Democrats nationwide react to Alabama’s Doug Jones’ swearing-in
Alabama Democrat Sen. Doug Jones was sworn in to the United States Senate Wednesday, narrowing the Republican majority 51-49 in the upper chamber. Democrats across the country celebrated the momentous occasion. Here’s what they had to say: Rep. Terri Sewell | Alabama 7th District U.S. Rep: Sen. Doug Jones’ swearing in today was a historic landmark for Alabama voters. I am thrilled to have a new partner in the Senate who is ready to tackle the challenges facing our state. As a former U.S. attorney, Sen. Jones brings to Congress his experience fighting for the most vulnerable among us. On issues ranging from healthcare to job creation to tax reform, I am confident that Sen. Jones will put the people of Alabama first. Eric Holder | Former Attorney General: “It will be challenging, but the issues really aren’t partisan in nature,” Holder said of what Jones will face in the Senate. “These are things America has got to deal with.’’ Adam Green | Co-founder, Progressive Change Campaign Committee: Today is a big day for Doug Jones and Democrats. Doug Jones won in Alabama by campaigning on kitchen table issues and taking outwardly progressive positions on everything from opposing Republican tax cuts for the rich to being pro-choice to fighting the KKK. Democrats are one seat closer to taking back the Senate — and if we can win in Alabama, an inspiring candidate like Beto O’Rourke can defeat Ted Cruz in Texas. Sen. Chuck Schumer | Senate Minority Leader: Very excited to welcome two new members of the Senate who will be joining the Democratic caucus: U.S. Senator Tina Smith from Minnesota and Senator Doug Jones from Alabama. With them, we Democrats hope that 2018 is different – focused on the middle class rather than the rich and powerful. And in these first few weeks, we have a chance to start off on the right foot. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: Congratulations to Doug Jones, Alabama’s official new U.S. Senator! One more giant for justice in Congress — here’s to electing many, many more in November. This article will continue to be updated as statements are issued.
The 2018 race to the Alabama governor’s mansion: who’s in
The 2018 race to the Alabama’s governor’s mansion is heating up with a whopping 11 candidates filing notices with their intentions to run. Here’s who’s in the running: *all candidates presented in alphabetical order by political party Republicans Tommy Battle: the current Huntsville Mayor. Scott Dawson: an American author, preacher, and the founder of the Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association Bill Hightower: State Senator from Mobile, Ala. Kay Ivey: the current governor who assumed the helm of the Yellowhammer State following former Gov. Robert Bentley‘s resignation in February 2017. Josh Jones: Birmingham businessman Democrats Jason Childs: a truck driver from Oxford, Ala. Sue Bell Cobb: former state Supreme Court Chief Justice, James Fields: from Hanceville, Ala. Walt Maddox: Mayor of Tuscaloosa Anthony White: from Dothan, Ala. Independents Mark Johnston: from Hayden, Ala. Who’s out David Carrington: the Jefferson County Commissioner dropped out of the race. Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh: the Public Service Commission President flipped to the lieutenant governor’s race in August 2017. Stacy Lee George: a state correctional officer and former Morgan County Commissioner dropped out of the race. John McMillan: the State Agriculture Commissioner filed notice on Dec. 12, 2017 he would run for state treasurer instead of governor. The 2018 gubernatorial election will take place on November 6, 2018. The winner will be sworn into office on January 21, 2019.
Roy Moore’s campaign manager Rich Hobson challenges Martha Roby for Congress
Roy Moore’s former campaign manager announced on Wednesday he’s launching a primary challenge against Alabama 2nd District U.S. Rep. Martha Roby. Rich Hobson, 56, made the announcement Wednesday from the steps of the state capitol in Montgomery, Ala. where he outlined his platform which includes issues such as bolstering the military, returning to prayer, and opposing both abortion and LGBT rights. He was also sure to assert his loyalty to President Donald Trump‘s agenda, especially his stance on immigration. Hobson joins State Rep. Barry Moore and Army veteran Tommy Amason who are also challenging Roby in the Republican primary. In 2017, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) identified Roby as their sole target in the Yellowhammer State in their efforts to flip the House after she won her seat by just eight points in 2016. Roby’s Chief of Staff Torrie Matous pointed to the DCCC’s targeting of the seat as a reason why Republicans need a proven candidate like Roby, she commented in response to Hobson’s announcement. “In the 2010 election, Martha Roby beat Democrat Bobby Bright to turn AL-02 red again. With Democrats in Alabama more energized than ever before and Nancy Pelosi targeting our district, it is critical to nominate a responsible conservative who can keep this vital seat in Republicans’ hands,” said Matous. “From her work on behalf of our veterans and the military — including her recent efforts to help bring the F-35 mission to Montgomery — to her support of Alabama’s farmers, Martha Roby is the clear conservative choice for this seat.” The Alabama Republican primary is June 5. The filing deadline is February 9.
Senate swears-in Doug Jones, GOP majority shrinks
Alabama Democrat Sen. Doug Jones was sworn in to the United States Senate Wednesday, narrowing the Republican majority 51-49 in the upper chamber. Jones arrived at the ceremony with former vice president Joe Biden as his escort, where current Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath of office. Jones, 63, is the first Alabama Democrat to be elected to the Senate in a quarter century. He defeated Republican Roy Moore last month in a special election to fill the remainder of Jeff Sessions term after he resigned to be attorney general. “I will be an independent voice and work to find common ground with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get Washington back on track and fight to make our country a better place for all,” Jones said after defeating Moore. Alabama’s sole Democrat in the House, 7th District U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell went to Jones’ swearing-in ceremony and welcomed him to 115th Congress. “Sen. Doug Jones’ swearing in today was a historic landmark for Alabama voters,” said Sewell. “I am thrilled to have a new partner in the Senate who is ready to tackle the challenges facing our state. As a former U.S. attorney, Sen. Jones brings to Congress his experience fighting for the most vulnerable among us. On issues ranging from healthcare to job creation to tax reform, I am confident that Sen. Jones will put the people of Alabama first.”
Lake Martin artist turns raw wood into arresting objects
The vessels in Michael Young’s boathouse on Lake Martin are not the kind you can ski behind. They’re artful wood creations, sometimes figurative, often abstract, that express his vision of what pieces of tree want to be. Like the sculptor who releases an imagined form from a block of stone, Young turns raw wood into arresting objects — literally turning them, on the lathes in his boathouse-turned-workshop. He’s a connoisseur of nature’s cracks and curves, of unusual wood grain, knotty burls and striking spalting (flaws caused by microorganisms and fungi acting on wood). Honoring the Japanese concept of wabi sabi (the beauty of imperfection), Young’s work takes many shapes, usually more eye-pleasing than functional. “If it won’t hold soup, then it’s art,” he says with a smile. As a teenager, he wound up in Wetumpka when his father retired from the Air Force and moved back to his native Alabama. Young studied art in high school, where he met Cindy, who would become his wife of 40 years. He went on to master woodworking as a successful maker of custom shutters and cabinetry. But he always made art on the side. When the economic downturn began in 2007, business at his Wetumpka shop “slowed way down,” he recalls. “That gave me more time to do what I really like to do. I could focus on my artwork.” After so many years, Young is expert at turning and cutting wood, sometimes using tools he’s fabricated. “You can go through the wall of a piece more than a few times before you get a feel for it,” he explains. “You have to listen to the wood – the sound changes as the wood gets thinner.” For pieces with very thin walls, he may use an aid he created, a lightbulb on ball bearings that shines from within as the work turns. While he sometimes buys rarer wood such as bird’s-eye maple, Young gets most of his material straight from nature. “I don’t cut it, I find it,” he says. “If you see me walking in the woods I’ll probably have my head down, looking for snakes and wood. Deadwood that’s almost rotten often yields beautiful colors and patterns in the grain.” Wormholes add interest to a vessel turned from persimmon, “a very hard wood, hard to work,” he comments. “I made this” – a vibrant bowl – “from an oak log raised from the bottom of Lake Martin. It looked totally gray and dead, but this was inside it.” Beyond vessel forms, Young makes sculptural pieces, sometimes seamlessly joining lathe-turned arcs into sinuous curves. Some works have a kinetic quality, incorporating rolling balls or an element floating on a pivot point. He’s made many fish – big and small, some meant to hang on a wall. “The fish pieces are very popular with lake dwellers,” he notes dryly. He may preserve part of the bark, color the wood, fill cracks with metal inlay or stitch a gap with leather lacing. “I’ll push a piece till I get what I want,” Young says. “I’d rather blow something up than settle for less than it could be.” Much of his creative process occurs in his lake-view studio, directly above the boathouse, part of the house where he and Cindy have lived for more than 15 years. Though wood is his favorite medium, Young also photographs, draws and paints, with each practice informing the others. He may use a drone to capture a spectacular Lake Martin panorama or an infrared camera to highlight the primeval nature of the Sipsey Wilderness. His HDR photos (high dynamic range, combining multiple exposures) give landscapes a hyper-real, painterly quality, which he enhances by printing them on canvas on his large-format Canon printer. His photos often inspire paintings, usually in watercolor, “an unforgiving medium – you can’t get white paper back once it takes the color,” he says. For example, he based a painting of Lake Martin’s Children’s Harbor lighthouse on a photo. Ultimately, his strongest connection is to wood, and trees. A favorite is the state’s largest poplar tree, which stands in the Sipsey Wilderness. “I’ve hugged that tree,” he marvels. “I love sitting in the peace and quiet of the woods.” The artist finds a kind of serenity in his shop, despite the din of power tools. “Turning’s not like a drawing or painting,” he explains. “When you start, you have to finish it – if you stop for long, the wood can change and warp. Turning’s like meditation; you have to be in the moment, paying attention.” His son, Heath, has taken over the family business, Custom Shutter & Millwork, in Wetumpka. Along with shutters, cabinetry and furniture, he makes fine segmented bowls, crafted from ingeniously assembled pieces of wood. “They’re beyond me,” Young says with pride. “Heath is a better woodworker than I am.” Young sells his works on his website and at juried art shows, often local events, such as Arti Gras at Russell Crossroads and Lil’ Calypso Art Festival at Chuck’s Marina, but also at the annual fair at the John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina. “An artist never stops improving,” he says. That’s true for all his artistic pursuits, especially woodworking. “I love giving new life to old wood,” Young declares. “Sometimes I say it’s just making sawdust. Whatever you end up with is cool.” For more information about Michael Young’s artwork, visit mhyoungart.com and heathyoungmillwork.com. This story was originally written for Alabama Power’s Shorelines. Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter.
Watch live: Doug Jones sworn in as Alabama’s newest U.S. Senator
Doug Jones of Alabama will be sworn into office Wednesday, a historic day where he will become the first Democratic United States senator from Alabama in over 25 years. Given his sharp political differences with his Alabama Senate counterpart, Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, Jones has chosen to to be escorted to the ceremony by former Vice President Joe Biden. At 11:00 a.m. CT Jones will put his hand on a family Bible and take the oath of office, promising to uphold the Constitution of the United States, in a ceremony led by Vice President Mike Pence. According to the U.S. Senate, Jones will recite and sign the following oath: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God. Upon completing the oath Jones will officially become the 49th Democratic member of the Senate, giving Republicans a narrow 51-49 majority in the upper chamber. Watch live at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT:
UA launches campaign for performing arts on former Bryce property
The University of Alabama has launched a campaign to raise $15 million in private donations to support the construction of a new Performing Arts Academic Center on the former Bryce Hospital property. Former UA Athletic Director Bill Battle and his wife, Mary, are co-chairing the campaign cabinet that is leading the fundraising effort, which has raised more than $6.3 million in booked and verbal gift commitments to date. The campaign was formally announced at a news conference. The new Performing Arts Academic Center, which will connect to the restored Bryce Main, will feature four performance venues for theater and dance. The main hospital building is being renovated to include a UA welcome center, a reception venue, faculty offices and rehearsal space, as well as museums dedicated to both UA history and the history of mental health in Alabama. “We’re excited for everyone to see what has been done and also what hasn’t been done,” Bill Battle said. “It would have been easier and more economical to tear it all down and start over, but the preservation of this facility is truly amazing. “We think if people truly understand the transformative nature of this facility, most will want to participate in some way. The PAAC portion of the building will be a fantastic place for students to learn and perform, for the community to add a serious upgrade to cultural opportunities in Tuscaloosa, and for the College of Arts and Sciences to elevate this part of the curriculum. But it is much more than that. The Welcome Center will become the place where prospective students get their first impression of our university.” Serious about the arts Among the $6.3 million in initial gifts and pledges, significant lead gifts committed to the campaign include: $1.5 million from Laura and Robert Abernathy, of Atlanta $500,000 from Mary and Bill Battle, of Tuscaloosa $500,000 from Janine and Nick Perdomo, of Miami $500,000 from Linda and Bob Shumilas, of Tuscaloosa “We chose to donate to this project for three reasons,” said Robert Abernathy, a 1976 UA graduate. “The center will be the new face of campus with the prospective student Welcome Center; the center will visibly demonstrate that the university is serious about the arts; and the center honors the history of the Bryce property and buildings. “It will be the talk of the performing arts world for years to come. There will not be an on-campus performing arts center that will compare to this.” Construction is estimated to begin in summer 2019. Upon completion, the Performing Arts Academic Center will include four performance theaters — a black box theater with flexible seating for 175-275, a 350-seat proscenium style theater, a 450-seat venue specifically designed for dance, and a 100-seat studio dance theater designed for maximum flexibility to use for rehearsals, recitals and smaller performances. These performance venues will replace the outdated Marian Gallaway Theatre, Allen Bales Theatre and Morgan Auditorium. “The need for a new Performing Arts Academic Center on our campus has never been greater nor more deserved, and the impact will be tremendous,” said Dr. Robert Olin, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “A center of this caliber will elevate the profile of the entire university and further drive economic development in the state. “It will also significantly increase the quality of life in our community by providing easy access to world-class performances and ample space to expand community programming and outreach. Poised to benefit on every account are our students, whose experiences in this facility will be invaluable as they graduate and begin to build their professional legacies.” For more information on the building project or ways to give to the campaign, visit www.ua.edu/performingarts. This story originally appeared on the University of Alabama’s website. Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter.
Steve Flowers: Are we now a two party state?
As we enter the 2018 campaign season, many of you have asked me to look back and analyze the 2017 Special Election Senate race and explain in depth what happened and why. The most asked question is how could a Democrat win a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama and does this mean that we are now possibly a two party state? I will give you numerous answers, however, the simple answer to why a Democrat won is that Roy Moore was the Republican nominee. Are we a state that can go either way in an open U.S. Senate seat? As we have just seen, it is possible but not probable. The Democrat, Doug Jones, won in the perfect storm. We will probably never have this same scenario again. There are two maxims in politics that over my years of following politics never fail and become truer and truer. The more things change, the more they stay the same. One is money is the mother’s milk of politics. The second is that more people vote against someone or something than vote for someone or something. To the first adage, money is the mother’s milk of politics, nine times out of ten when one candidate out spends the other the one who spends the most usually wins. When one outspends the other 3-to-1, they always win. In this race, the National Democratic Party saw an opening and they seized on it. The people in blue America are mad as hell that Donald Trump upset Hillary Clinton. Our senate race was the only race in town or should we say the country. Not only do Democrats despise Trump, but when they heard that Alabama had a Republican candidate that is a pro-God, pro-gun, gun toting, antiabortion, horse riding, religious zealot that said that he was not only against gay marriage but said that gays were legally committing bestiality, the nation saw Roy Moore as a little extreme in today’s America. In addition, a good many people around the country believe he is a pedophile. The liberal and gay money flowed into here by the barrel. It came from New York and San Francisco and all liberal pockets in America. The bottom line is the Democrat, Doug Jones, outspent the Republican, Roy Moore, 6-to-1; 18 million to 3 million and that does not count the soft money spent by the National Democratic Party that was spent on getting out the vote. The book was written on Moore from the get go. The first poll and the last poll revealed that 30 percent of Alabamians would vote for Roy Moore come hell or high water. However, he is so polarizing that a whopping 70 percent said that they would not vote for him under any circumstance. The reason that he won the Republican nomination was that his 30 percent became accentuated due to turnout. His voters are more ardent, fervent and frankly older. Moore’s 30 percent did indeed vote on December 12. The problem for Moore was that the 70 percent that detest him voted more than was expected. The biggest part of that 70 percent was African American voters who voted in epic, unparalleled proportions. It was statewide. It was not only in the urban counties of Jefferson, Montgomery, and Mobile and the Black Belt. This tidal wave occurred in all 67 counties. African American voters came together in a crescendo and sent Roy Moore to a watery grave. Doug Jones owes his election to the Black voters and he knows it. A significant number of urbane, upscale, more educated business establishment Republicans voted against Moore, pragmatically. The image that Moore portrayed to the nation was bad for business and economic development. The best example of this was the results in Madison County. Huntsville is Alabama’s crown jewel and economic engine. They generally vote Republican. Moore lost Madison County by 20,000 votes. Senator Richard Shelby contributed to Moore’s defeat. His refusing to vote for Moore and his open acknowledgement that he cast a write-in vote for an unknown Republican gave credence and impetus for other Republicans to follow suit. There were about 22,000 write-in votes. Moore lost by 21,000. How does this play into 2018. It gives Walt Maddox and Sue Bell Cobb hope and credence that under the right and perfect circumstances a Democrat can win. However, it probably does not change the fact that a Republican gubernatorial or senatorial candidate will be favored to win 60/40. Luther Strange or Mo Brooks would have won the Senate race 60/40. See you next week. ••• Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
