequently appointed Young Boozer to McMillan’s remaining 15-month term ending in 2022. Boozer is running for reelection this year. He easily will be elected for another full four-year term through 2026. That will make him the longest serving treasurer in state history. The legendary Agnes Baggett currently holds the record.
Young Boozer is perfectly scripted to be state treasurer. He grew up in Tuscaloosa and went to college at Stanford University. The elite California college is known for producing national entrepreneurs and bank presidents. Young graduated with honors and then went to Wharton Business School for a masters in business. He went on to have a successful career as a national and international banker. He came home to be Executive Vice President of Colonial Bank in Montgomery. Young served on the Stanford University Board of Trustees from 2003 to 2008.
Therefore, you would have to say that he is probably the most qualified person to have ever served as Alabama’s State Treasurer because, essentially, the state treasurer is the state’s banker. He is uniquely qualified and is doing the job for the right reasons.
Young Boozer is one of the best political names I have ever seen. It is a name you remember. However, this Young Boozer is Young Boozer III. His father, Young Boozer II was a legendary football hero and businessman. The original Young Boozer was in the timber business in Geneva County and was Mayor of Samson. He died at age 33 of flu during the Flu Pandemic of 1918-1919. His widow moved the family to Dothan where Young Boozer II went to high school.
Young Boozer II was a superstar high school baseball and football player and student. He was brought to play both sports at the University of Alabama. In his class was the great Dixie Howell who was also from the wiregrass and also in that class was a lanky kid from Fordyce, Arkansas named Paul “Bear” Bryant. This trio of Dixie Howell, Bear Bryant and Young Boozer went out on a train to Pasadena, California and beat Stanford in the 1935 Rose Bowl and established the south and especially the University of Alabama as a football power to be reckoned with forever. Young Boozer II was a hero of that Rose Bowl game. He intercepted a pass in the waning moments of that game and clinched the victory.
Young Boozer II went on to be an ultra-successful businessman in Tuscaloosa. He was involved with Coach Bryant in several successful business ventures. Young Boozer II started and built Cotton States Life Insurance Company which he ultimately sold to Alfa Insurance, and it made him very wealthy. He was a gregarious, unassuming man, who was always smiling and joyous.
Our current state treasurer, Young Boozer III, has a son who is appropriately named Young Boozer IV. What if this Young Boozer has a son and he names him Young Boozer? He will be named Young Boozer the fifth.
See you next week.
March 23, 2022 - Benefactor or Idealogue
Over the years, I have discussed my observations and concepts of the two different roles or routes taken by a U.S. Senator or Congressman during their tenure in Washington.
One clearly chooses one of two postures in their representation of you in Washington. Our delegates to DC are either benefactors or idealogues.
The role of benefactor is much better for any state, especially Alabama. This public figure is not only a benefactor but also a facilitator and a statesman. In other words, this person is interested and diligent in bringing home federal dollars to the Heart of Dixie.
The perfect example of a benefactor, facilitator and a statesman senator is our current U.S. Senator Richard Shelby. No senator in Alabama history has brought home more federal dollars to our state than Richard Shelby. He has helped Alabama more during his 36-years in the senate than any other senator.
The second role is idealogue. This politician sees his role as a zealot on issues. The idealogue is more interested in advocating for popular social and non-economic issues with no regard for the state’s financial interests.
Beginning in the 1930s and extending for 30 years through the 1960s, we had two of the greatest U.S. Senators in history. Lister Hill and John Sparkman were giants in Washington and were erudite diplomats for our state. They can aptly be described as benefactors, facilitators and statesmen for Alabama.
During the 1970s and 1980s, we had two well-respected and effective senators in Judge Howell Heflin and Richard Shelby.
Upon arrival of Jeff Sessions in 1996, as the state’s first true blue Republican, we witnessed the portrayal of our first true idealogue. Sessions was the most right-wing, reactionary Republican in the U.S. Senate. However, he was not a demagogue, he was a true believer and one of the most honest and gentlemanly men I have ever observed in the public arena. He was also well qualified and prepared to be a U.S. Senator having been a U.S. Attorney and Attorney General of Alabama.
Alabama cannot afford to have the ultimate demagogic idealogue, Mo Brooks, follow Richard Shelby. It would literally be like exchanging the most effective U.S. Senator in Alabama history with the least effective Senator in Alabama history. We would go from having the number one, most powerful senator to the last place number 100th effectiveness for their state in Washington. It would be worse than not having a senator, because the image that Mo Brooks portrays for Alabama is so harmful that we would be better off not to have a second senator, and for a state that depends on federal dollars that would not be a good position for Alabama.
A large portion of Alabama’s federal largesse dollars go to the Huntsville area. Mo Brooks has been the congressman from this area for 10 years. He has done nothing towards federal and economic growth in the Huntsville-Tennessee Valley area. Brooks has been an obstacle. He prefers being a bomb-thrower to being an effective representative. The entire growth and prosperity of the Huntsville area can be attributed to Senator Richard Shelby with local assistance from Mayor Tommy Battle.
Brooks laissez faire attitude towards government and his allegiance and loyalty to the right-wing clandestine Club for Growth is toxic for Alabama and our dependence on defense dollars. Brooks is an irrelevant, right-wing gadfly whom people just laugh at like a crazy uncle they keep locked in a closet. He has become a national poster boy for crazy theatrics. The image he gives to Alabama hurts us immensely in Washington. He is a pariah for Alabama’s future.
Brooks would be a deterrent for Alabama procuring additional or even keeping our current federal defense dollars in Alabama. If Mo Brooks is elected as our senator to replace Richard Shelby, you can expect Redstone Arsenal’s growth to stop and you can kiss the space command headquarters coming to Alabama good-bye.
Furthermore, those of you who live in the Montgomery River Region area and those of you who live in the Wiregrass and have depended on Maxwell-Gunter and Ft. Rucker as your economic engines for generations better grab hold of your wallet. With Mo Brooks as the Senator from Alabama, you may very well see these mega military economic meccas moved to California.
See you next week.
March 9, 2022 - Incumbency Prevails in Secondary Constitutional Offices
Incumbency is a potent, powerful, inherent advantage in politics. That fact is playing out to the nines in this year’s Alabama secondary constitutional and down ballot races.
Several of the constitutional office incumbents do not have Republican or Democratic opposition. Of course, having a Democratic opponent is the same as not having an opponent in a statewide race in Alabama. A Democrat cannot win in a statewide contest in the Heart of Dixie.
Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth will be elected to a second four-year term without opposition. He will be waiting in the wings to follow Kay Ivey as Governor.
Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate will be reelected without opposition. He has done a good job in this important state post.
State Treasurer Young Boozer is running unopposed for another four-year term. He does an excellent job and is uniquely qualified for the Treasurer’s job.
State Supreme Court Justice Kelli Wise is running for reelection unopposed. Kelli is popular and is a good jurist. She is home free for six more years on the state’s high tribunal.
Attorney General Steve Marshall has token opposition in his run for reelection. One Republican and one Democrat qualified against Marshall. However, he will coast to reelection.
There are two seats up for election on the Alabama Public Service Commission. There are three seats on this regulatory panel. The President of the PSC runs in a presidential year. Twinkle Cavanaugh is President and pretty much runs the ship. The two incumbents are Jeremy Oden and Chip Beeker. Oden has two unknown Republican opponents. Beeker has two opponents in the GOP Primary. One has some name identification, who has run before. Beeker and Oden will probably win reelection.
There are only three hotly contested and interesting secondary statewide races. That is because these three posts are open without an incumbent on the scene.
Popular Supreme Court Justice Mike Bolin, the former Probate Judge of Jefferson County, is term limited by an antiquated law that prohibits a judge from running for the court after age 70. There are two qualified candidates seeking to follow Judge Bolin. Birmingham Defense Attorney Greg Cook is facing Anniston Circuit Judge Debra Jones. Cook appears to be the favorite to win. It is apparent that the business community in the state is backing Cook. He has also been endorsed by the Alabama Farmers Federation. The latest campaign finance reports reveal Cook has $552,000 to spend compared to Jones $15,000.
The State Auditors position is open. Jim Ziegler has served his eight-year stint. This will be an interesting three-man race for this benign position. Former Mobile State Representative and State Senator Rusty Glover is facing Muscle Shoals State Representative Andrew Sorrell and Jefferson County Pastor Stan Cooke. All three are getting out and working the state.
The race to succeed John Merrill as Secretary of State will be a good race. Merrill is term limited after eight years. State Auditor Jim Ziegler is wanting to move next door in the Capitol and become Secretary of State. Because of his name identification advantage, Ziegler will be favored to win the race. However, he will get a significant challenge from State Representative Wes Allen.
Young Wes Allen has been running for over a year and has a good many significant endorsements including Alfa. He has an impressive resume having served a decade as Probate Judge of Pike County and four years as a State Representative. He also has two home bases. He has lived and served in office in Troy in Southeast Alabama and was born and raised in Tuscaloosa where his father Gerald Allen has been a long time State Senator.
Ed Packard, who has run the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s office for decades, is also running. He is very well qualified.
The aforementioned current Secretary of State, John Merrill, is not seeking any elective office in 2022, even though he is still relatively young. I have said this before and it holds true today, Merrill is currently the best and most prolific retail politician in the state and one of the best I have seen in Alabama. He has a real grassroots organization in Alabama. He is literally everywhere. Even though he is not on the ballot running this year, he is out working every candidate mentioned in this column. You have not heard the last of John Merrill.
See you next week.