October 9, 2024 - The 1964 Goldwater Landslide
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the 1964 Goldwaterlandslide which was the tidal wave that swept the deep south into the Republican party.
Alabama and the South had voted solidly Democratic for President for over 80 years prior to 1964. Every constitutional officeholder in Alabama and every congressman and senator representing Alabama in Congress ran under the Democratic banner.
Lyndon Johnson was the Democratic nominee for president. Johnson carried 44 states and won the presidency by a landslide. Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona carried only his home state and the five deep south states, including Alabama. Goldwater carried Alabama overwhelmingly, thus the label given to the Republican victory in the south was ironically the Goldwater Landslide.
The so called “Solid South” had been Democratic more out of tradition and protocol than philosophy. Both national parties took the south for granted in national elections. The Democrats ignored us because we were in the barn and the Republicans ignored us for the same reason.
The 1964 election was the turning point when the deep south states voted for Barry Goldwater. The south has never looked back. It was the race issue that won them over. Goldwater and the Republican party captured the race issue.
George Wallace had ridden the race issue into the Governor’s office in 1962. Early in 1964 Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson passed sweeping civil rights legislation, which white southerners detested. Johnson had used every ounce of muscle he could muster and brutally ran over the filibustering block of powerful southern senators, a group he was a leading member of less than three years earlier. The only non-southern senator to oppose civil rights legislation was Republican Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona. When the Republican party met at the old Cow Palace in San Francisco, they nominated Goldwater as their 1964 presidential candidate. Goldwater’s southern landslide was monumental. Alabama had been totally Democratic from president to coroner for more than eight decades. There was no Republican party to speak of. There was no Republican Primary. Republicans chose their token candidates in backroom conventions.
A good many old timers in Alabama had called their children and family around them on their deathbed and admonished their descendants, “Don’t ever sell the family farm and don’t evervote for a damn Republican.” However, Goldwater and the Republicans had become identified with segregation, and the white southern voter fled the Democratic Party enmasse. As the Fall elections of 1964 approached, the talk in the old country stores around Alabama was that a good many good ole boys were going to vote straight Republican even if their daddies did turn over in their graves. There were a good many papas turning over in graves on that day.
Alabamians not only voted for Barry Goldwater but also pulled the straight Republican lever out of anger toward Lyndon Johnson’s civil rights agenda.
Alabama’s eight-member congressional delegation with more than 100 years of seniority was wiped out by straight ticket Republican voting. If either of our two venerable senators, Lister Hill or John Sparkman, had been on the ballot that day they would have also been thrashed. Hill had barely escaped a defeat in 1962 and would not run again in 1968.
Johnson annihilated Goldwater nationwide in 1964, butGoldwater gave the tough corrupt, amoral Texan a good old fashioned country whipping in the South. Johnson had bulldozed the Civil Rights Bill through the Senate over the southern senate cardinals. The leader of the southern block was the great Richard Russell of Georgia who had been Johnson’s mentor. Johnson worshiped Russell. All of Johnson’s former colleagues in the southern senate block knew that Johnson did not give a hoot about Negroes’ Civil Rights. They knew he passed the civil rights bill to enhance his race for president. Johnson, being a southerner, understood southern politics. Senator Russell stared coldly at Johnson when he signed the Civil Rights Bill. Johnson looked back at Russell after he signed the Bill and with tears in his eyes, he prophetically said I have just signed the South over to the Republican Party for at least the next 60 years.
Johnson’s prophecy has proven true. There have been 15 presidential elections since that day in 1964 and Alabama has voted for the Republican nominee in 14 of the 15 elections.Trump will also carry Alabama this year, which will make it 15 out of 16.
It all began with the Goldwater Landslide of 1964.
See you next week.
October 2, 2024 - The Association of County Commissions Has Been Power in Alabama Politics for Close to a Century
The Alabama Association of County Commissions has been a powerful organization in Alabama politics for almost a century. County Commissioners are an integral part of governing in our state. Over the years they have been thought of as simply road commissioners. They are that, they do oversee all of the county/rural roads in the state. You might say they are where the rubber meets the road. However, they are much more than that.
County governments are big business. In many of our 67 counties the county government operation is one of the largest employers in the county. Therefore, the chairman and other county commissioners have to be good business managers and stewards of very large county budgets. In the past three or four decades, Alabama has been transcending from a rural to a more urban state. Our larger counties, especially the big three of Jefferson, Madison and Mobile are really big businesses.
Randall Dueitt is doing a good job as Chairman of the Mobile County government. The Chairman of the Madison County government, Mac McCutcheon is working closely with Huntsville Mayor, Tommy Battle, to oversee the amazing growth of the Madison/Limestone/Morgan area of our state. The Jefferson County government led by Joe Knight and Jimmie Stephens is a tremendous and integral ingredient of the state’s largest county. Jefferson County government is one of the largest employers in Birmingham.
The aforementioned Joe Knight has served as President of the Alabama Association of County Commissions (ACCA) for the past year. The Association held their annual meeting in late August. Commissioner Knight handed over the gavel to Calhoun County Commissioner Lee Patterson. He plans to focus on rural health care. Lee hails from the Jacksonville/Piedmont area of Calhoun County. Patterson is smart, personable, and politically savvy. He will have a good year as President of ACCA. He has a bright future in Alabama Politics.
Other rising stars in the ACCA are Houston County Commission Chairman Brandon Shouppe, Baldwin County Commission Chairman Billie Jo Underwood, Justin Sawyer a Monroe County Commissioner, and Fayette County Probate Judge Mike Freeman, who is the former owner of an automobile dealership. He has quickly turned around Fayette County financial condition and is now actively involved in economic development in the area.
Colin Daley is doing an excellent job as chairman of the fast-growing Limestone County. His father served as chairman. Colin, now in his second term, is becoming a major leader in economic development in that area.
Desirae Lewis Jackson from Elmore County is a star on the rise in the Association. She is a young Republican lawyer to keep your eye on.
A superstar is set to arise on the scene of the ACCA in January from Lee County. Jere Colley, Jr. will become Probate Judge of Lee County, who will also serve as Chairman of the County Commission. He will do a great job of leading this important and booming county.
Sonny Brasfield is the Executive Director of the ACCA. He is a mainstay of the organization. Sonny is a Tuscaloosa native and graduate of the University of Alabama. He has been with the Association since 1988 (36 years) and Executive Director since the retirement of Buddy Sharpless in 2009 (15 years). His long tenure reflects his dedication and significant contributions to county governance in Alabama.
The Association of County Commissioners has long been a power on Goat Hill. Sonny Brasfield has sustained and advanced that power immensely. Governor Ivey’s 2019 Rebuild Alabama Road Program was fostered by Brasfield and the ACCA. The Act allotted almost 25% of the proceeds of the 10-cent increase in gas tax going to counties for road and bridge improvements.
Brasfield and the ACCA played a significant role in the development of Alabama’s internet sales tax (SSUT), that produces almost a billion dollars a year.
When the ACCA talks, legislators listen. The ACCA, established in 1929, concluded their 96th annual convention on August 22. It was a success with Senator Tommy Tuberville giving the keynote address.
An interesting note, Mac McCutcheon, the current Chairman of Madison County Commission, is a former Speaker of the Alabama House. His predecessor, Dale Strong, was elected to the Tennessee Valley Congressional District, and current Jefferson County Commissioner Mike Bolin is a former Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.
See you next week.
September 25, 2024 - Dr. Marnix Heersink – Physician/Philanthropist
The Wiregrass region of our state has been known as an agricultural area for over a century. However, in recent decadesDothan, the center and heart of the Wiregrass, has become a medical mecca for southeast Alabama, as well as the panhandle of Florida and a large area of southwest Georgia. Dothan is now a medical center city.
The healthcare industry is Houston County’s largest employer and most significant economic factor. The economic impact of medical care far eclipses agriculture dollars in the Peanut Capital of the World. Indeed, Dothan is second only to Birmingham in medical care in our state.
One of the primary reasons for Dothan’s preeminence in healthcare has been Dr. Marnix Heersink, the founder of Eye Center South. Dr. Heersink is generally considered one of, if notthe most prominent physicians in Alabama. His expertise as an ophthalmologist has been primarily cataract surgery. He has more than likely completed more successful cataract surgeries than any physician in Alabama history.
Marnix Heersink began his ophthalmology practice in downtown Dothan in 1980, with ophthalmology partner Dr. John Fortin. They quickly outgrew their initial location and relocated to the intersection of Ross Clark Circle and Fortner Street where Eye Center South stands today.
Eye Center South is like a medical center hospital facility. It is one of the most impressive and encompassing medical facilities in Alabama. Heersink’s Eye Center South Surgery Center is the cornerstone of his medical tower, which towers over Dothan’s Circle. It also accommodates an optometric division.
In 1984, Eye Center South began with two operating rooms and has flourished into a state-of-the-art facility, boasting twelve fully equipped operating rooms. The distinguished Dutch-inspired architecture of the health center pays homage to Dr. Heersink’s Dutch heritage, earning it the affectionate moniker “The Castle” among locals and visitors traveling along Ross Clark Circle.
Dr. Marnix Heersink was born in The Netherlands and raised in Canada. He received his BA and MD degrees from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. While completing his residency in ophthalmology he also completed a fellowship in cataract surgery and intraocular lens implantation, which was unique in that era.
Dr. Marnix Heersink and his beloved wife, Mary Parks Heersink, have been married for 45 years. Mary’s father was a renowned ophthalmologist. Marnix and Mary have six adult children all of whom are in the medical field – five physicians, and one dentist. Two of Dr. Heersink’s sons, Sebastian and Marius, are practicing ophthalmologists with their father.Marnix and Mary also enjoy spending time with their 10 grandchildren. Dr. and Mrs. Heersink have been committed to their children, their profession, their community, and their state.
A few years ago, Marnix and Mary Heersink made one of the most magnanimous and transformative gifts in state history.They donated $100 million to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical School. Last year the University ofAlabama Board of Trustees named the world famous UAB Medical School and Center for Dr. Heersink. Our state’s “crown jewel” is now named the Marnix Heersink School of Medicine.
The good doctor is a tall, towering, lean, distinguished gentleman who still operates every day at 77. To visit with him, you would never know that he has used his brilliance in medicine and business to become one of the wealthiest and most successful entrepreneurs in our state. His quiet, humble, and sincere persona exudes and exemplifies his caring and humility. After visiting with him, you feel that you are in the presence of a truly great, humble man who is sincerely interested and cares for you. There are thousands of patients who have felt that caring and healing demeanor over the past 45 years.
Marnix Heersink will go down in Alabama history as not only one of our great healers, but through his entrepreneurial skills, he is also one of the most profound philanthropists in our state.The Wiregrass and the State of Alabama will long remember the name of Marnix Heersink for generations.
See you next week.
September 18, 2024 - Jimmy Rane – An Alabama Legend
Abbeville’s Jimmy Rane has been heralded as the richest man in Alabama. Indeed, his wealth status has been documented in the Business Bible Forbes Magazine. He is a legitimate billionaire. Forbes estimates his net worth at $1.2 billion.
Jimmy is the only billionaire I have ever met. However, you would never know he was a mega wealthy Forbes Magazine businessman. He is as down to earth as an old shoe. To talk with him is like visiting with your lifetime cousin, who lived down the road. He is as humble as the day he was born, 77 years ago.He not only remains humble but is one of the most benevolent and kind men in Alabama. His benevolence and philanthropic endeavors are incomparable in the annals of Alabama history.
Jimmy Rane grew up and still lives in Abbeville. He is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Great Southern Wood Preserving Company. It is the largest pressure treated lumber producer in the world. Rane has elected to keep the company headquarters in his hometown of Abbeville, Alabama, a city of 2,000 in Henry County.
There is no question that he loves his hometown of Abbeville. His father, Mr. Tony, was the son of Italian immigrants. Tony Rane was stationed at Fort Rucker as a military man in World War II. He met and married a beautiful Wiregrass girl, Libba, whose family had lived in Abbeville for over 200 years. Jimmy’s parents settled in Abbeville and his father was successful owning several restaurants and a hotel. It is obvious that Jimmy adored his parents. Portraits of Mrs. Libba and Mr. Tony adorn his office walls.
Jimmy Rane attended Marion Military Institute, where he starred in football. He then went to Auburn University, graduated from his beloved Auburn in 1968, and continued on to earn his law degree from Cumberland School of Law in 1971.Jimmy was practicing law in Birmingham when his wife’s parents were killed in an automobile accident leaving behind a small lumber treatment plant on the brink of bankruptcy. Unable to sell the plant, Rane returned home to Abbeville to manage it.Rane operated the plant and made it successful, while at the same time holding down a smalltown law practice. He would also later become a Henry County Judge.
He held down three full time jobs/professions for 15 years until the mid-1980s. He decided to make Great Southern his objective. He quit his law career, borrowed a million dollars and jumped in with both feet. As they say, the rest is history.
He invested heavily in advertising primarily through college football, but also using himself. He appeared in advertisementsfor the company portraying a fictional cowboy named the “YellaFella.”
Jimmy Rane’s benevolence and generosity has been bestowed on primarily three things: the preservation of his hometown of Abbeville, Auburn University, and his Jimmy Rane Foundation,which provides college scholarships for deserving Alabama students.
Jimmy’s parents, Libba and Tony, loved Abbeville as does Jimmy. He has revitalized his hometown. It started early when he restored the Henry County Livestock Company stockyard. His father, Mr. Tony, was one of the founders. Huggin Molly’s, a restaurant in downtown Abbeville, came about as a tribute to his dad’s years in the restaurant business. The renovation of the Archie Theatre is a reminder of Jimmy’s childhood of going to the movies.
Jimmy Rane has been an influential and dedicated leader, supporter, and promoter of Auburn University for more than 50 years. He has served as a member of the Auburn University Board of Trustees since 1999. He provided the funds to construct the Anthony Rane Reception Center located in the Auburn University Athletics Complex. In recent years, Jimmy has given Auburn University a state-of-the-art culinary building. It is called the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center.
Jimmy Rane has a long history of supporting education. He established the Jimmy Rane Foundation in 2000 to provide college scholarships for deserving students. His goal was to help “the kids in the middle,” he said, “If you’re really poor, foundations and colleges have money for you. If you’re rich, you don’t need help. The people in the middle families who make too much money to get aid, but don’t make enough money to pay for college are the ones who need help.” By 2024, the foundation has awarded 680 college scholarships to outstandingand deserving students for a total of 7.2 million dollars in awards.
Jimmy Rane is not only an Alabama Legend, he is an Alabama Treasure.
See you next week.
September 11, 2024 - Remembering 9/11
It was 23 years ago on September 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked our country. It was a day in infamy and a wakeup call for America. Allow me to share some memories from that day from famous Alabama political figures.
The legendary Alabama political icon, Bill Baxley, was and is now one of the state’s top lawyers. He was trying a case in Guntersville at the Marshall County Courthouse. The lawyers were making their opening arguments, and someone came into the courtroom to tell them that a plane had flown into the New York World Trade Center. They adjourned court and the lawyers went back to an office in the courthouse and to watch. the developments on television. Baxley and the other lawyers actually saw the second and most devastating plane hit the buildings. They could not believe it. However, they returned to the courtroom and continued trying the case for the afternoon.
University of South Alabama President and former Mobile/Baldwin Congressman Jo Bonner was in a meeting in Montgomery. As the Congressman for the 1st District of Alabama, he was working with Alabama legislators on redistricting. He says, “It was a beautiful morning in Alabama’s Capital City. While meeting with the Alabama lawmakers over breakfast, I noticed an airplane flying into the World Trade Center in New York City on the big television that was set up in the Embassy Suites lobby. At about the same time, it seemed like everyone else had seen what I saw. Not surprisingly, quite a chatter arose in the lobby hotel. I was thinking ‘What kind of idiot would fly a small plane into the World Trade Center?!’ It became obvious that this was not an accident, but a terrorist attack. Our meetings were soon scrapped. America had been attacked and Americans soon began plotting a response.”
State Treasurer, Young Boozer, was a high-ranking executive with Colonial Bank. He arrived early at the Montgomery bankon One Commerce Street. He was in the process of managing and transferring funds with a New Your banker, who was in the South Tower. Someone told Young and his counterpart of the first plane hitting the tower. The New Yorker saw it out his window. He quickly and adroitly fled the office tower just in time. Young found a television and as he saw the second plane hit and the towers crumble, he prayerfully hoped his New York partner had escaped safely, which he did. At that time, Young had a horrific sickening feeling as he knew that his daughter was on a plane from London to New York. He sat somberly for several hours until he found out that his daughter’s plane had been diverted back to Heathrow in London.
State Senator Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road) had just begun his career as a young lawyer. He was practicing in the Beasley Law Firm in Montgomery. His wife called him when the first plane hit. When he hung up. He could hear people congregating and talking loudly in the hallway outside his office. They all went into a lawyer’s office which had a television. They all watched as the second plane hit the tower. They were all stunned and astonished as was the entire world.
Former State Senator Jimmy Holley of Elba was in Montgomery. The legislature was in session. He was in his hotel room in downtown Montgomery. He had his television on and saw the second plane hit the tower. He proceeded down to the Statehouse and the Senate went into session. They stayed in session determined to not let the terrorist attack deter them or change the way American government works or prevails.
State Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate was in the landscaping business in Montgomery on September 11, 2001.He and his longtime associate, Jason Walker, were sitting in their small office planning their day of work. There was no television in their workplace. However, Jason’s wife, Montgomery County Commissioner Rhonda Walker, called to tell him about the first plane hitting the Trade Tower. They went on about their day’s business and worked a full 10-hour day in the field with their crew. It was that night before Rick realized the impactful horror that had occurred in New York, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C. and at the Pentagon. In looking over his personal journal that day, Rick was shocked to see that his then 9-year-old son had watched all of the events unfold on television at home all day.
See you next week.
September 4, 2024 - Alabama Politics has been affected by Presidential Assassination Attempts
America has a long history of presidential assassinations and assassination attempts.
The two most notable, as well as history changing, were the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President, and John F. Kennedy, our 35th President.
I remember vividly the sad and poignant saga of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. It was a tragic event. The scenes are indelibly planted into the memories of those of us who are old enough to remember. A short time later his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated while running for president. The 1960’s was a tumultuous decade.
In recent decades, President Ronald Reagan was shot and recovered without any complications. Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush were attacked. Closer to home, our own Governor George C. Wallace was mortally shot during a presidential foray, but remarkably survived, although he was left paralyzed.
Governor Wallace was in the middle of his third term as Governor of our state. He was known as the most ardent segregationist in the nation. He had parlayed this notoriety into becoming a national presidential candidate. He was garnering large and fervent fiery crowds on the campaign trail. He was speaking at a rally in a parking lot in Laurel, Maryland, in May of 1972, when a crazed gunman named Arthur Bremer shot him several times and pierced numerous vital organs. Most people would not have survived. He was hospitalized in Maryland for over a month with it being touch and go as to whether he would live or die. He barely survived, but it left him a paraplegic. He was confined to a wheelchair and in constant pain for the rest of his life.
This year’s July 13th assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, and the assassination attempt on George Wallace were very similar. They both were helped immensely, politically, by the bullets. Trump was leading in the polls due to the obvious cognitive decline of Joe Biden. However, Trump’s resilience and quick defiant response was iconic. It has made him a martyr among Republicans.
The assassination attempt on Wallace also saved his political life and politics was his life. Wallace was not going to become the Democratic nominee in 1972, much less win the presidency. He was on a Don Quixote endeavor. However, being Governor of Alabama was his life and the bullets that riddled his body saved his political life.
Wallace had been elected Governor for his first term in 1962. He had ridden the race issue to his lifelong dream. He had won with the race issue. Big Jim Folsom was soft on the race issue and would not demagogue or race bait. Wallace was at the height of his popularity in 1966 and wanted a second term. However, the Alabama Constitution prohibited him from succeeding himself, so he ran his wife, Lurleen, in his stead. She won overwhelmingly. Wallace was actually Governor. Lurleen succumbed to cancer in 1968, and Lt. Governor Albert Brewer ascended to Governor for two years.
Wallace and Brewer clashed in the most titanic and bitter governor’s race in Alabama political history in 1970. In that race, Brewer led Wallace in the first primary, largely due to a gigantic Black voter turnout. Black Alabamians had just been given the right to vote by the 1965 Voting Rights Act and they were taking advantage of that right.
Wallace came back with the most overt, racist campaign ads in American history, and edged Brewer out and captured the Governor’s office for a third time. Wallace had been bitten by the presidential bug and ran in 1968. He was constantly out of state and not tending to being Governor. Brewer had wounded him with a slogan, “Alabama needs a full-time Governor.” Wallace had pleaded with Alabamians in the 1970 runoff. He went to every city and hamlet in the state and swore that, “if you elect me Governor, I will never again leave the state and will stay home and be a full-time Governor.” After his razor thin, come-from-behind, race baiting, “Full-time Governor” promising win, the next day he was on a plane to Wisconsin running for President.
Alabamians did not like this overt demagogic lie. He was not going to win the Governor’s race in 1974. Brewer and newcomers, Attorney General Bill Baxley and Lt. Governor Jere Beasley, were all planning to run in 1974. One of them would have beaten Wallace. However, after the bullet wounds in Maryland, sympathy for Wallace was too great. The three Bs had to wait until 1978. The assassin’s bullets severely ruined and limited Wallace’s life, but saved his political life.
See you next week.
August 28, 2024 - Labor was Dominant in Post-War Alabama
As we prepare for Labor Day this coming Monday, it reminds me how labor union laden Alabama was during the immediate post World War II era in our state’s industrial development.
Alabama experienced the wrenching throes of the Great Depression like the rest of the nation. There were tragic stories of devastation that paralleled those illuminated in the classic novel, The Grapes of Wrath. On the other hand, I have heard many old timers who lived during the Depression say we never knew there was a depression in Alabama. We were poor before,so there was no marked difference to our standard of living. We had plenty to eat. There were people jumping out of buildings in New York City committing suicide because they were millionaires one day and penniless the next. We didn’t have much of that in Alabama.
These Depression-era rumblings resonate pretty accurately because most Alabamians lived off the land. Most of our ancestors were farmers and most had modest farms where they grew all their staples and food. Therefore, the Depression probably did not change their standard of living. In fact, it could have helped them buy their Sunday suit and pair of shoes for the year at a reduced price.
The South was an agrarian region. There was little industry in Alabama. Eight out of ten Alabamians, black or white, made their living on the farm. Although they had enough to eat, they were poor compared to the rest of the nation. It was a hard life with little discretionary income.
World War II brought America out of the Great Depression. The country had to become industrialized in a hurry. Most of Alabama’s young yeomen farmers were drafted or enlisted in the military. They saw the world and were exposed to a vast new world of opportunity. They came home aspiring to more than their fathers had experienced. They wanted out of their poverty,but they also loved their native Alabama roots. The best of both worlds was about to occur. Industry came to Alabama.
The post-World War II economy expanded into the Heart of Dixie. Birmingham became one of the South’s largest cities. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal programs transformed the Tennessee Valley from an impoverished Appalachian region to a vibrant industrial area that would later attract Werner Von Braun and the Redstone Arsenal. The northern part of Alabama became the largest population base in the state due to this industrial expansion. Today it is still home to the majority ofAlabamians.
A new generation of Alabamians moved from the farm to the factory. They also went a step further than the rest of the South and joined labor unions. Alabama became the most unionized state in the South.
Every major industry in Alabama was served by a unionized workforce. The steel mills of Birmingham were Alabama’s largest employers. The United Steelworker’s Union ruled supreme. The state docks in Mobile boomed with the economic expansion. The dock workers were all unionized.
The explosion of new automobiles desired by Americans created the need for tires. Tire makers looked to Alabama and built major plants here. B.F. Goodrich landed in Tuscaloosa. Goodyear settled in Gadsden and Opelika. These tire plants became the largest employers in these three cities. They were all unionized.
The paper mills in Tuscaloosa were unionized. Reynolds Aluminum built their largest plant in the world in Sheffield. It became the premier employer in the Quad-Cities. The workers were all union. The massive Tennessee Valley Authority, which harnessed the vast natural water of the Tennessee Valley, gave employment to an array of north Alabamians. These TVA workers were union members.
The Black Belt planters were like ostriches with their heads buried in the sand when they wrote Big Jim Folsom off as a buffoon in the 1946 governor’s race. They dismissed Big Jim, who had won the overwhelming endorsement of the AFL-CIO. However, they quickly realized that their Alabama had changed when Big Jim crushed their candidate and became governor because of the endorsement of organized labor.
However, over the past half-century, the American and world economy has changed, and labor union strength has diminished almost to the point of insignificance in Alabama. Although recently organized labor has made an intense effort to organize workers in the state. They made a run earlier this year on our crown jewel Mercedes plant but fell short.
See you next week.
August 21, 2024 - Tommy Battle Reelected to Fifth Term as Mayor of Huntsville Unopposed
Over the years it has occurred to me that the real governing in our state, and more than likely in every state for that matter, is done by the mayors. We have a reservoir of the best people in our state who are mayors. The mayor of a city is the chief cook and bottle washer. Most Alabamians view their mayor as their best friend in the political world. They know their mayor. They have either watched him grow up or, if the mayor is older, the mayor has coached them in little league baseball or taught them in Sunday School.
They know their mayor personally and call on him to help solve their problems. Their mayor can resolve their daily problems within minutes. They look to their mayor to make sure they have a good school system, their roads are functional, to make sure they are safe in their homes from crime, and that their garbage is picked up timely. The mayor’s office is where the rubber meets the road.
The longer I live and the longer I write this column it is apparent that Alabama is a big front porch. My column appears in almost every local newspaper in the state. As a courtesy, most of the papers send me a copy in the mail. Over the years and still today, I read those local papers and know what is going on in the cities and towns throughout the state.
I can see what outstanding work our mayors in the state are doing for their cities and citizens they love and serve. These mayors are the real leaders in Alabama. They are not just fixing potholes, which is important, they are innovative, creative, and tremendous industrial recruiters and job creators.
Some of our big city mayors are leaving legacies of successful tenures that will be felt for generations. Walt Maddox in Tuscaloosa, Sandy Stimpson in Mobile, Frank Brocato in Hoover, and Mark Saliba in Dothan are truly making a difference.
However, some of the best governing in the state may be done by midsize city mayors in our state. Some who stand out are Gary Fuller in Opelika, Ashley Curry in Vestavia Hills, Gordon Stone in Pike Road, Ron Anders in Auburn, Jason Reeves in Troy, Bill Gillespie in Prattville, Mike Oakley in Centreville, William Cooper in Enterprise, Chuck Ables in Geraldine, David O’Mary in Jasper, Earl Johnson in Andalusia, Tony Haygood in Tuskegee, Craig Ford in Gadsden, Ronnie Marks in Athens, John Hinton in Northport, Dexter McLendon in Greenville,Woody Baird in Alexander City, Brian Bain in Fort Payne, and Eddie Lowe in Phenix City. Sherry Sullivan in her first term is doing a great job in Fairhope.
The brightest and most legendary mayor in Alabama in the last two decades has been Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle. He has led and spearheaded the unparalleled growth and prosperity of the Rocket City. Mayor Battle was just reelected without opposition to an unprecedented fifth, four-year term as Mayor of Huntsville. Battle has been the catalyst that has propelled Huntsville to becoming the largest city in Alabama. It is not only now the biggest population city of the state, it has the highest per capita income of any city of the Southeastern United States. It also has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.
Battle is 68. He was first elected in 2008 and has served four terms. In his last reelection in 2020, he garnered 80% of the vote. He is a successful businessman, who has concentrated on keeping Huntsville fiscally sound. Even through Huntsville’s amazing growth, Battle has kept the city on a balanced budget. He has led Huntsville to 14 straight years of Triple-A bond ratings. The consistently excellent bond ratings and overall fiscal health of the city are a testament to the success of Battle’s administration’s money management methods.
As the state looks towards the 2026 Governor’s race, Tommy Battle would be the obvious frontrunner. I have always believed that being mayor of a major city is a better training ground for governor than any other any other leadership post. However, Tommy Battle probably will not take the bait. He has a much better job being Mayor of Huntsville than being Governor of Alabama.
Tommy Battle has been an outstanding Mayor of Huntsville. He would also make a good Governor of Alabama.
See you next week.
August 14, 2024 - Wes Allen – Worthy and Unique Secretary of State
Alabama’s 54th Secretary of State Wes Allen is doing a very good job in his first term as Secretary of State of the great State of Alabama.
When he ran for this office, I said he was by far the best qualified person for this important post. This constitutional office is a real working position. It has a myriad of duties with dozens of employees to oversee. The primary reason that I knew he was the most qualified person was the fact that he had been the Probate Judge of Pike County for almost a decade. Although the Secretary of State wears several hats, the administering of elections is one of the more important duties and the highest profile of this job.
I also knew Wes Allen to be a young man of integrity. I have known Wes most of his life. His dad is State Senator Gerald Allen, who has represented Tuscaloosa and surrounding counties for over 30 years. I was already in the House of Representatives when Gerald came to the House in the mid 1980’s. Gerald and I bonded. He gravitated to me because he knew that Senator Richard Shelby and I were friends. Gerald was and still is a great admirer and friend of our revered and retired U.S. Senator Shelby. Both Gerald Allen and Richard Shelby hail from Tuscaloosa.
While we were in the House of Representatives, Gerald asked me several times to go to lunch with him in Tuscaloosa. He wanted me to meet his son of whom he was very proud. Finally,I journeyed to the Druid City where we ate at a famous meat and three restaurant on 15th Street. His son, Wes, joined us. Weswas everything Gerald said he was, very friendly and delightful. That was 35 years ago. Little did I know that Wes would one day sit in the same House seat that I was in when Wes and I first met, which is House District 89, representing Pike and Dale Counties. Wes was a student at the University of Alabama and a walk-on split end on Gene Stallings’ Alabama football team. Dabo Sweeney was Wes’ position coach.
While Probate Judge of Pike County, Wes conducted more than a dozen elections without a single error. He was and still is a pillar of the Troy/Pike County Community. I have watched him be a Christian conservative leader in the First Baptist Church in Troy. He was at every one of his children’s ballgames and coached their teams most of the time. While Probate Judge he was chosen to be President of the Probate Judges Association. In 2018, he left the Probate office and was elected overwhelmingly to the legislature. He served successfully alongside his dad for four years. I do not think we have ever seen a father/son duo serve simultaneously in the legislature in state history.
When Wes Allen was elected Secretary of State in 2022 and was sworn into office in January 2023, he set another unique precedent in state history. He became only the third person inAlabama history to serve in all three branches of State Constitutional Government – Judicial/Legislative and Executive– Judicial as Probate Judge, Legislative as a member of the House of Representatives 2018 to 2022, and now Executive as Secretary of State. Only two other men have accomplished this in Alabama government, George C. Wallace and John Purifoy.
Governor George C. Wallace was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives from Barbour County in 1946 at age 26. He served one four-year term and then went back home to be a Circuit Judge. In 1962 he was elected to his first of five terms as Governor of Alabama.
The only other man to do what Wes Allen and George Wallace had done was John Purifoy. John Purifoy had a prolific career in Alabama politics. He was a farmer from Wilcox County. He was born in 1842 and served in the Confederate Army. He was elected Probate Judge of Wilcox County in 1880, and later was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives. He was elected Secretary of State from the legislature, like Wes. He served as Secretary of State from 1915 to 1919. He was Alabama’s State Treasurer 1911 to 1915 and State Auditor from 1892 to 1896.
Wes Allen is not only a worthy Secretary of State, he has a unique place in Alabama political history.
See you next week.
August 7, 2024 - Presidential Race Between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris Will Be Close and Depend on Turnout
The decision by the Joe Biden inner circle to allow the poor fellow to get out of the Presidential race was a godsend for the Democratic Party.
It gives new life to the Democrats’ chances to keep the White House. The ascension of Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the ticket breathes new life into a dead campaign. Biden’s demise, mentally and physically, assured a Democratic presidential defeat on November 5, but also guaranteed the Democrats’ loss of the U.S. Senate, as well as their hopes to rest the majority of the House from the Republicans. The top of the ticket in a presidential year usually affects the results of down ballot congressional races.
The national electorate is divided evenly right down the middle with 45% Democratic locked in voters and a guaranteed 45% Republican voters. Therefore, the race between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump is all about turnout. It’s turnout, turnout, turnout. It does not matter how popular or what landslide numbers Trump gets in Alabama or how much Kamala Harris trounces Trump in California, it is all going to boil down to which candidate’s stalwart supportersturnout to vote in Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Trump and the Republicans came out of their successful GOP Convention two weeks ago with a bump and a five point lead. My guess is that when the Democrats end their convention in two weeks, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will be knotted at a dead even 45/45 in the six battleground states. The horserace numbers will remain the same for the final two months leading up to the November 5 election.
It will all depend on the enthusiasm and determination of the base of each team. Does the Trump Conservative Team vote enthusiastically as expected or does the Liberal Democratic Kamala Harris Team get its disciples to the polls? It will all boil down to turnout in six states. My guess is that it comes down to Wisconsin and Michigan.
Kamala Harris is the best candidate that the Democrats could field. She perfectly reflects the heart and soul of the Democratic Party, which are African American women. She will energize this base vote. It will be close in November.
Biden was in a diminished capacity when the Democrats ran him in 2020. They were able to hide him and not let people see him during that campaign year, and simply ran a campaign that was focused on voting against Donald Trump.
However, when he became President, he had to actually be seen and watched. It was apparent that he was not vital, cognitively. Over the past two years it has gotten progressively worse. This year, he has been on dramatic decline. In recent months, there have been some very comical scenes. It would make for a reality comedy show. You will probably see a reel in future years entitled “Old Joe runs for President.”
There are three scenes that stick out to me and would be his greatest hits. The first occurred at a D-Day event in France. You could tell that the European leaders were concerned and amused at Biden’s diminished capacity and demeanor. They were lining up to take a picture with the other European leaders when, all of a sudden, ole Joe starts wandering off toward a cliff and the Italian Prime Minister had to run grab him by the arm and bring him back.
Later that month, they took Joe to a fundraiser in Hollywoodwith Liberal Elite, left-wing movie stars. He was on stage with Barak Obama. When the program came to an end, he stood there on the stage with Obama in one of his memorable stares into space. He stood there with mouth open and that blank look in his eyes that clearly said, “Where am I? Where have they taken me?” After four full minutes of Joe frozen, staring into space, Obama took him by the arm and led him off the stage. The movie stars were probably thinking to themselves, “I came here to give money to a presidential race and instead I’m contributing to a geriatric care fund.” Indeed, Jill Biden has turned the White House into nothing more than the nation’s most expensive nursing home.
The coup de gras was the late June debate debacle. If everyone in the country did not know that Joe was out to lunch before, the 27 million people who watched that comedy show knew afterwards. His incoherent ramblings and slurred incomprehensible mumblings were bad and revealed that he probably did not know where he was. The saddest thing was that as Jill Biden helped him off the stage, she told him he did a good job.
See you next week.