April 17, 2019 - Host of Young and Female Lobbyists Have Taken Over the Statehouse
As I observe the legislature, it occurs to me that I am getting older. A lot of the legislators and lobbyists I have known over the years have moved on.
Montgomery is no longer an “Old Boys Club.” A cursory look at a typical day at the Alabama Statehouse would surprise you. An increasing number of professional women are a major part of the lawmaking process. There are a host of brilliant women under 40 who are at the forefront and yield a great deal of influence over the process of policy making in Alabama.
First on most lists is of course Katie Boyd Britt, who has recently been selected as head of the Business Council of Alabama. She is not only the first female to lead the organization, but by far the youngest at 37. Katie is dynamic, fierce and talented. She will be an outstanding advocate for the business community in the state. She is the former student body president of the University of Alabama as well as a graduate of the University of Alabama Law School.
Mary Margaret Carroll was the first female to join the state’s oldest governmental relations firm, Fine, Geddie and Associates. She is a brilliant superstar. Mary Margaret is from a prominent Ozark family and possesses a temperament professional demeanor that depicts class, character and intelligence. She has a proven combination of analytical, problem solving, legal and communications skills. She is known for her quiet confidence and conscientious discernment. Mary Margaret manages a broad array of interests in tech, insurance, natural resources, energy and education.
Mary Margaret Carroll and Katie Boyd Britt have amazingly similar backgrounds. Both are daughters of the Wiregrass. Mary Margaret is from Ozark and Katie Britt is from Enterprise. Both were student government presidents and were Chi Omegas at the University of Alabama.
Alison Hosp, who represents the Alabama Retail Association, has proven to be one of the most effective and professional governmental relations spokespersons for several years.
Maci Martin Walker is an outstanding contract lobbyist with the Christie Group. She has worked on dozens of policy measures over the years for major corporate clients.
Katherine Green Robertson is the Chief Legislative Liaison for the Attorney General’s office. She is a native of Selma and a graduate of Auburn University and the University of Alabama School of Law. Katherine previously worked for Senator Jeff Sessions as counselor during his tenure on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Robertson was one of the few former staffers called back to Washington to advise Sessions during his confirmation process as U.S. Attorney General.
First on many lists is Neah Mitchell Scott, who represents the revered Retirement Systems of Alabama. Neah is a brilliant attorney who posses excellent interpersonal skills that holds her in good stead representing the 800-pound gorilla that is the RSA before the state legislature. Neah is a native of Montgomery and a graduate of Auburn and the University of Alabama Law School.
Holly Caraway very aptly represents the Department of Mental Health. Holly is a native of Trussville and earned a BA, JD, and MBA from the University of Alabama. She is admired because she is a passionate advocate for causes in which she believes.
Ashley McLain is an extremely talented and confident lobbyist for the Alabama Education Association.
Brittany Bryan represents the State Personnel Board. She is one of the most experienced agency liaisons on this impressive group of female policy makers.
Molly Cagle, who represented Manufacture Alabama, is a star on the rise. She was stolen away by Katie Britt at the BCA. Molly is a former Auburn University Homecoming Queen.
Christian Becraft, who represents Auburn University, is another superstar.
Sally Corley, who represents the State Employees is one of the most well-liked young professionals in Montgomery.
All of the outstanding young governmental affairs folks in Montgomery are not all female. There are some bright and brilliant young male lobbyists, also. Two of the brightest are married to females just mentioned. Niko Corley, who represents the Medical Association of Alabama, is married to Sally. R.B. Walker, who represents Alabama Power, is married to Maci Walker.
David Cole, who has been an energetic stalwart advocate for ALFA, has gone to the BCA to work with Katie Britt. He was a key player in the recent passage of the infrastructure passage.
The University of Alabama has brought on young Charlie Taylor. He is smart and has a strong family history in Alabama politics.
Young William Filmore, the son of a prominent Wiregrass judge, is outstanding as the Governor’s legislative liaison.
See you next week.
April 10, 2019 - Legislative Issues Other Than Infrastructure/Gas Tax
There is no question that Governor Kay Ivey’s Infrastructure/Gas Tax Program was the cornerstone issue of this legislative session. This monumental legislation will be a tremendous enhancement for Alabama’s economic development for decades to come. Gov. Ivey and the legislative leadership deserve accolades for addressing this important project. They were indeed thinking of the next generation rather than the next election. Gov. Ivey deserves most of the credit. She reached across the aisle and garnered almost unanimous support from the democratic legislators. Indeed, the legislation passed the House on an 84-20 vote and passed 28-6 in the Senate.
However, other major issues will be on the table. The Alabama Department of Corrections is seeking a $42 million increase in their budget in order to hire much needed additional correctional officers. A federal judge has ordered the state to increase guards and mental health professionals.
State Sen. Jim McClendon of St. Clair County is listening to his constituents. Other legislators would be wise and well-served to be as diligent and in touch as McClendon. If they were they would join McClendon in offering to let their people vote on a state lottery.
There is a hue and cry from all corners of the state asking, “Why don’t we have a lottery. Why are we letting our money go to Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee?” Conservative estimates suggest a state lottery would generate between 66-to-90 million dollars in new revenues for Alabama.
Alabama is one of only five states without a state lottery. Senator McClendon will offer a proposal that would split the proceeds from a proposed lottery between the Education Trust Fund and General Fund Budgets. Believe you me, if it gets to the public for a vote it will pass. In every civic club I speak to around the state, the first question I am asked is, “Why in the world can’t we vote on and have a lottery.”
Senator McClendon is also continuing his crusade to stop motorists from having wrecks from distracted driving. He has a proposal that would forbid drivers from holding a cell phone and other devices while driving. Someone could use a handsfree system to text by voice and make and answer calls if they only touch one button. McClendon said his Bill is patterned after Georgia’s Law.
The state education coffers are overflowing; therefore, lawmakers may be able to give teachers a pay raise. Senator Arthur Orr and Representative Bill Poole, the chairmen of the Senate and House education budget committees, said they expect a pay raise for educators is a probability.
Even the General Fund has better revenue projections. State Representative, Steve Clouse, who chairs the House Budget Committee, has said that he is cautiously optimistic that there could be a small raise for state employees.
It would be unusual for a super majority Republican legislature to not pay homage to or adhere to some placating of gun owners in the Heart of Dixie. This year’s deference would allow people to carry a handgun without getting a concealed carry permit. Another bill would allow church members to carry their guns to church.
In bygone days, county sheriffs had a lot of political power. Long ago the legislature passed laws that allowed sheriffs to pocket money left over from jail food funds. It was a loophole that should have been closed years ago. Recently some sheriffs have been caught in this endeavor in a bold, brazen and very lucrative way. Sen. Arthur Orr has offered legislation to stop this archaic practice. His bill would require jail funds to go into a separate account that could only be used for feeding prisoners. Leftover funds could not be used for salaries.
State Sen. Rodger Smitherman (D-Birmingham), has again offered legislation that would require law enforcement officers to collect data on race and traffic stops. His bill cleared the Senate unanimously last year, but failed to come up in the House.
There has always been criticism aimed at PayDay loan companies in recent years. Their usurious practices have even caught the ire of Republican legislators. A legislative proposal would extend the time that people have to repay a PayDay loan from two weeks to a minimum of 30 days.
See you next week.
April 3, 2019 - State Budgets: Priority Number One
After their successful special five-day Special Session, the Legislature has been in their Regular Session for a few weeks now. The Session will end in June so it is about one-fourth over. Almost one-third of the members are new, freshmen if you will. Even though they are, for the most part a bright and talented group, they are still wet behind the ears when it comes to legislative ways.
Most are still striving to find their way to the bathrooms. Most major issues, especially revenue enhancement measures, are addressed in the first year of a four-year quadrennium. Bless their hearts, right off the bat they were hit with a major vote to increase the gas tax to support an infrastructure plan. That will make the rest of their first year a downhill slide.
There are indeed other issues that need addressing in the good old Heart of Dixie. Most Alabamians want the right to vote for a lottery, which they would vote for in a New York minute. Most folks think it is ludicrous that we simply give our money to our sister states. It is not a popular subject, but our prison overcrowding problem has to be addressed. Democratic members are vitally interested in expanding Medicaid to improve and meet the state healthcare needs. Rural hospitals need help. There is also a lot of interest in reforming our criminal justice system.
Even though these above mentioned problems and priorities need to be addressed, there is one Constitutional certainty that the two state budgets must be crafted and put to bed. Our state constitution also mandates that they must be balanced.
The Education Trust Fund budget is in good shape. Tax revenues that support education grew tremendously last year. Lawmakers will have more money to appropriate for schools. In fact, this will more than likely be the largest education budget in state history.
The Education coffers will also be enhanced by the Supreme Court ruling that allows the state to collect online sales taxes. In Alabama state and local sales taxes are the cornerstone of support for basic services.
The state’s growth taxes, income and sales, are earmarked for education. This lack of growth in the dollars that support the General Fund has caused headaches for the legislative leaders who write these budgets. However, these budget leaders have done a good job. In this current year’s General Fund budget, they were able to increase funding for state prisons. They also added extra dollars for mental health and law enforcement, as well as the state court system. In addition, the State Budget gave state employees their first cost-of-living raise in decades.
The $2.04 billion General Fund budget passed easily in the 2018 election year session. It was a different scenario in 2015 and 2016 when lawmakers took multiple special sessions to pass the budgets and reject an array of tax increases and lottery bills to close a large funding gap.
A bill passed in 2016 during a Special Session created a salvation for the General Fund – a plan to allocate most of the one-million BP oil spill settlement monies. It allowed legislators to carry over $93 million from the 2018 budget to this year.
In actuality, the state legislative leadership has very little discretion in budgeting. The vast majority of our state dollars directed to our state General Fund needs are earmarked. The General Fund Budget accounts for only 13 percent of Alabama’s total spending of $15.6 billion. For example our states gasoline tax is earmarked for roads and bridges and goes into the Road and Bridge Fund, which currently totals $492 million in this year’s budget. Of course that will be increased beginning in September.
Most folks are not really cognizant of the fact that most legislators do not really have a lot of input into the state budgets. The chairmen of the Budget Committees of each body, Ways and Means in the House and Finance and Taxation in the Senate, do the work and hold the power.
The chairmen of these prestigious and powerful committees are Rep. Bill Poole (R-Tuscaloosa), who chairs the House Education Budget Committee, and Rep. Steve Clouse (R-Ozark), who heads the General Fund. Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Escambia), chairs the Senate General Fund committee and veteran Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) heads the Education Finance Committee
As legislators grapple with all of the issues on their plate, one thing remains the same, the State Budgets are Priority number one!
See you next week.
March 27, 2019 - Infrastructure: Alabama Needs a Road Program. Wallace and Big Jim Knew This.
One of the obvious political changes in Alabama government over the last decades with the Republican takeover of the Legislature has been the reluctance to raise new revenue to fund state government. Many of the current Republican legislators came to Montgomery in 2010 with a no new tax pledge. Voting for any kind of tax or fee increase was considered blasphemous.
In bygone days, powerful governors like Big Jim Folsom and George Wallace would raise taxes at the drop of a hat. Especially when it came to a gasoline tax to build roads. It was perfunctory and almost mandatory for a governor to have a Road Program. That was their legacy and how they and their legislative allies made friends. It was expected that a governor would build roads. Raising the gas tax was the only way to create a Road Program. Folks didn’t seem to mind. Looks like this current Legislature may have realized they need a Road Program.
During the Wallace era, one day, Governor Wallace was having a benign news conference to talk politics and garner publicity. A young reporter out of the blue asked him a pointed question. “Governor, why do you give all the road building contracts and permits to your cronies, contributors and legislative allies?” Wallace looked at him quizzically and replied, “Who do you think I ought to give them to, my enemies?”
In 1983 I was a young freshman legislator and Wallace was in his last term as governor, and as usual, he was going to have a Road Program. Well he wasn’t just interested in raising the gas tax, he was taxing just about everything that wasn’t nailed down. He had already asked us to pass eight or nine “revenue enhancement measures,” before he came with the whopper the gas tax for roads, highways, and bridges.
I was actually Wallace’s representative since I represented his home county of Barbour. Therefore, I was dutifully voting with the governor because, believe me, our area was going to get more than our fair share with Wallace as Governor.
To get his gas tax passed, he went to the wall and resorted to a tactic he had used in past administrations in his earlier years as governor. He would bring us down to his office, 10-15 at a time and hot box you and prod a commitment out of you. Well, I was in a group with a particularly bad boy named W.F. “Noopie” Cosby from Selma. Noopie had voted against all of Wallace’s Revenue Enhancement Measures. Noopie had acquired his nickname early in life and I’m not sure anyone in Selma or anywhere else knew his given name.
Wallace, besides being almost completely deaf, had also gotten prematurely senile because of the tremendous amount of pain killers he had to take every day to even survive because of the devastating gunshot wounds to his body 10-years earlier. He was very hazy this day and he called Noopie “Nudy.” He must have called him Nudy 20 times. I could hardly contain my laughter. Several of us in the room laughed so hard we started crying. It was the most humorous dialogue I ever recall. Wallace said, “Nudy, you need you a road program.” “When I was a legislator I had a road program for Barbour County.” “Nudy you need a road program for Dallas County and Nudy we need these taxes for our road programs, so Nudy, here’s the way it works here.” “Nudy, if you vote for my taxes your road program will be part of my road program, but, Nudy if you don’t vote for my taxes I’m afraid you won’t have a road program and your road program will go to Barbour County.”
Big Jim Folsom had a Road Program. He built farm to market roads in every corner of the state so that Alabama small farmers who lived on dirt roads could get their crops to market. He made his legacy with this Farm to Market Road Program.
When I make a speech, in the state from Scottsboro to Dothan, many times I will share Big Jim stories with my audiences. Invariably, afterwards, some old timer will come up to me and say, “Flowers, if Big Jim was running for governor today, I’d vote for him. He paved my daddy’s road.
See you next week.
March 20, 2019 - Rural Roads need Fixing
Last week we talked about the importance that roads are to the economic development of our state. We spoke about urban growth and expansion, especially the needs for highways in Huntsville and the improvement of the Port in Mobile.
Well, I overlooked the needs and importance of our rural roads. Make no doubt about it, our rural roads need fixing too. A good many of the rural bridges in the state have been condemned and are hazardous for heavy trucks and school buses to travel. Many folks figure it would be cheaper to pay more for gasoline than it is to pay for having their frontends aligned and tires balanced every few weeks from hitting potholes in the road.
Some of our farm to market roads have not been fixed since Big Jim Folsom built them in the 1950’s. Big Jim left an indelible legacy as governor with his legendary and necessary Farm to Market program.
There are a good many stories and memories of Ole Big Jim surrounding his legend as a Farm to market Road and bridges builder. One of those stories comes out of Scottsboro and Jackson County in the northeast corner of Alabama. It is one of the prettiest parts of Alabama, especially in the Fall.
One of Big Jim’s favorite political friends was Representative John Snodgrass of Scottsboro. Big Jim loved John Snodgrass. The feeling was mutual. Big Jim decided to build a bridge and name it after his buddy. He didn’t just build a little bridge, he built a big bridge over the Tennessee River. The problem was they built the bridge where there was no road. Folk’s in Scottsboro marveled at the fact that the bridge they longed for was built without a road leading up to it.
Big Jim and Snodgrass never worried about it for a minute. They told the good folks in the Tennessee Valley, “Don’t you know that if you build a bridge, they’ve got to build a road to it?”
Sure enough, the road was built and is now the main thoroughfare through Sand Mountain – Highway 17 that runs through Jackson and Dekalb Counties. Ole Big Jim and Snodgrass were right, if you built a bridge a road will follow.
Big Jim built the bridge for his friend with the intention of calling it the John Snodgrass bridge. There got to be a lot of opposition to naming it after John Snodgrass because some of the folks didn’t believe that you should name something after somebody who was living.
Well, Snodgrass was heir to a great family name in Jackson County. His granddaddy and daddy had both been prominent judges in the county.
One day Big Jim pulled his friend Snodgrass aside and said, “John what was yore daddy’s name?” Snodgrass said, “John, just like me.” “What about your granddaddy?” John said, “John just like me.” Big Jim said, “Hell, they are both dead and they are named John Snodgrass. We will just name it after them and it will be really named after you.”
Shortly after naming the Snodgrass bridge, Big Jim was going to name another bridge in North Alabama that he had gotten built. The good folks in this county had worked on this bridge project for over a decade and Big Jim had gotten it done. The probate judge of the county had spearheaded the project and waited diligently on it and the bridge was going to be named after him, rightfully so.
Well the day of the bridge opening ceremony was set and Big Jim was headed out of Montgomery in the Governor’s limousine. As he passed the old Exchange Hotel he spotted his best drinking buddy. He got his driver to stop the car and grabbed his friend to join him on his journey to dedicate the bridge. To say that Big Jim and his friend had a couple of nips on the way would be an understatement. When Big Jim got to the dedication ceremony, he stumbled out of the car, barefooted, hair disheveled, tie loosened and drug his friend along with him. He stumbled to the stage and to the dismay of the crowd and especially the Probate Judge, pronounced the name of the bridge after his drinking buddy. He and his buddy, the proud honoree of a bridge, got back in the Governor’s car and drove back to Montgomery.
See you next week.
March 13, 2019 - Governor and Legislature Successfully Pass Infrastructure Program. Timing is Good.
Gov. Kay Ivey made infrastructure improvement in the state her cornerstone issue for this year, and more importantly for her term as governor. Within less than three months in office she and the Legislature have successfully accomplished this mission.
Last Friday the Alabama House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed monumental legislation on an 84-20 vote. It was a remarkable victory for the Governor and the House leadership. It was a bipartisan coalition of support. Only 18 of the 77 Republicans voted against the bills and only 2 of the 28 Democrats voted no. It is expected to pass in the Senate this week.
The leaders in the House were the sponsor, Rep. Bill Poole (R-Tuscaloosa), Speaker Mac McCutchen (R-Madison), Rep. Steve Clouse (R-Ozark), and Rep. Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville).
The Senate leaders are Sen. Clyde Chambliss (R-Prattville), who is the Senate leader-sponsor, Sen. Del Marsh (R-Anniston), Sen. Jabo Waggoner (R-Vestavia), Sen. Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro), and Sen. Greg Reed (R-Jasper).
These legislative leaders, along with Gov. Kay Ivey, threw down the gauntlet and clearly dug in to make this Infrastructure Initiative their number one priority. These leaders recognized the need to improve our roads and bridges and the long-term economic expansion of our state. They are truly thinking about the next generation, not the next election.
Huntsville is projected to grow faster than any city in America over the next decade. The job growth will continue to be in high paying, high tech jobs. The new Toyota-Mazda plant there will be the largest in the world. They were promised roads and highways as part of their incentive to locate in North Alabama.
Our port city, Mobile, could be as large as Houston, Texas but our Mobile docks are outdated and need widening and deepening, as well as proper facilities built to handle large vessels and transport barges. It is geographically better located than Houston or New Orleans. If the port was deepened and widened, it could accommodate exponentially more cargo ships. Currently it is too small and shallow for the Mercedes vehicles manufactured in Tuscaloosa to be shipped out of our Alabama port.
The primary reason that the Legislature needs to act now is because there is more than likely a federal infrastructure program on the horizon. If we are to participate in garnering federal funds, we undoubtedly will have to have state revenues to match and draw down the federal funds.
Twenty-eight states have already raised their fuel tax to match the anticipated federal money. Let me tell you a little secret, ain’t any of those 28 states going to get to the federal trough ahead of us. None of them have the Chairman of the United States Senate Appropriations Committee.
Our Senior Senator, Richard Shelby, chairs the Appropriations Committee. He writes the federal budget. Therefore, he controls the United States federal checkbook. If we become the 29th state to get the ability to match federal funds, we don’t become the 29th state in line. We move to number one on the list.
Alabama has a treasure in Richard Shelby. He has not only been the longest serving U.S. Senator in Alabama history, he is also the most powerful U.S. Senator in Alabama history. His prowess and adroitness at bringing home the bacon to Alabama is legendary.
In my book, Six Decades of Colorful Alabama Political Stories, I have a Chapter entitled “Alabama’s Three Greatest U.S. Senators.” My suggestion was that U.S. Senators Lister Hill, John Sparkman, and Richard Shelby have been Alabama’s greatest. However, if I was writing that Chapter today, Shelby would be in a league of his own as the most powerful Senator in Alabama history.
Senators Hill and Sparkman were powerful and left a legacy, Hill in medical research and rural hospitals throughout the nation and Alabama. Sparkman was the Father of the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville and delivered hallmark legislation that afforded housing for Americans as Chairman of the Banking Committee.
Senator Shelby over his 32 plus years in the Senate has chaired the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, Intelligence Committee and Rules Committee. However, his current perch as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee is unparalleled. Alabama has never had a Chairman of the United States Senate Appropriations Committee and more than likely never will again.
See you next week.
March 6, 2019 - State Revenues Up as Legislature Prepares for Session and Crafting of State Budgets
The Governor has been inaugurated and the Legislature has had its organizational session. The quadrennium has begun. Therefore, it is time for our state officials to get to work.
Among the three branches of government, Legislative, Executive and Judicial, our 1901 Alabama Constitution renders our Legislative Branch as the most powerful.
Some of you who witnessed the Wallace Era may disagree and point to the Executive Branch. That was a unique Era. Wallace had basically become “King” of Alabama politics from 1963 through 1986 with a couple of interlopers taking four-year residency in Wallace’s Governor’s Home on Perry Street. They left all of the wheelchair accessibility aspects and Wallace features designed for his paralysis and his cigar smoking bedroom in the Mansion alone. They probably assumed he would return after his constitutionally mandated hiatus. There will never be another politician that will control the reins of state government for five terms like Wallace did. He essentially established himself as “King of Alabama” in pretty much the same way as Franklin Delano Roosevelt did as President from 1932 until his death in 1945. Ironically and coincidentally, both ruled from wheelchairs.
Wallace simply owned the State Legislature. He was like a dictator and legislators were his puppets. As a young legislator, I watched as Wallace’s lieutenants simply sent the Agenda for the day down from the Governor’s office, bypassing the Rules Committee completely. The Governor’s budget became the budget. If there was any pork in the budget, it went to Wallace’s loyal legislators. Thankfully, I represented Wallace’s home county of Barbour. Therefore, my district was on the pork list. In essence during that 20-year Wallace reign, the Legislature was simply an appendage of the Governor’s office.
That is not the case today. The Legislature has assumed its inherent power. That power is derived from the power of the purse. The Legislature controls the appropriation of the state’s dollars, the ways and means of State Government if you will. It is the most powerful branch because it controls the purse strings. Thus the old political Golden Rule, “Those that control the gold make the rules.”
Governor Kay Ivey and the State Legislature have a golden opportunity to have a successful four years. They are all of the same party and have a close working relationship. As Lt. Governor and presiding officer of the Senate for over six years, Kay built an excellent rapport with the Republican leadership in the State Senate. She understands the workings and machinations of the Legislature and she has built excellent relationships with members of both the House and Senate. She is especially close to the Senate leaders like Del Marsh, Jabo Waggoner and Greg Reed.
The Legislature is overwhelmingly Republican. The Senate has 27 Republicans and only eight Democrats. There is an equally supermajority in the House. The numbers there are 77 to 28.
The Legislature and Governor are also the recipients of outstanding financial news as they begin their first regular legislative session this week. Alabama is seeing the strongest tax growth since the Great Recession a decade ago.
The tax dollars that makeup the Educational Trust Fund have grown by 6.9 percent over 2017. That is a whopping $428 million more dollars to work with in the crafting of the next fiscal year’s budget. The primary sources for funding the Education Budget are income and sales tax. Income taxes, the biggest source of school funding, grew by more than $300 million this past year.
It appears that President Trump and the Republican Congress’ passage of a tax cut package last year has been the stimulus for the growth in revenue for Alabama’s tax coffers. Even the beleaguered General Fund Budget is in better shape than was first thought. Our General Fund reaps its revenues from different taxes and tends to grow much more slowly than the Education Fund revenues. However, it grew by $76 million. This is a 2% gain, which puts the General Fund Projection close to $2 billion.
The good news for Legislators as they prepare the budgets for next year is that both fund’s revenues have exceeded projections.
See you next week.
February 27, 2019 - First Quarter of 2019. Eventful Politically. 2020 Campaigns are Kicking Off
As the first quarter of 2019 closes, a lot has happened. The governor and all of our constitutional officials have been sworn in and have begun their four-year terms in office with Kay Ivey as Governor, Will Ainsworth as Lt. Governor, John Merrill as Secretary of State, John McMillan as State Treasurer, Rick Pate as Agriculture Commissioner, and Jim Ziegler begins his second term as State Auditor.
More importantly, the State Legislature has organized and the Regular Session begins next week. They will be dealing with a myriad of major issues, not the least of which are the two state budgets. The Legislature is more important than who the Governor is in state government. The reason being is they appropriate the money. Those who have the gold make the rules. Another apropos adage is the Governor proposes but the Legislature disposes.
The powers in the 35-member Senate are Senator Del Marsh (R-Anniston), Senator Greg Reed (R-Jasper), Senator Jabo Waggonner (R-Vestavia), Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) and Senator Greg Albritton (R-Escambia). Orr and Albritton chair the Finance and Taxation Committees.
The leadership of the House consists of Speaker Mac McCutchen (R-Madison), Representative Victor Gaston (R-Mobile), Representative Mike Jones (R-Covington), Representative Bill Poole (R-Tuscaloosa), and Representative Steve Clouse (R-Ozark). Poole and Clouse chair the Budget Committees in the House.
All of the above lawmakers are Republicans. There is a super majority Republican domination in both Chambers. There are 77 Republicans in the House and only 28 Democrats. The State Senate is comprised of 28 Republicans with only 7 Democrats. There is only one white Democrat in the Senate. Senator Billy Beasley of Barbour, George Wallace’s home county.
As predicted the 2020 campaigns have begun. We have a presidential campaign next year. It should be interesting. We also have a U.S. Senate race. Our anomaly, Democratic Junior U.S. Senator Doug “the California Kid” Jones will be running for a full term as a U.S. Senator. His philosophy and voting record more closely reflects a California senator than his Alabama counterpart, Senator Richard Shelby. He is truly unashamedly a Liberal National Democrat. He votes right down the line with the Liberal Democratic leadership in Washington. His voting record is identical to Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders.
It is more of a parody than anomaly that one of the most, if not the most conservative states in America would have a Liberal Democrat representing them in the U. S. Senate. Indeed Jones is the only Democrat in any Deep South state in the Senate.
It would be safe to say that Jones will be the underdog next year. Unfortunately, for him, he more than likely will not have Roy Moore to run against. Although my guess is that Roy Moore might run. All of the early Republican entrees or prospects are up in age, which is not conducive to building seniority or power in the Senate. Roy Moore over is over 70. State Auditor, Jim Zeigler is 70, Congressman Bradley Byrne is 63, and State Senator Del Marsh is 62.
Byrne and Ziegler have significant name identification having run statewide and built a statewide organization. They would be the early favorites. Marsh can be a player if he is willing to spend his personal money. It would take $2 to 3 million to put him in the game.
Lt. Governor, Will Ainsworth, would be the perfect choice to take the Jeff Sessions/Jones seat. He is 37 years old and could build power for the state in Washington.
The Republican to watch, if he enters the Senate race, is Secretary of State John Merrill. He has a free shot. He has the best and broadest statewide grassroots political organization in modern Alabama political history. Nobody will come close to outworking him.
The Presidential Campaign Caravan has begun. There are a host of Liberal Democratic Senators lining up. Liberal is the optimum word, but most would prefer to be labeled Socialists. Their states will give you an indication of their philosophical tint. Senator Kristen Gillibrand of New York, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Senator Kamala Harris are seeking the Democratic nomination. A true Socialist Senator, Bernie Sanders, will more than likely join the fray. Also in is Julian Castro, who was Housing Director in the Obama Administration. His philosophy is akin to Fidel Castro.
Doug Jones should run for president. His Senate voting record is just as liberal as the aforementioned other Democratic senators. He has a proven Civil Rights record and his fundraising base is built in California and New York. His odds are probably better for winning the Democratic nomination for President than being elected to a full term as a Democratic Senator from the Heart of Dixie.
See you next week.
February 20, 2019 - Alabama Leads the Way with Female Government Leadership: Kay Ivey, Katie Britt, and Twinkle Cavanaugh
There has been a lot of talk about the advancement of women in politics over the past year. It has been suggested that more progressive states have led the way with this change. Alabama can very well make the case that we lead the nation in women taking leadership roles in our state.
It is very doubtful that any state in the nation can claim a female governor and a female chief executive of their states leading business organization.
Kay Ivey became Governor on January 14, after having been elected to her own four-year term in November. Kay had previously been the State Treasurer for eight-years and Lt. Governor for six-years. She was serving an unexpired term as Governor for two-years prior to her election last year.
On January 2, Katie Boyd Britt took over the reins of the state’s most powerful political organization, the Business Council of Alabama. She is the first woman to serve as the BCA’s President and Chief Executive Officer. She is not only the first woman CEO, she is by far the youngest CEO in BCA history.
Katie Britt comes to the BCA from Senator Richard Shelby’s office where she has been our Senior Senator’s Chief of Staff. Alabama Power CEO, Mark Crosswhite, who chairs the BCA’s Executive Committee said, “As the top staff member for Senator Shelby, she has worked daily with businesses and elected officials from Alabama and the country.
Katie has always been a bright star on the Alabama political stage. She grew up in Enterprise and served as President of the Student Government Association at the University of Alabama then graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law. Before becoming Chief of Staff, she worked in several posts in Senator Shelby’s office including Press Secretary. She is married to Wesley Britt, a former Alabama and professional football player and they have two children.
As Senator Shelby’s top advisor for the last five years, she has headed his Judicial Nomination Task Force. She has spearheaded the effort to recommend young talent for the eight vacancies serving Alabama on the Federal Circuit and District Court Benches.
As the Senator’s Chief of Staff, Katie has managed all of Shelby’s DC and state operations including matters relating to personnel throughout his six offices. She has overseen an administrative annual budget of almost $4 million. In addition, as Chief of Staff, she has been our Senior Senator’s ambassador before constituents’ community leaders, industry association heads and senior executives across our state and nation.
Upon taking the BCA reins, Katie said, “My heart is in Alabama. Our state has made significant progress in recent years and I am honored to have been chosen to lead the BCA during this time of growth.”
Kay and Katie are not the only female governmental leaders. Twinkle Cavanaugh serves as President of the Alabama Public Service Commission. She has been a state leader for decades. She is a past Chairman of the State Republican Party.
Our seven-member congressional delegation boasts of two female delegates to Congress. Given the fact that we only have seven congressional seats, two out of seven is a pretty good percentage.
Congresswoman Terri Sewell has represented the Seventh District of Alabama for close to a decade. She is on a fast leadership track in the Democratic House caucus. She is a Harvard educated lawyer who was born and raised in Selma. Her sprawling district, includes Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery and all of the Black Belt.
Congresswoman Martha Roby has represented southeast Alabama’s second district for close to a decade. She is also on a fast track within her party ranks. She is a favorite among the House Republican leadership.
Therefore, folks, Alabama does not take a backseat to any state when it comes to females in leadership roles in government.
Gov. Kay Ivey came out strongly in favor of a gasoline tax to meet the state’s infrastructure needs in her Inaugural Address. If successful, she will not only go down in history as the first female Republican governor and first female governor elected in her own right, she will also leave a legacy of improving Alabama economically for decades to come.
See you next week.
February 13, 2019 - AEA Dead or Not? The NEA needs to go home - the in-laws have overstayed their welcome
The Alabama Education Association (AEA) was the most powerful and influential political organization in Alabama for close to three decades. The late Dr. Paul Hubbert was the builder and King of this powerful organization. He became known as the King of Goat Hill. He reigned omnipotently over the Legislature.
All dynasties have to end. The AEA reign began to end with Dr. Hubbert’s retirement. The choice to succeed Dr. Hubbert with Henry Mabry was devastating for the organization. Mabry’s ludicrous and foolhardy stay was the worst nightmare that Hubbert could have imagined.
The AEA was Dr. Hubbert’s child. He was a steward and fierce and frugal protector of their financial resources. He did not throw his organizations money away. Henry Mabry did.
Mabry appeared to be on a mission to dismantle and ransack AEA’s treasury and he succeeded. It made Dr. Hubbert sick and probably helped drive him to his grave. Mabry frivolously depleted the organization’s resources as well as their Political Action Committee’s dollars.
I witnessed a prime example of Mabry’s spiteful frivolity. Dr. Hubbert had an in-house polling group, probably the best in the state. He knew through his polling what legislators could be beaten and who could not be beaten. Mabry inherited this pollster.
Veteran State Senator, Jimmy Holley, had refused to do Mabry’s bidding on an issue. Mabry decided to come after Holley. AEA’s polling showed that Holley could not be beaten and that he would win 60-to-40 against whoever ran. Mabry went to Coffee County and found a candidate to run against Holley, an inept fellow who couldn’t win regardless. Mabry promised and gave the candidate $100,000. They spent it and the polling revealed the same, Holley 60-40. The pollster told Mabry the result was going to be the same. Mabry stubbornly and stupidly spent another $100,000 on the erstwhile candidate. The final result was Holley won, 60-to-40. This scenario played out all over the state.
Mabry began the death of the AEA. A fellow with a name similar to Dr. Hubbert, Mike Hubbard, rode the Republican sweep of the Legislature into a reign as Speaker of the House. Hubbard in true Machiavellian form laid the final stake in the heart of the AEA. Hubbard made it his mission to lay the AEA to rest. The most destructive stake was the legislative prohibition of their automatic payroll deductions. This dealt a fatal blow to the funding stream that supported their powerful PAC.
As the AEA lay in disarray and on life support, the National Education Association (NEA) stepped in to stabilize AEA.
AEA and its dedicated Alabama members have climbed out of that pit. They have elected a strong Board of Representatives from throughout the state. They have worked diligently and paid back their debt to NEA.
However, the NEA, similar to Reconstruction liberals from up North who refused to go home, now want to stay and keep control and take over the AEA’s resources. NEA is overtly involving itself in the state organizations governing process, ignoring the will of the Alabama membership and refusing to relinquish its cash cow.
Some folks remember the days of the company store where employees had to spend their checks and stay indebted to the company and truly never find freedom again. We are witnessing that scenario play out here in Alabama with the NEA’s foot on the necks of the local AEA.
Alabama’s teachers, bus drivers, nurses and lunchroom staff work for very little pay to educate our children. They help to build our future work force.
AEA’s members are local Alabamians who are not wild-eyed liberals. AEA’s members and Board members reflect Alabama values and do not mirror the liberal NEA values.
It is time for the NEA to exit Alabama and allow the AEA to work with the Alabama legislature and business leaders to improve education in Alabama. In other words, the in-laws have overstayed their welcome. It’s time for them to go home.
See you next week.