February 22, 2006
For those of us whose passions are Alabama politics and college football, February 1st is Christmas Day all over again or maybe even more exciting. As baby boomers approaching old age we get very few Christmas gifts we did not anticipate. After all, how exciting can new socks, a sweater, and your annual restocking of Old Spice be anyway? So we turn to the 1st of February as our next big day. February 1st is signing day when all high school football stars must select their college team and sign on the dotted line. We read every available periodical, newspaper, and website to find out how our favorite college team did according to Rivals.com and other rating services.
February 15, 2006
In last week’s column we compared the 2006 Governor’s Race to a horserace. Alluding to horserace jargon we compared the four face cards to horses and handicapped them. In the comparisons one of the horses, Don Siegelman, was referred to as the thoroughbred in the race. If using the measuring stick of being born to be a politician and devoting your life to the goal of being Governor, then Siegelman is the only one in the race with that pedigree.
February 08, 2006
In many ways people who love horseracing and those who love to follow politics are similar. I guess that is why political races are compared many times to horse races.
February 01, 2006
One of the major issues surfacing in the Governor’s race is the annual reappraisal of property taxes. Prior to Gov. Riley’s administration property tax reappraisals were done once every four years. In March of 2003, two months after Riley took office, his administration ordered the reappraisals done every year.
January 25, 2006
The cloud hovering over the gubernatorial campaign of Don Siegelman is not the only one looming in this year’s primaries and election. There are huge storm clouds hanging over all Legislative and Senate races.
January 18, 2006
When the gavel fell to start the 2006 Regular Session of the Legislature last week it began without one of its most stellar members. House Rules Committee Chairman Jack Venable succumbed to leukemia late last year and the state lost a true statesman.
January 11, 2006
The State Senate has been nothing less than a boiling pot for the first three years of this quadrennium and this final year it will reach a zenith of tension and rancor.
December 28, 2005
As 2005 comes to an end we will review the top political events of the year in Alabama.
At the beginning of the year it was speculated that four face cards, Republicans Bob Riley and Roy Moore and Democrats Don Siegelman and Lucy Baxley, would be the major players in next year’s Governor’s race. There has been no surprise here. All four have announced that they are candidates and they are all running hard as the new year approaches.
December 21, 2005
While we have been strolling down memory lane for the past four months reliving past Governor’s races, the field has been formulating for next year’s gubernatorial contest. Actually there have been no significant changes since the summer. It was expected at that time that Bob Riley, Roy Moore, Don Siegelman, and Lucy Baxley would be the major players and all that has happened is that they have confirmed the expected, all four have officially announced. It should be a fun and exciting race. All four face cards have statewide name identification prior to the battle. Therefore they will not need to use their resources introducing themselves. The bad part is that these resources could be focused on negative advertising aimed at disassociating you from their opponent.
December 14, 2005
I hope you enjoyed the fourteen-week series on past Governor’s races covering the 40-year span from 1962-2002. Many of you contacted me and shared your memories of these elections. Most of us lived through them and remember them vividly. We all have our favorite gubernatorial contests as well as our favorite Governors. However, considering George Wallace was Governor for most of that 40-year era we do not have as many Governors to choose from as most other states.