May 10, 2023 - Dr. David Bronner Celebrates Fifty Years as CEO of RSA
The legendary head of the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA), Dr. David Bronner, celebrates 50 years as CEO this month. When the annals of Alabama history are written, there will never be an Alabamian as remarkable a public servant to our state than David Bronner.
Dr. David Bronner has marked his place in Alabama governmental history. When Bronner took his present job with RSA, the Retirement Systems had approximately $500 million of funds. Today, RSA has approximately $43.9 billion in funds under management and manages the pensions for 385,000 public teachers and public employees.
Alabama public employees will swear by, standup for, and place on a golden pedestal David Bronner. They credit him with securing their retirement years with a solid foundation. Indeed, he has. The Employees’ Retirement System and the Teachers’ Retirement System are financially sound and the envy of most other states. Bronner is quick to credit the Alabama Legislature for their part in helping to ensure the systems are fully funded, which is something that has set RSA apart from pensions in other states.
Dr. Bronner is also the head of the insurance program for public educators, the Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan. This program covers over 300,000 educators, retirees, and dependents. This $1.4 billion a year program provides excellent benefits to members at a low cost to both the members and employers. In fact, RSA has managed the plan with level funding for the past seven years and plans to do the same in the coming year.
Bronner was born in Iowa and received his elementary and high school education in Minnesota. He came to Alabama to study law. He earned his Law Degree and PHD from the University of Alabama in 1972. Shortly after graduation, he became Assistant Dean of the Law School at the University of Alabama. A year later, at the age of 28, he became head of the Retirement Systems of Alabama.
Today, 50 years later, Bronner is a youthful looking 78 with plenty of vigor and probably no plans to retire. When you have a conversation with him it is an experience you will never forget. He is extremely quick witted. There is no mistaking that you are talking with someone very intelligent. He has digested your words almost before they are out of your mouth and will reply immediately with a succinct response that appears as though he has given it 15 minutes of thought. Of course, that may be because we native Alabamians talk a little slower than he does.
The Retirement Systems of Alabama has contributed a great deal to the state’s economy over the last 50 years. One the greatest legacies that Dr. Bronner may enjoy is his creation of Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. This idea generated a profit for RSA in the first years. The brilliance of the Golf Trail is not only the profits the Trail generates for the RSA, but the peripheral boost to our state’s economy.
The Golf Trail has enhanced the image of Alabama. It has also benefitted the state’s attractiveness for corporate recruitment. The economic benefits and prestige that it brings to our state are exponential and helped increase tourism from a $1.8 billion industry to a yearly $24 plus billion industry.
The courses have made Alabama a tourist destination. It brings well-heeled northern golfers to our state for week-long stays and they spend untold amounts of money in our hotels and restaurants. Snowbird golf enthusiasts are locked out of their courses six to seven months of the year so they journey to warm climates of the Heart of Dixie to play these world class courses. They might look at the adjoining hole and see Dr. Bronner playing, chomping on his ever-present cigar.
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s first seven sites were constructed in Birmingham, Mobile, Huntsville, Opelika-Auburn, Dothan, and Greenville. These seven were completed from 1990 to 1994. The Prattville site opened, and the Lakewood Club course in Point Clear joined the Trail in 1999. The premier Hoover site at Ross Bridge appeared in 2005.
The Ross Bridge course and Ross Bridge Renaissance Resort Hotel and Spa may be the crown jewel. This Hoover location attracts national conventions and has spawned one of the premier residential neighborhoods in the state. Ross Bridge is home to a good many of the young physicians and medical specialists from UAB.
Dr. Mark Fagan has authored a wonderful book on Alabama’s Golf Trail, Dr. Bronner and the RSA. It is entitled, Alabama’s Public Pension Fund Growth and Economic Expansions Since 1972.
See you next week.
May 3, 2023 - Jabo Waggoner – An Alabama Political Icon
As I stroll down the halls of the Alabama Senate during this current Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature, I will stop and visit in the offices of my favorite legislative buddies. My favorite and first stop is with my longtime friend Jabo Waggoner. Jabo, being the Dean of the legislature, has the first prime corner office. He also chairs the agenda setting Rules Committee. Therefore, there is a throng of high priced lobbyists camped outside the door trying to get Jabo to put their bills on the Special Order Calendar.
Jabo and I will swap stories of bygone years and reminisce about past experiences. Jabo is a big sports fan and was a great college basketball player .In fact, Jabo was one of the founders and remains on the Board of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, which is located in downtown Birmingham. Jabo, Gene Hallman, and Edgar Welden were the pillars and founders of this prestigious Institution. One of Jabo’s and my favorite remembrances is going together to the Olympic Soccer Games held at Legion Field in Birmingham.
Recently while visiting Jabo, I thought, “I am with an Alabama political icon.” Jabo Waggoner has been in the Alabama Legislature for 50 years this year. Folks, that is an Alabama record. Jabo Waggoner is the longest serving legislator in Alabama history. He served 17 years in the Alabama House of Representatives and is in his 33rd year in the Alabama Senate.
Jabo was first elected to the Alabama Senate in 1990. The heart of his district has always been the entire city of Vestavia. He also represents parts of Homewood and Hoover. This is a very Republican area and therefore, Jabo is an arch Republican.
Jabo is revered in Jefferson County, but his popularity extends beyond Jefferson and Shelby counties. When Kay Ivey was running for Governor for the first time in 2018, she asked Jabo to be her titular campaign manager. He introduced her as she announced her candidacy.
Jabo is adored by his Senate colleagues, especially the younger state senators. They throng to him for tutoring and mentoring. The Senate leaders, Greg Reed of Jasper and Clay Scofield of Arab, seek his guidance on tricky senate maneuverings.
Jabo was the Republican Minority Leader of the State Senate from 1999 until the Republicans gained a legislative majority in 2010. He was the first Republican Majority Leader, then relinquished that role to be the Rules Chairman where he currently serves.
Jabo is married to his high school sweetheart Marilyn. They have been married for over 60 years. I have never met a more beautiful or sweeter lady than Marilyn Waggoner. They had four children, three sons and a daughter. One of their sons, Scott, died at an early age in an automobile accident.
Jabo and Marilyn are ardent members of the Homewood Church of Christ. They attend almost every Sunday and sit with Jabo’s best friend Dr. Swaid Swaid and his wife, Christy. Jabo’s and Marilyn’s children attend the same church.
Jabo Waggoner has done a lot for Jefferson County for over 50 years. It would take a book to chronicle his legislative accomplishments and good deeds. In the 1970’s Waggoner sponsored legislation which spearheaded the purchase of 45 blocks in downtown Birmingham for UAB’s expansion. UAB purchased this property, which was valued at $8.5 million at that time. There is no telling what that land is worth today – probably well over $200 million to $300 million.
Jabo was first elected to the legislature in 1966. It is no coincidence that UAB has grown into one of the premier medical and research institutions in America and the Crown Jewel of Alabama during that same period. Although Jabo is an arch conservative Republican, he has forged a close working relationship with his fellow Democratic Senate leader Roger Smitherman to work across the aisle for the good of Jefferson County.
In closing, in all my years of following Alabama politics, I have never seen a more modest or amicable leader than Jabo Waggoner, Jr. I have never seen or heard of anyone who has ever met Jabo that did not like him. Jabo Waggoner is an icon of Alabama political history.
See you next week.
April 26, 2023 - Alabama has a Host of Outstanding Political Leaders under 45
It may appear to you and most casual observers of Alabama politics that our Alabama elected officials are old. That observation is accurate when you observe our current leaders in the highest offices.
The governor’s office has been held by mature folks in recent years. Our current Governor, Kay Ivey, is 78 and has been the object of national media humor for appearing to be a pistol toting great grandmother. Dr. Robert Bentley, her predecessor, was in his 70’s, but he may have been sprier than he appeared. Bob Riley was no spring chicken while governor at age 65, although he looked younger. Our iconic senator, Richard Shelby, retired in January at 88 after a record breaking 36 years in the U.S. Senate. Our new Senior Senator, Tommy Tuberville, is 68.
This was not always the case in the Heart of Dixie. In the period from 1930 through 1970, we elected the youngest political leaders in the nation beginning with our legendary tandem of United States Senators, Lister Hill and John Sparkman, who served together close to 30 years. Lister Hill was elected to Congress from Montgomery in 1923 at age 29 and was elected to the U.S. Senate at age 44. John Sparkman was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1946 at 46 after serving as the Congressman for the Tennessee Valley.
If you think Hill and Sparkman were young when they went to Washington, you have not seen anything like the governors we elected from 1946 -1966. James E. “Big Jim” Folsom was 38 when he was elected in 1946. John Patterson was 37 when he was elected in 1958. Patterson was referred to as the “Boy Governor.” When George Wallace was elected to his first term in 1962, he was only 43. When his wife Lurleen Wallace was elected in 1966, she was 40. She died in office of cancer less than two years later at 41.
Lurleen Wallace was succeeded by Lt. Governor Albert Brewer, who had been Speaker of the Alabama House at 34, Lt. Governor at 38, and was 39 when he became governor.
Bill Baxley was the youngest Attorney General in America when he was elected Attorney General of Alabama at 29 years old in 1970. He had been a 25 year old District Attorney in Houston and Henry Counties. Baxley still practices law in Birmingham at 81.
Well folks, a cursory look at our current top elected officials may appear old, however, we have a generation of young political leaders arriving on the scene in Alabama.
We already have superstars on the horizon and already on the scene who are under 45.
Our new United States Senator, Katie Britt, is only 40 years old. She has the ability and youthfulness to be one of Alabama’s greatest senators. She has gotten to the Senate at a younger age than Hill, Sparkman, or Shelby.
Marshall County has become the hot bed and breeding ground for the next generations of Alabama political leaders. This beautiful pristine lake area of North Alabama lays claim to Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth age 41, State Senate Majority leader, Clay Scofield age 42 and State Representative Wes Kitchens who is 35 and is Vice Chairman of the House Republican Caucus.
Andrew Sorrell, the newly elected State Auditor, is only 37. He has a bright future.
The brightest star in the Democratic ranks is Huntsville State Representative Anthony Daniels. At age 40, Daniels is a superstar. He is in his third term in the House from Huntsville. He is the Minority Leader in the House. This gentleman is also a successful high tech businessman in the Rocket City.
There are several other stars under 45 in the Alabama House of Representatives beside Daniels and Kitchens, including Kyle South of Fayette, Matt Simpson of Daphne, Joe Lovvorn of Auburn, Ben Robbins of Sylacauga, Scott Stadthagen of Madison, Corey Harbison of Cullman, and very young newcomers James Lomax of Huntsville and Brock Colvin of Albertville.
Joining the affable and accomplished 42 year old Senate Majority Leader, Clay Scofield, in the powerful State Senate in the under 45 superstar group are Senator Chris Elliott 42 of Baldwin, Senator Andrew Jones 38 of Cherokee, and newly elected Senator Josh Carnley from Coffee County who is 44.
Alabama has a host of under 45 political leaders.
See you next week.
April 19, 2023 - Our National Debt is Unsustainable
As the first Regular Session of the Quadrennium evolves there are a myriad of complex issues arising. I am reminded of three simple truisms regarding the Alabama legislature and the governing of the State of Alabama.
First of all, if anything significant or controversial or any major initiative is to be addressed, then it is dealt with in the first year of the four-year quadrennium. Thus, giving legislators three years before their constituents vote on them again. The political pragmatism and expectation is that voters will forget.
Secondly, there may seem to be an urge to deal with all the hundreds of bills that have been thrown into the hopper and special interest groups or lobbyists are espousing that a particular piece of legislation has to be dealt with or it will be the downfall of the state. Not so. The only definitive legislation that has to be dealt with are the state budgets. That is the only constitutional mandate required of legislators in a session.
The third truism surrounds the second. In regard to passage of the budget, our Constitution wisely has a sacrosanct conservative mandate that there must be a balanced budget. The Alabama Legislature cannot deficit spend or overspend the projected revenues for the year. Our current super Republican majority legislature is so conservative, they not only adhere to the Constitutional prohibition against deficit spending, they do not even spend 100% of the year’s budget. For the past decade they have put state revenues away into a rainy day fund. They are truly budgeting conservatively.
If that were only true of our United States Congress. Our U.S. Congressmen and Senators are simply printing money in Washington. They are recklessly spending our nation into an abysmal hole, one that we may never be able to get out of. This tremendous federal deficit is our nation’s most acute problem. The United States cannot survive and keep spending money that we do not have. Our national debt is so high that we are basically nothing more than a third world country. Communist China will not take us over militarily or by flying balloons over our country. They will take us over without firing one bullet. They will defeat us economically. Again, it is a serious problem that must be addressed if we are to survive as a nation.
The national debt is so devastating that within the next year it will be higher than our Gross National Product (GNP). In fiscal year 2022 alone, the deficit was $1.4 trillion. The total national deficit is so high that it is difficult for the treasury or economic analysts to accurately assess. It is between $400 trillion to $528 trillion. Folks, that is trillion with a “t” not billions. To put it closer to home, the federal debt per person for every man, woman, and child and yes, that includes you and your children and grandchildren, is $96,403 per person. That is what your federal government legislators have done to you. It is simply unsustainable.
The United States cannot continue down this path of spending ourselves into oblivion. We cannot keep spending like drunken sailors. Our great conservative President, Ronald Reagan, made a legendary statement when facing a free spending Democratic Congress, “You know people are saying that the Democratic Congress is spending money like drunken sailors. That’s an insult to sailors, they don’t hold a candle to Congress.”
One of my wise readers wrote me this anecdote about the crisis. She said, “Democrats are determined to bankrupt the country. Just paying interest on the debt is going to wreck the economy and very soon. What they are doing would be analogous to my going out and buying a luxurious ocean liner, a castle in Spain, and a Lamborghini and charging it all to my grandchildren and great grandchildren.” She is not the only one of my readers that are concerned with this crisis.
Our United States Federal deficit and debt is our nation’s number one problem. Hopefully, one of the GOP Presidential aspirants will make this their major political platform. They may be surprised at how many conservative Americans will follow them. We will see.
See you next week.
April 12, 2023 - Democrats give Trump a Lifeline
As mentioned last week, the Presidential race has begun. The first bomb or salvo dropped last week with the political indictment of Donald Trump by a Democratic New York Manhattan borough prosecutor. It used to be off limits to use the courts to indict a person for political reasons. Make no mistake about it, this trumped up political ploy is just that – political theatrics.
There is an old saying that you can indict a potato. The legal threshold for getting a grand jury to offer a writ of indictment only requires there is a scintilla of evidence that there may be a crime or misdemeanor. Therefore, a prosecutor can orchestrate an indictment. There will never be a conviction of Trump in this ploy. It would take six years of delaying and going through appellate courts before the case would ever be heard, and it would probably be thrown out by one of the appeals courts for lack of culpability.
You may ascertain from the facts whether you think it was Democratic ploy or not. You have a Democratic district attorney in an overwhelmingly Democratic state and local Democratic venue, who ran on a platform of garnering an indictment of former President Trump for some reason and he is running for reelection in a Democratic primary.
If indeed political prosecution has become the new partisan weapon in political skullduggery, then you could very easily see a Republican district attorney in rural Idaho get an indictment against Joe Biden for many reasons.
The New York indictment and arraignment of Trump is as far as this case will go. The purpose of the Democratic district attorney has been fulfilled and accomplished. The sensationalism was met with glee by the liberal media. However, it was met with glee by one Donald J. Trump, also. It gave him a political lifeline.
Make no mistake about it, the New York charade was politically motivated but not for the reason you would think. Most would assume the Democrats wanted to bloody Trump in order to beat him in the General Election next November against Biden. Not so. That story is written. That boat has sailed. Polling reveals Trump cannot be elected President. He is detested by 75% of the American electorate. Believe me, from years of observing politics, if you have a candidate who begins the race with 100% name identification and 50% negative, they should not run. They will lose. There is no mistake about it, if Trump is the nominee of either party or any party. He will lose. The only other candidate who has similar negative numbers like Trump is Joe Biden.
If you have a race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the old political truism that more people vote against someone than vote for someone will definitely come into play. Biden would beat Trump much worse than four years ago. Biden’s negatives are 50%. Trump’s negatives are 75%. Therefore, Biden would out negative Trump again. There are no independents or Democrats who will vote for Trump and only 30% of Republicans embrace him. The bottom line is any Republican besides Trump will beat Joe Biden, and any Democrat will beat Trump including Joe Biden.
So, you ask why are the Democrats attacking Trump? The answer is they are trying to help him win the Republican nomination. The act has worked. Trump has a hard core 30% of Republican primary voters. He had become so unpopular even among Republicans that he had dropped to 25% with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 40% without DeSantis being in the race. This New York Democratic ploy has brought such an outcry of sympathy for Trump among Republicans that he has jumped from 25% to 45% in the polls. He has also milked the Democratic scheme for over $10 million in campaign contributions.
In short, Trump was going down the tubes in hopes of being the Republican nominee, but the Democrats gave him a lifeline. It also helps Trump by diffusing any other political indictments brought against him, which may have more merit than this one but will now be viewed as frivolous and political.
The Democratic effort to make Trump the Republican nominee may not succeed. Ultimately they were hoping Trump could at least get to 50% polling with the outrage of their ploy, but he has only jumped from 25% to 45%. This 45% will probably drop back to 30 to 35% in about a month when DeSantis and others join the fray.
In the meantime, Democrats will do all they can to try to make Trump the GOP nominee.
The Presidential race is in full swing. Machiavelli is not dead even if Donald Trump is.
See you next week.
April 5, 2023 - The Presidential Race Has Begun
The presidential race has begun, and rightly so because 2024 is just around the corner. The early primaries are less than 10 months away. We in Alabama have an early Presential Primary exactly 11 months from now on March 5, 2023.
Actually, the Republican challengers are slow getting out of the gate. The obvious elephant in the room is the looming presence of one, Donald Trump. He seems intent on running. His ego will not allow him to read the tea leaves, as well as every scientific poll, which tells him that he is yesterday’s news and that over 75% of American voters detest him and he cannot defeat anyone in a presidential race. In fact, polling reveals that any Democrat or foreign dictator would beat him by landslide proportions by a much larger margin than the overwhelming defeat he received from the listless, almost lifeless, Biden in 2020.
The problem for Republicans is that Trump is sitting there with a hard core 30% base of Republican voters. Therefore, if six or more substantial Republican presidential entrants get into the battle for the nomination and they average getting 12% of the GOP Primary votes, then Trump could prevail with his 30% base. Thus giving him the nomination and ultimate electoral disaster for Republicans. They would lose the presidential contest so badly that it would take down a host of Republican congressional seats. Republicans would suffer dramatically from the negative Trump coattail effect. Republicans would most certainly lose their slim margin in the House of Representatives, but would also lose precious seats in the U.S. Senate
The Republican Party strategists and insiders are keenly aware of the Trump debacle scenario and are rallying around Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Rank and file GOP Primary voters are flocking to him in droves. If the money is there to offset the Trump machine and gutter attacks that come with it, DeSantis will probably prevail. The reluctance of other major GOP candidates getting into the fray is a sign that the conservatives in the country are working behind the scenes to orchestrate and discourage “also ran” candidates from getting into the race which would give DeSantis a clear undeterred victory to face Joe Biden in November. Minor candidates like Mike Pence and Nikki Haley will run but polling shows them with a 3% threshold. Haley is probably angling to be DeSantis’ Vice Presidential choice. Ron DeSantis will probably be the Republican nominee and face Joe Biden in Fall 2024.
Make no mistake about it, Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee. It is far too late in the nominating process for a Democratic challenger to get into the race against an incumbent President. Therefore, Biden will skate to the nomination of his party without taxing his diminished stamina. In fact, his handlers will probably keep him out of sight during the entire campaign, which is a tried and true effective campaign strategy to elect ole Joe Biden.
President Joe Biden’s age is his biggest albatross towards reelection. Even Democratic voters who tend to be younger, are concerned by it. His demeanor and gait accentuate his diminished capacity and advanced age. Indeed, 82 is a pretty advanced age to be in the Oval Office.
However, if you watched his February State of the Union Address, his performance dispelled naysayers. His delivery, appearance and lucidness were on par with any 60 year old President. I have seen quite a few State of the Union speeches of sitting presidents and his performance was one of the most brilliant and well delivered I have seen. It was shocking and amazing.
Forty million Americans were watching, not to hear what he had to say but how he said it. Most Americans were looking for a stumbling, tongue wagging, incognizant old Uncle Joe.
Instead he was on script, lucid, and glib who came off script and handled heckling from right wing, back bench Republicans with aplomb. He deviated from the teleprompter with candid, sincere comments. He made a brilliant opening campaign appearance which will resonate with voters throughout the campaign when he is described as a doddering old fool who should be in a nursing home.
He has also been in politics long enough to know to trust his handlers and stay away from voters, and just parrot the old line, liberal Democratic talking points that say Republicans are against Social Security, which by the way is the most demagogic liberal lie ever espoused, Republicans are not for cutting Social Security, most of their voters would starve to death.
If indeed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is the Republican nominee, it will be a close presential race in November 2024, which is not that far away.
See you next week.
March 29, 2023 - Marshall County and Enterprise Emerging as Alabama Political Breeding Grounds.
Over the years, certain counties in Alabama have bred an inordinate number of governors and state political leaders.
The three most prominent enclaves, historically, have been Tuscaloosa, Barbour and Cullman. In the earlier years of statehood Tuscaloosa was the most heralded county. They have continued, intermittently, throughout the years. The most prominent senator in Alabama history, Richard Shelby, who retired after 36 years in the Senate calls Tuscaloosa home. Indeed, the state capital was in Tuscaloosa one time in the early years. They have had a fairly recent governor in Dr. Robert Bentley.
Barbour County is called the “Home of Governors” and for a good reason. They have had more governors than any county in state history. This sparsely populated Black Belt county has had six governors hail from there. George Wallace is, of course, the most prominent Barbour County Governor but they also have Chauncy Sparks, John Gill Shorter, William Jelks, Braxton Bragg Comer and Jere Beasley.
Barbour County and Tuscaloosa both claim Lurleen Wallace. She was born and raised in Northport in Tuscaloosa County, but married George Wallace and moved to Barbour County. This split county claim of governors also applies to legendary Governor James “Big Jim” Folsom. Big Jim was born and raised in Coffee County near Elba but moved to Cullman as a young man. So, Cullman gets bragging rights since he lived in Cullman when he was first elected in 1946. Cullman has indeed come on strong in the past few decades. They have had two governors in recent years, Jim Folsom, Jr. and Guy Hunt.
Today, we have two counties emerging as hotbeds for breeding state political leaders. Coffee County is percolating with political success. More particularly the growing City of Enterprise. Our new U.S. Senator, Katie Boyd Britt, was born and raised in Enterprise. She is only 40. The Congressman from the second district, Barry Moore, is from Enterprise although Dothan, Montgomery and Elmore County have more population in that Congressional District. Moore is only 56. A rising popular star in the State House of Representatives, Rhett Marquis, 48, is from the Boll Weevil City. Enterprise is the home of the new state senator from that southeast Alabama hub. Josh Carnley just took the seat of retiring legend, Jimmy Holley, thus keeping that seat in Coffee County. Carnley is a Coffee County farmer and insurance broker. Enterprise has a very good Mayor in William “Bill” Cooper. He has been in city politics for a good while. Coffee County also dominates all the judicial posts in this circuit. All three circuit judges hail from Coffee County, in Enterprise. Sonny Reagan, Jeff Kelley and Shannon Clark are all relatively young. The new District Attorney, James Tarbox, is very young. Jimmy Baker, who is Chancellor of the Alabama Community College System hails from Coffee County and lives in Enterprise. Enterprise has always laid claim to Ft. Rucker, which has been the impetus of their growth, but they are emerging as a political powerhouse.
The other county that is set to be called an Alabama political spawning ground powerhouse is Marshall County. They currently have a cadre of the state’s most powerful and promising Alabama leaders. The most prominent is 41 year old Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth, who may be our next governor. State Senator Clay Scofield of Marshall County is only 42 and is Majority Leader of the State Senate. Attorney General Steve Marshall, 57, is in his second term as Attorney General. It is rare that two of the state’s highest ranking officials, Will Ainsworth and Steve Marshall, are both from the same county.
There are two rising stars in the Alabama House of Representatives from Marshall County. Young Wes Kitchens, an emerging leader in the House is from Marshall. Also, the youngest member of the House of Representatives, Brock Colvin, has just been elected at the ripe old age of 26 and is catching people’s eyes on Goat Hill.
Enterprise and Marshall County are emerging as new political breeding grounds for Alabama politicians.
See you next week.
March 22, 2023 - 2026 Governor’s Race Has Begun
Alabama’s original 1901 Constitution had a law whereby the governor could only serve one four-year term and not succeed themselves. In 1968, the law was changed and since then the governor and all other constitutional offices in the state can now serve two consecutive terms.
This one term and you are done, made for a very interesting, anticipated, and competitive governor’s race every four years. They could begin four years in advance in earnest, and they would begin.
Since Kay Ivey will be serving her second elected term, she cannot run four years from now. Therefore, we have setting up an ole timey open governor’s race in 2026, and it has already begun.
Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth has already been running for four years, and has ramped up a reelection game plan for his next four years as Lt. Governor. He will be tough to beat.
Ainsworth was elected Lt. Governor in 2018 at the ripe old age of 36. He began running for governor the day after he won the GOP Primary that year – even before he was inaugurated in January 2019. I have never seen anyone in recent years as dedicated and focused on grabbing the brass ring of Alabama politics as young Will Ainsworth. He is almost as dedicated as George Wallace.
Wallace’s whole world and every part of his being was dedicated to being elected Governor of Alabama. He campaigned seven days a week, 12 hours a day and hardly saw or cared for his family for four years. He campaigned relentlessly. His devotion paid off with a victory in 1962 and subsequent conquests later.
Young Will Ainsworth does not have this total devotion, nor should he or anyone else. Ainsworth is a devoted family man. His family and church come first. Being governor is not his God. He is the ultimate father to his twin sons, Hunter and Hays, and his daughter, Abbie. He and his wife Kendall are committed to loving and caring for their children. They go to all ball games and church and school related events with them in Guntersville. At the State-of-the-State Address four years ago, he had his two sons with him. They have impeccable manners. They looked me right in the eye with a smile and firm handshake and said, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Flowers.” One of the boys was with Will when he spoke at the Trump rally in the summer of 2021. Will had been to his son’s ballgame in Cullman that morning and he brought him to the rally.
When Will spoke at the Mid-Alabama Republican Club in Vestavia last July, his daughter was with him. Ainsworth is campaigning all over the state. He is at ribbon cuttings and Chambers of Commerce events from Dothan to Huntsville.
He hails from Sand Mountain in vote rich North Alabama. His father has done well financially. However, his mama has instilled in Will the desire to serve in politics. She is very astute and active politically and more gregarious than Will’s father.
There are others lining up to run who do not fear Ainsworth nor his family’s money. Interestingly, the two major potential threats to Ainsworth in the four-year away governor’s race, are from North Alabama. Attorney General Steve Marshall and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle would make a strong threat to Ainsworth’s perceived front runner status.
Ironically, Steve Marshall and Will Ainsworth are both from Marshall County. If the Attorney General makes the move, he would be a viable candidate. He won his second term in this year’s GOP Primary, impressively. He has to move up or sideways or out. An intra county race would be interesting. Marshall bears watching.
Tommy Battle, the Mayor of Huntsville, would be the most formidable candidate that Ainsworth could face. However, I do not think Battle is interested in running. Being the Mayor of Huntsville is probably a better job than being Governor of Alabama.
However, the biggest obstacle in Ainsworth’s run for governor may be someone you have ever heard of. There are probably some rich folks sitting back privately contemplating a run for governor. That unknown rich person may be the one to watch. We will see.
Four years seems a long way off, but the 2026 Governor’s Race has begun.
See you next week.
March 15, 2023 - Disgraced, Fraudulent Criminal Con Man Donald Watkins Blogs From Prison
I am old and old-fashioned. I have been writing this column on Alabama government and political history for 20 years, and it appears weekly in more than 60 newspapers. Folks believe what they read in their local papers because local editors and journalists they trust act as a filter to provide them with the truth.
But technology has created a whole new breed of internet publications where lying is the standard and not the exception. One deranged person can sit in a dark room and pump out vicious lies and fabrications without any evidence – and there is no local editor standing up for the truth. I believe in the First Amendment to our Constitution, but having a website should not be a license to lie and slander people.
I do not pay much attention to the so-called “internet bloggers,” but the outlandish lies of one such blogger has gotten my attention. A convicted criminal named Donald Watkins has been blogging scurrilous, vicious, outlandish lies about some of our state’s and nation’s most outstanding leaders and companies. Watkins is posting these lies to the internet while serving a Federal prison sentence under the jurisdiction of the Federal penal system.
Donald Watkins was born in a world of privilege, the son of Dr. Levi Watkins, the President of Alabama State University. While Donald presented himself as a multi-millionaire, high-rolling investor, court documents show he swindled friends, celebrities, and an FDIC-insured bank out of more than $15 million. In 2019, a federal court sent Watkins and his son, Donald Watkins, Jr., to federal prison.
Federal records show Watkins represented he was selling stock in an energy company called Masada and claimed he was the majority shareholder in the company. Watkins did not own any of the company stock. He claimed the company was associated with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Martin Luther King III. Both testified they had no connection with the company.
The vast majority of you have never heard of Donald Watkins. Some of you may remember him as the lawyer who helped Eric Ramsey attack the Auburn Football program landing the school on NCAA probation. He later defended other high-profile criminals, like himself.
But basketball legend Charles Barkley will remember Watkins as the man who swindled him out of more than $6 million. Federal records show that Watkins and his son took money from investors and channeled that money to pay for extravagant lifestyles. Records show Watkins, Sr. used the money to pay back taxes, alimony, living expenses for his girlfriend, and for his own private jet. It is easy to see why a jury of hard-working, honest folks found him guilty on ten counts in a New York minute.
Watkins and his son were convicted in federal court, and Watkins was found guilty on all ten counts brought against him. He was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $14 million in restitution. He was sued for defamation, for lying about someone, and ordered to pay $1.5 million to those he harmed. But from a prison cell, Watkins continued to attack those he harmed, always claiming to be the victim and not the villain. Watkins claims he was railroaded as he continues spreading his lies across the digital landscape.
He blames scores of people for conspiring against him, including the Alabama Supreme Court, Federal judges, Federal prosecutors, and the leadership of some of Alabama’s major corporations. Watkins even has the audacity to accuse Senator Richard Shelby of some unspecified scheme to send Watkins to jail.
In 2017, Alabama businessman Joe Perkins sued Watkins for defamation. A circuit court ruled in Perkins’s favor and awarded a judgment against Watkins of $1.5 million. Watkins appealed all the way up to the United States Supreme Court, and on February 27, the highest court in the land unceremoniously refused to hear Watkins’s ridiculous appeal.
So, why don’t more of Watkins’s victims sue him for his lies? As the old saying goes, you can’t get blood from a turnip. He owes his victims more than $15 million today. He is in such a deep hole that he cannot be stopped by more lawsuits.
Freedom of speech is one of the hallmarks of America’s creed. But that freedom in the hands of a proven liar and brazen, arrogant, non-repentant federal prisoner is not what our forefathers envisioned when they enshrined the First Amendment. This Blogger is a threat to society and deserves further jail time.
See you next week.
March 8, 2023 - Five Seats on the Alabama Supreme Court Up for Election in 2024
Next year is a big year nationally. It is a Presidential year. However, it is a down or off year for Alabama. We, like several other southern states, have our big election year in non-presidential years. We elected our Governor and other constitutional offices and our entire legislature last year in 2022.
However, since we have staggered six year terms for our State Judges, we have an inordinate number of seats on our Supreme Court up for election next year. We have nine members of our State Supreme Court. All nine are Republicans.
Even though our Supreme Court is elected, we have a surprisingly wise and very qualified state high tribunal. All nine are well-qualified and well-rounded, yet very Republican and very conservative. We are a very Republican and very conservative sate. Therefore, these nine judges are reflective of the Heart of Dixie.
Even though there are five seats up for election, there is only one opening, Chief Justice Tom Parker is precluded from running for a six-year term. He is 72 and our state laws mandate that someone cannot run for a judgeship after they reach the age of 70.
Popular and younger jurists hold the other four seats. Three of the four will seek reelection and will win easily even if they draw opposition. These three incumbents are Will Sellers, Jay Mitchell and Tommy Bryan. The fourth, Sarah Stewart, is opting to run for the Chief Justice post that Tom Parker is vacating.
Justice Will Sellers probably will not draw an opponent. He is perfectly suited for the State Supreme Court. His resume reads as though he was born for the job. He was a successful tax attorney in his hometown of Montgomery. He graduated from the University of Alabama Law School and has a Masters of Law Degree in Taxation from New York University. His Tax Law expertise is invaluable to his colleagues on the Court. Will has a keen political mind in addition to his legal prowess. He and his wife, Lee Grant Sellers, are Governor Kay Ivey’s closest friends and confidantes. Will has sworn Governor Ivey into office at both her Inaugurations. Justice Sellers also pens a monthly column on historical events.
Justice Tommy Bryan is up for another six-year term. This popular incumbent jurist will be reelected without opposition. He hails from rural South Alabama – Brantley in Crenshaw County to be exact. He was first elected in 2012 and reelected to a second six-year term in 2018. Therefore, he will be seeking his third six-year term in 2024. He previously served eight years on the Court of Civil Appeals. He and his lovely wife Pam have two adult children. Tommy and Pam are very active members of the First Baptist Church of Montgomery
Judge Jay Mitchell is the tallest member of the Supreme Court. He stands a good 6 feet 8 inches. He also stands tall with integrity and wit. He is an affable fellow and is finishing his first six-year term on the high court. He will easily win election to his second term, probably unopposed. He graduated from Birmingham Southern College where he starred in basketball. He graduated from the University of Virginia Law School. He and his wife Elizabeth reside in Homewood with their four children. Jay Mitchell is only 46. He is not only the tallest member of the Court but also the youngest.
Justice Sarah Stewart is opting to leave her safe seat as an associate justice to seek election as Chief Justice next year. She has already announced and is actively running. More times than not the early bird gets the worm. Justice Stewart served 13 years as a Mobile Circuit Court Judge prior to going on to the Supreme Court.
Judge Chris McCool, who is an associate justice on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, is favored to win Justice Stewart’s seat. You can bet your bottom dollar he will not be outworked.
Even though there are five seats up for reelection on the high court, there will be very little change when the dust settles This is a good court, and they have an excellent collegial working relationship.
The 2024 elections have begun.
See you next week.