Conflicting strategies shape GOP debate furor
Despite a handful of high-profile defections, most Republican presidential candidates are still demanding changes to the GOP’s coming debates. That’s not to say they are speaking with one voice. The White House hopefuls have distinct, sometimes contradictory, strategies to score political points from the uproar. Some, like Ted Cruz, are going after debate hosts to rally conservatives who despise the media. Others, such as Ben Carson, are organizing debate critics to help demonstrate leadership. A few, like Donald Trump, are breaking with the rest of the field to show they are not part of a herd. And there are those, including Lindsey Graham, who simply want to be part of the main event. There are obvious risks, like being made fun of by Democrats. “If you can’t handle those guys (debate questioners), I don’t think the Chinese and the Russians are going to be too worried about you,” President Barack Obama quipped during a New York fundraiser this week. Carson spokesman Doug Watts said more than 10 candidates are expected to sign a letter outlining their demands. Among other priorities, the candidates want to bypass the Republican National Committee and negotiate debate terms directly with media hosts, ensure everyone is asked the same number of questions and pre-approve all on-screen graphics. They’re pressing for a comfortable room temperature, too. The list came from a closed-door meeting Sunday night organized by the Carson camp with representatives from more than a dozen campaigns. Trump on Tuesday called the effort “irrelevant.” His camp says he will continue to deal with media hosts directly as he has done in the past. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former technology executive Carly Fiorina and Ohio Gov. John Kasich have declined to sign the letter. “We’re disappointed that Trump doesn’t want to get involved,” Watts said. “However, many of us — 11 or 12 — do want to sign.” Trump criticized CNBC, the network that put on the latest debate, during a press conference Tuesday and challenged the fairness of a debate system he said produced harder questions for Republican candidates than Democrats. But he wasn’t too agitated about it. “I don’t really care that much,” Trump said. “I want a room, I want a podium, and let’s get going.” On the other side of the spectrum sits Cruz, a Texas senator and Tea Party favorite who scored a breakout moment during last week’s debate by attacking the moderators and seized on the issue ever since. His campaign reported raising $1.1 million in the 22 hours after the debate. And campaigning in Iowa over the weekend, he was cheered after calling for future debates to be moderated by conservatives such as radio host Rush Limbaugh. “Join me in declaring war on the liberal media agenda,” Cruz wrote in a recent fundraising appeal. “On the debate stage, it was clear – we need a conservative leader who will both stand up to the liberal media AND fight the Washington Cartel.” Christie also has ridden the issue to prominence in recent days. He complained about moderators in a series of media interviews this week, but the tough-talking governor suggested Republicans need to have thicker skin. “If you want to be president of the United States, you want to debate Hillary Clinton next fall, you got to be tough enough to deal with that,” he said on Fox News. Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett said his campaign would distribute a letter outlining the candidates’ demands by the end of Tuesday, although he wasn’t sure how many campaigns would sign. He highlighted Carson’s leading role in the effort: “With all the people with all the years of government experience, it took the outsider to do it.” Just three debates remains before the Republican primary’s opening contest in Iowa, with the next scheduled for Nov. 10 in Milwaukee, sponsored by Fox News and The Wall Street Journal. Several more are on tap after that. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Many Bush backers in New Hampshire have “moved on” from Jeb
Jeb Bush sought to revive a sagging campaign for president in New Hampshire on Tuesday, committing anew to a state with deep ties to his family. He’ll start from a position of weakness that some family loyalists say is of his own making. Eager to distinguish himself from his family legacy at the outset of his 2016 bid, Bush failed to tap the support of many longtime friends in the state. Many in the old Bush network now say they’ve picked another candidate to support or are staying out of the primary process altogether. “Folks who had historically been with his father and his brother and were looking to maybe participate in his campaign were basically ignored,” said former Sen. Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, who endorsed Bush last week and is now a top backer of his campaign. “A lot of those people moved on,” Gregg said. Even now, as Bush returns to New Hampshire for a three-day swing on his “Jeb Can Fix It” tour and shifts staff up from his Miami headquarters, some prominent Bush family supporters say the campaign still hasn’t contacted them. John Stabile, a four-time state Republican Party chairman who was finance chairman for George H.W. Bush‘s presidential bids, said he’s not alone among Bush advocates who expected to get a call from Jeb Bush — and have not. “It’s been mind-boggling to me that the people we worked with for a long time never heard from anybody,” said Stabile, who’s unsure whether he’ll endorse any candidate this time around. Having started the 2016 campaign as the GOP’s early front-runner, Bush has tumbled in preference polls as voters flock to political outsiders such as Donald Trump and Ben Carson. “I do not know any people who are strong supporters of the governor,” said Bruce Perlo, chairman of the Grafton County GOP, referring to Bush. “Maybe he’s got bad advisers, maybe he doesn’t understand the national scene, maybe he doesn’t understand New Hampshire. I don’t know – there’s something that’s not gelling for him.” After a lackluster performance in this past GOP debate, Bush shook up his campaign and refocused on New Hampshire. Aides have said this week’s bus tour will be the first of long-stretches of time in the state, where Bush plans to keep holding town hall-style meetings while adding more informal “retail” stops where he can chat at length with small groups of voters. “I do think he’s running a classic New Hampshire campaign, which is exactly what’s going to benefit him the most,” Gregg said. Rich Killion, Bush’s senior New Hampshire adviser, says the campaign is going after “every vote and everybody,” and will be well-positioned to turn out supporters on Election Day. “That can only be done through New Hampshire shoe leather and hard and disciplined follow-up,” Killion said. Bush has a dozen paid staff in New Hampshire, more than any other state, and plans to add more. His campaign and an allied super PAC plan to spend at least $28 million on advertising there – almost triple their budget for any other early state, according to data provided by Kantar Media’s CMAG advertising tracker. Those resources alone haven’t yet won over longtime Bush loyalists, either because they were ignored early – or just think it’s time for someone with a different last name. Among them are former New Hampshire attorney general Tom Rath, former state lawmakers Doug and Stella Scamman, and former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, all past Bush-family supporters who are now backing Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Stella Scamman said the couple did have a personal meeting with Bush, but chose Kasich because they believe it’s time for “new players on the scene.” Mark Vincent, chairman of the Hillsborough County GOP, said party activists are worried that nominating Bush would put the party in a weak position to take on Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton in the general election – and Bush’s lackluster debate performances haven’t helped persuade them otherwise. “Maybe if Jeb continues to do a lot of appearances and a lot of town halls and what not, maybe that will make people forget the debate a little bit and they’ll give him a second look,” Vincent said. The day after Bush was overshadowed in the GOP’s third debate, he drew an overflow crowd last week to a town hall in New London. That same day in Portsmouth, a number of voters who saw him said they liked what he had to say. But Bush strayed little from the message he’s delivered for months, pointing to his record as governor of Florida to show he’s a conservative who can get things done. Joel Maiola, a top strategist for George W. Bush‘s 2000 New Hampshire campaign who has yet to sign on with any candidate in this election, said it’s a message that’s yet to win over many voters. “You’ve got to be a little creative and step out of the box a little bit,” Maiola said. “He’s got the résumé and he’s got the substance, but what’s his closing argument?” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Alabama woman faces dilemma in sending terminally ill son to school
An Alabama teen with a terminal heart condition has not returned to school after a spate of hospitalizations because of what his mother says is a dispute with school officials about how he might die. Alex Hoover‘s case presents something of a legal loophole: His mother has drawn up legal documents known as an advance directive to ensure the 14-year-old is not revived if he goes into cardiac arrest. But officials say they can’t follow that directive if his heart stops at school. Rene Hoover says she does not want her son’s last days spent enduring a battery of medical procedures and medication as a result of his condition, aortic mitral valve stenosis. The condition causes the heart’s mitral valve to narrow and restrict blood flow. “The last procedure we had done, it took us three weeks to get him to go to bed at night because he was afraid that if he went to sleep he would wake up and something would be wrong or that he’d be hurt,” Hoover told The Associated Press. A successful resuscitation and subsequent surgeries are unlikely to significantly improve the teen’s prognosis, she said. “He would have to live his fears every single day,” Hoover said. Alex, of Athens, Alabama, was hospitalized three times over the summer and hasn’t returned to class because Limestone County school board officials have said they won’t recognize the advance directive. His heart valve is too weak to keep up with his growth spurt, and his health has declined over the past year, Rene Hoover said. In Alabama, do-not-resuscitate orders and similar directives apply only to people 19 and older. Alabama State Department of Education spokeswoman Melissa Valdes-Hubert said the department has no policy on advance directives and school staff must decide whether to follow parents’ orders. The school district’s special education director, Tara Bachus, told WAFF-TV that staff would follow standard medical response procedures in an emergency. A teacher visits Alex, who has autism, at home with lessons three times a week, and Rene Hoover said she doubts officials will accept her proposal to take Alex to school for four hours a week on her days off while she sits nearby in case of an emergency. Calls and emails to school district officials from the AP were not returned. Alan Meisel, director of the Center for Bioethics and Health Law at the University of Pittsburgh, questioned whether the teen has the capacity to issue an advance directive. “The fact that the person in question is under 18 simply to me makes it that much clearer that they need not honor the advance directive in this situation,” Meisel said. Aside from liability concerns, school officials likely have concerns over the potential impact on students who could witness the teen’s death, Meisel said. However, Hoover said she simply wants her son to live as fully and normally as possible. “We want him to have comfort and peace,” Hoover said. “Emotionally, it is probably the hardest thing I think a human being could go through; knowing that you have to choose not if your child’s gonna die, but how your child’s gonna die.” Republican state Rep. Mac McCutcheon said he’s considering introducing legislation next year to allow advance directives to cover minors after hearing about Hoover’s case. McCutcheon said medical professionals could take a student with an advance directive to a private area in the event of a medical emergency to lessen the effect on other students and teachers. “What we’re trying to do is get the state into a position to recognize that there should be a law to help juveniles in these situations,” he said. Granting discretion in this area could put school officials, emergency responders and others in a difficult position, Meisel said. “The nice thing about the 18-year-old age is it’s a clear rule, you know when you honor it. You know when you can, or are indeed obligated, to ignore it,” Meisel said. McCutcheon said he’s researching legal issues surrounding advance directives and hopes to present a proposal in 2016. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Hearing scheduled in Artur Davis’ effort to run as Democrat
A judge has scheduled a hearing on former U.S. Rep. Artur Davis‘ effort to run as a Democrat again. The judge on Tuesday said he will hear arguments Nov. 9 in Davis’ lawsuit against the Alabama Democratic Party. Davis wants to run for Montgomery County Commission as a Democrat. Party officials refused to accept Davis, citing his past support of Republicans. Davis was a Democratic congressman and ran for governor in 2010. He later announced he was aligning himself with the GOP and spoke at the 2012 Republican presidential convention. Davis had sought to force the party to accept his candidate paperwork by Friday’s deadline. James Anderson, a lawyer representing the state party, said they agreed to work with Davis on the deadline so the issue can be settled next week. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Hillary Clinton expected at bus boycott anniversary event in Montgomery
National Bar Association officials say Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to headline an event commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott. Organizers said in a statement that the event is scheduled for Dec. 1. The commemoration is expected to include a tour of the Rosa Parks Museum, Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, the Tuskegee History Center and other sites linked to the civil rights movement. Officials say other panelists at a symposium include Rosa Parks’ attorney Fred Gray, American Bar Association President Paulette Brown, and National Bar Association President Benjamin Crump. Brown is the first black woman to lead the American Bar Association. The National Bar Association is a network of predominantly black attorneys and judges. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Alabama ABC Board: decision to close stores protects consumers, fiscally sound
The recent decision by the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to close or consolidate 15 state-run liquor stores at the end of the year because of budget cuts has generated a great deal of discussion in the media – and commentaries critical of the decision. Unfortunately, some of the opinions expressed are based on misinformation or a lack of understanding of the ABC Board’s operations. As administrator of the ABC Board, I want to help clarify the issue. I will start by pointing out the Alabama ABC Board does not cost Alabama taxpayers one red cent. Through the operation of its liquor stores and warehouse, the ABC Board generates millions of dollars in badly needed revenue to not only pay for its functions, but to help fund other state agencies as well. Only those who purchase spirits pay anything to the state to help it or the ABC Board. Last year, the ABC Board contributed $215 million to the state – after paying for the costs of its operations. This year, that figure should top $225 million. This money supports the General Fund, Department of Human Resources, Department of Mental Health, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, public education, cities and counties. To get an idea of the size of the contribution the ABC Board makes to the General Fund, note that the General Fund budget passed by lawmakers in September totaled about $1.75 billion. The $215 million from the ABC Board accounted for nearly 13 percent of that amount. The decision to close or consolidate 15 stores came after the Legislature arbitrarily reduced the ABC Board’s spending authority by transferring $5.5 million from our budget to the General Fund. The Legislature appropriates nothing to the ABC Board, but sets the amount we are allowed to spend from the revenues we generate. The reduction left the ABC Board – similar to other state agencies facing decreases in their budgets – with difficult decisions to make in order to ensure that our costs do not exceed our spending authority. In making those decisions, the ABC Board had to balance the needs of the residents we serve against those cuts. Not every ABC liquor store makes money. Some operate to meet the needs of local residents, even if the operation of the store – say, in a rural community – does not result in a net profit. It would be unfair to rural residents to deny them a service that Alabamians who live in urban areas receive. That is why some stores which have not been profitable will remain open. It is true that some stores which have been profitable will be closed. Some of these stores will be consolidated with other stores or reopened in areas where traffic patterns and population centers have shifted, thereby reducing costs and making them even more profitable. Unfortunately, some writers compared the decision by ALEA to close some driver licenses offices in rural counties to the ABC Board’s decision to close some of its stores and keep some open. They noted that some counties without a driver license office will continue to have a state liquor store. The operation of ABC stores has nothing to do with the operation of driver license offices. The decision by the ABC Board and the decision by ALEA were made independently of each other. The decision about what stores to close and what stores to keep open was based on sound business practices and our responsibility to meet the needs of residents, wherever they live. That decision was made by the ABC Board. In other words, the State of Alabama didn’t “choose liquor over driver licenses.” Each agency made difficult decisions based on its needs and finances. Finally, I want to address the matter of taxes and the price of liquor. Much has been made of the fact that Alabama’s liquor taxes are high compared to those of other states. It is true, Alabama’s liquor tax of $18.23 per gallon is higher than neighboring Georgia’s $3.79 per gallon, Tennessee’s $4.46, Florida’s $6.50 and Mississippi’s $7.41 (Tax Foundation figures). But it is the Alabama Legislature, not the ABC Board that sets tax rates. The Legislature can lower the rates, if it chooses to do so. Of course, that would reduce revenue to the already challenged state General Fund. I realize some of the negative commentaries directed toward the ABC Board are from those who want to see all ABC stores closed. Some have even suggested that the private sector would do a better job with price, quality and selection. Anyone who has shopped at ABC stores and private package stores knows that is simply not the case. ABC stores are well known for providing competitive prices, premier service and greater selection. And, ABC stores’ well-trained employees do an extraordinary job of not selling to underage buyers and those who already have had too much to drink. The Alabama Legislature created the ABC Board in 1937, after the repeal of Prohibition, to regulate the sale of alcoholic beverages, promote temperance and protect public safety and health. It is doing just that, while at the same time generating much needed revenue for the state and helping keep Alabamians’ overall tax burden low. Mac Gipson is administrator of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which controls the sale of alcoholic beverages in the state through distribution, licensing, compliance enforcement and education.
Terri Sewell, House Dems unveil “#RestoreTheVOTE” effort to protect voting rights
Alabama U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell joined House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and a handful of other congressional Democrats in announcing a new effort to “restore and advance” the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a landmark piece of Civil Rights-era legislation. The House Democrats are calling the plan “#RestoreTheV.O.T.E” short for “Restore the Voices of the Excluded.” As part of the effort, the minority caucus will declare each Tuesday when Congress is in session ““Restoration Tuesday” in order to call attention to what they consider attacks on the rights of poor, and minority Americans to vote perpetuated by Republican-led legislators and governors around the country. The move is designed to promote the Voting Rights Advancement Act, HR 2867 in the current Congress, which would restore provisions of the 1965 federal law which have been rolled back by the courts in recent years. The new bill, for example, would reinstate Civil Rights monitoring in 13 states – Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Arkansas, Arizona, California, New York and Virginia – to keep an eye out for discriminatory ballot-access laws there, and provide a “rolling formula” by which states would be cycled in and out of the program according to voting rights progress. HR 2867 would also restore so-called “preclearance” on the part of the U.S. Supreme Court, by which the high court would have the right to review any changes to voting laws in states with a history of racial discrimination in their laws. “As a daughter of Selma, I am painfully aware that the injustices suffered on the Edmund Pettus Bridge 50 years ago have not been fully vindicated,” said Sewell. “The recent decision by the State of Alabama to close 31 DMV offices in spite of the state’s photo ID law is just one example of modern day barriers to voting that would have been precluded if federal preclearance provisions were still in effect.” Sewell had previously called the decision to close auxiliary DMV offices, necessitated by statehouse budget cuts signed into law by Gov. Robert Bentley, an effort to disenfranchise rural Alabamians in a fiery letter penned last month in which she called on the federal Department of Justice to investigate the move The third-term congresswoman directly likened the closures to Jim Crow-era laws enacted by southern states in the 20th century to discourage blacks from voting. “While we no longer have to count marbles in a jar or recite the names of all the counties, there are still laws and decisions that make it harder for people to vote,” said Sewell, naming common “poll tax”-style tactics employed before passage of the Voting Rights Act. Sewell, first elected to represent Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, was first elected in 2010. She is the first African-American woman to serve in the state’s delegation.
Gary Palmer introduces bill to stop EPA overreach
Recent controversial actions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have caught the attention of freshman Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06) and have prompted him to introduce new legislation to stop further overreach by the embattled agency. A member of the Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Environment and the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Interior, Palmer Tuesday introduced H.R. 3880, the Stopping EPA Overreach Act of 2015, that would remove the EPA’s self-appointed ability to regulate so-called “greenhouse gasses.” “The EPA makes a habit out of claiming more authority than it rightfully has, particularly under this Administration,” said Palmer in a news release in June. Prior to Massachusetts v. EPA — a controversial 5-4 Supreme Court decision which interpreted the Clean Air Act to allow regulations of common and necessary compounds that were not contemplated when the act was originally passed — the EPA had never regulated greenhouse gasses. “The Stopping EPA Overreach Act of 2015 will reassert that Congress never intended that the EPA would regulate greenhouse gasses,” Palmer explained. “The EPA has repeatedly claimed fighting climate change as justification for crafting onerous regulations that limit carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other compounds that are both essentially harmless and in fact required for life to flourish. This is done using statutes Congress never contemplated could be read to regulate such common and essential substances. This bill reasserts Congress’s authority by prohibiting the EPA from unilaterally continuing to cause severe economic damage by regulating greenhouse gases.” In addition to amending the Clean Air Act, H.R. 3880 would also clarify that nothing — in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, or the Solid Waste Disposal Act — authorizes or requires EPA regulation of climate change or global warming. The bill also would require the EPA to provide an analysis of the impact on employment in the United States before proposing or finalizing any regulation, rule, or policy. And ultimately would require Congress and the President to sign-off on any proposal that will have a negative impact on employment. The bill has 107 original co-sponsors.
Robert Bentley awards $1.2 million in grants for south-central Alabama
Governor Robert Bentley Tuesday announced he’s awarding $1.2 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for four projects in south-central Alabama to help improve living conditions. Both the Autauga County Commission and the town of Eclectic will receive $350,000 each, and the cities of Dadeville and Goodwater $250,000 each. “These grants will help address some urgent needs in areas where local revenues are stretched thin,” Bentley said in a release. “I am pleased to assist local officials throughout the region who are striving to improve the quality of life in their communities.” The grant recipients and their projects are as follows: Autauga County Commission (Autauga County): The Billingsley Water System will use funds to make multiple improvements at its two well sites including adding filters, chlorine monitor and leak detectors and replacing electrical components. The project will improve water quality for the 450 households served by the system and eliminate unsafe electrical components. The county commission has pledged an additional $35,000 in local funding for the project. The city of Goodwater (Coosa County): Will raze and remove debris from eight dilapidated buildings that are a downtown eyesore and a hazard to safety and health. The buildings, which housed mercantile businesses, all front Main Street (Alabama Highway 9). City officials believe the demolition is a first step in revitalizing the downtown and improving the city’s economic situation. The city is seeking guidance from Auburn University’s Community Planning program on ways to enhance downtown. The town is contributing $25,000 for the project. The town of Eclectic (Elmore County): Will upgrade its wastewater treatment plant by installing a multi-filtration and screening system that will more adequately treat sewage and ensure the system is in compliance with standards required by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. Repairs at the plant in 2014 exceeded $16,000 and experts indicate those repair costs will continue without major modifications and upgrades. The upgrade will enable the town to serve new customers and businesses. Residents not served by the town system also will benefit because the town can resume accepting waste from septic-tank haulers who may have had to charge more for their services because of the additional mileage and costs involved in disposing of waste. Local funding of $375,000 has been pledged for the project. The city of Dadeville (Tallapoosa County): Will demolish and clear unsafe structures throughout the city. City officials say the structures pose threats to safety and security of neighborhoods and also reduce property values. Nearly 49 abandoned residences and four commercial structures have been deemed inhabitable and targeted for demolition. City officials say nuisance properties are the top complaints voiced by residents, but the city has been unable without outside financial assistance to do anything about the problem. The city has pledged $25,321 in local funding for the project. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the awards from funds made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Bradley Byrne: Teachers make a real difference
It has been said that one of the hardest jobs around is being a teacher. Even though it may be hard, teaching is one of the most important professions. Teachers have the great responsibility of training the next generation in our society. Recently, I’ve spent time reflecting on some of the important teachers from my past. Without a doubt, the first one that comes to mind is Kay Ladd. Miss Kay is one of the most remarkable women I know. She was my first grade teacher and had the difficult job of teaching a class full of all boys. She is the person who taught me how to read, and I don’t think you ever forget the person who teaches you to read. As you may know, I have spent much of my life working in education. From my time on the Alabama State School Board to serving as chancellor of Alabama’s two-year college system, I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time in our local classrooms. I’m always struck by the hard work these men and women do on a daily basis, and they rarely get the attention they deserve. Great teachers really care about their students and work very hard to get the most out of them. This is a quality that can’t be taught. You can’t set accountability standards or testing requirements to prove that someone cares. Good teachers also need to be smart, well-trained, and prepared. From talking with teachers, it is clear that being a great teacher requires a lot of planning and organizing before students are even in the classroom. From putting lesson plans together to preparing your classroom, teaching requires a lot of work and preparation. Teachers have the ability to take a student who may not have much of a family or may not be very well-prepared and turn him into a successful and committed individual with a bright future. Very few professions have the ability to totally alter the course of someone’s life like a teacher does. In Washington, I am a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, which has jurisdiction over K-12 education. One of my top priorities on the Committee is rolling back the red tape and paperwork that our teachers must go through. While only 10% of education funding comes from the federal level, the Government Accountability Office found that the federal government is responsible for 41% of the paperwork. Washington needs to get out of the way and allow teachers to do their job. Too much money gets lost between Washington, D.C. and the classroom. The money is getting stuck in the hands of bureaucrats and people who have absolutely nothing to do with educating our students. Another important teacher in my family’s life was Colonel Tim Reddy, who taught my four children at Fairhope High School. Tim Reddy was an Army Colonel who taught math and coached the soccer and swim teams. He was incredibly tough, but he cared about his students and helped them master upper level math skills that prepared them for college. Sadly, Col. Reddy recently passed away after a battle with cancer. I went to the floor of the House of Representatives to deliver a speech in his memory. We need to hold up people like Col. Reddy and Kay Ladd who work so hard in the classroom to educate the next generation. So whether you are a parent, student, or just a community member, we should all be doing everything we can to highlight great teachers and support them every chance we get. Bradley Byrne is a member of the U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 1st Congressional District.
Ethics questions abound, who will investigate?
As Alabama legislators struggle over budgets for the state’s environmental agency, one lawmaker appears to have a tough time keeping his hands clean. Almost as questionable however are the actions of those who identified and knew the possible wrong doing and did nothing. It’s uncertain who, if anyone, will step up to investigate both issues but it’s clear someone needs to. Last week, Alabama Today reported on the fight over Alabama Department of Environmental Management’s (ADEM) budget between the agency and the Legislature. Shortly thereafter, ALToday received a copy of a letter purportedly written by ADEM Director Lance LeFleur and hand-delivered to Senator Arthur Orr in which he accuses Representative Steve Clouse of protecting the Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund (UST Trust Fund) for his own personal gain. In the letter he says, “It is clear the UST Fund ‘sacred cow’ is for the benefit of Clouse’s family business. This is outrageous.” The letter goes on to say, “Rep Clouse did not reach out to us before submitting the amended budget…” ALToday spoke to ADEM Director LeFleur about ADEM’s budget and recent fee increases as well as the authenticity of the letter. He said that he would “reserve comment on the letter” until he could see it, however he added that he wrote several letters. In the interview, LeFleur echoed all of the same sentiments about the “sacred cow” restrictions noted in the letter and when asked about specific points made in the letter went on to describe in detail the what was meant by them. He used the same language and in several instances verbatim word choice. This letter prompts five questions: Why didn’t LeFleur file a formal ethics complaint against Clouse? Why didn’t Senator Arthur Orr take LeFleur’s ethics questions to the ethics commission? Did Representative Clouse indeed propose language that would benefit his family business? Why didn’t LeFleur inform the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) in one of his regular memos or in his most recent report to them? What is the position EMC on the letter and Director LeFleur’s actions or inactions related to the ethical dilemmas it calls into question? You can read the letter here: LeFleur_Orr_Letter and a copy of Director LeFleur’s comments at the last EMC meeting (provided by the director via email) here. To read Rep. Steve Clouse’s response to this story please visit: Rep. Steve Clouse disputes Lance LeFleur allegations with facts
Andrew A. Yerbey: The curious case of Alabama’s Teacher of the Year
Ann Marie Corgill is, by all accounts and by almost any definition, a highly qualified teacher. It is regrettable that the modifier “almost” is necessary in that sentence, but its inclusion is instructive. From it, the people of Alabama can learn a lot about what ails their system of education. More on Ms. Corgill’s story in a moment, but the Associated Press headline provides a précis: “Alabama’s Teacher of the Year Told She’s Unqualified, Resigns.” –– Whether the title of “Teacher of the Year” is borne by a worthy titleholder every year in Alabama is unknown, but it certainly is in the case of Ann Marie Corgill, the reigning Alabama Teacher of the Year. This is a woman who has practiced the art of teaching for over two decades; who has been called upon to teach other teachers about teaching; who has written a book about teaching. She went on to become a finalist—one of only four—for National Teacher of Year, regarded as the teaching profession’s highest honor. But we know she is a great teacher not through her résumé but through her work. Ellen Anderson, her student: “Ms. Corgill is the best teacher I have ever had. She has taught us more in one year than all my other years combined. She made us feel important, empowered, and loved. . . . She is very special.” Kathy Snyder, her fellow teacher: “Ann Marie Corgill is an exemplary teacher . . . a teacher who represents the essence of our profession.” Betsy Bell, her principal: “Ann Marie believes that we can build a better world one child at a time. She is doing precisely that!” —— In short, Ann Marie Corgill’s bona fides are inarguable—or so one would think. But modern bureaucrats do not think. When they were alerted this past week that Ms. Corgill lacked a certain certification, which she never had and never needed, she was deemed not a “highly qualified teacher.” Ms. Corgill’s attempts to make sense of her Kafkaesque situation proved futile, met as they were by—to borrow her apt description—“a wall of bureaucracy.” At length, she tendered her resignation, writing regretfully: “After 21 years of teaching in grades 1–6, I have no answers as to why this is a problem now, so instead of paying more fees, taking more tests, and proving once again that I am qualified to teach, I am resigning.” —— It has been well established, by over forty years of research, that the characteristics commonly found on a teacher’s résumé—such as education, certifications, and experience beyond the first few years in the classroom—have essentially no effect on a teacher’s quality. That is, how much a teacher contributes to the learning of his or her students has nothing to do with whether the teacher has a baccalaureate or doctorate, five years of experience or fifteen; and certifications certify nothing with regard to actual teaching. Yet it is precisely, perversely, those résumé characteristics that govern Alabama’s approach to its teachers. In Alabama, a person must minimally have a baccalaureate and a certification to be hired as a public-school teacher, and then is automatically given pay raises for having or acquiring advanced degrees and more experience. All of this is decided without inquiry into the quality of anything: not of the universities the teacher attended (the best equals the worst); not of the degrees awarded to, or the academic performance of, the teacher (majoring in education and graduating with a 2.5 grade point average equals majoring in math and graduating with a 4.0 grade point average); and, most importantly and illogically, not of the person’s ability to actually teach. We should make it easier—not harder—for people to become teachers, and harder—not easier—for bad teachers to remain teachers. As it stands, our system deters people who would have been great teachers from entering the profession, including both college students and mid-career professionals, and abuses great teachers already in the profession, including Ms. Corgill. Worst of all, our system ignores the best interests of our schoolchildren, especially those most vulnerable. —— At the beginning of the school year, Ann Marie Corgill had moved from Cherokee Bend Elementary School in the city of Mountain Brook to Oliver Elementary School in the city of Birmingham. She was now using her talents to teach children who are among the most disadvantaged, economically and educationally. Not anymore. The children who just lost perhaps their last best hope at a good education will not, it seems certain, look back and take solace that a bureaucrat protected them from being taught by an “unqualified” teacher like Ms. Corgill. Andrew A. Yerbey is Senior Policy Counsel at the Alabama Policy Institute.
