Steve Flowers: Hot political summer in the city of Montgomery
It has been a long hot summer in Montgomery, and I do not mean at the Capitol or Statehouse, but in the City of Montgomery itself. There is a heated and pivotal mayor’s race. It has been considered a foregone conclusion that Montgomery will elect their first African American mayor this year. It is probably about eight years later than expected. Montgomery has been a majority minority city for a decade. It is well over 60 percent today. A good many Montgomery citizens have moved to suburban enclaves, like Prattville, Wetumpka, Millbrook, and now Pike Road. Most of the young families with school age children have fled for a school system. However, there are still a significant number of older people living in the Capitol City. It is a tried and true fact that older folks vote. These older Montgomerians probably will not vote for a black person for anything, much less for the mayor of their beloved city. Essentially, a very weak school system is the main ingredient for the death of a city. It is the driving force for real estate values. Montgomery home values have dropped in the last decade as much as any city its size in America. The racial division in Montgomery is also more pronounced than other cities in Alabama because of the decades long feud between former mayor, Emory Folmar, and longtime African American and AEA/ADC and former City Councilman, Joe Reed. This daily racial media battle raged for years with both men feeding their popularity in their communities by the barrage of racist rhetoric. The demise of the school system has been enhanced by the abysmally low local property tax. They do not have the funds to have a decent school system if they even wanted one. Therefore, Montgomery is slowly dying. The mayoral candidates will all talk about the education and crime problems in the city, however, the problems are probably too pronounced to resolve. All of the candidates are well-qualified. They are all male. This is surprising since the largest group of voters in the city are black females. Artur Davis, the former congressman, is making his second run for mayor. He ran against current mayor, Todd Strange, four years ago. Veteran Montgomery County Commissioner, Elton Dean, is offering to move from Chairman of County Commission to Mayor. However, his campaign seems lackadaisical and he may be ambivalent about making an almost lateral move. J.C. Love is a young Montgomery attorney who is running a sophisticated modern-day social media campaign. He is attracting millennials. Unfortunately, young people do not vote. Retired General, Ed Crowell, is a distinguished erudite gentleman that the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce crowd would like to see lead Montgomery. They believe, and rightfully so, that Crowell would project a good image for Montgomery. The aforementioned Joe Reed’s son, Steven Reed, is the current Probate Judge of Montgomery County. He is quieter and more deliberative than his father. Most political observers point to young Steven Reed as the front runner in the race. Montgomery Businessman and television station owner, David Woods, is a white candidate who is giving the race his full commitment. He is spending a good amount of his personal money and as I said earlier, the older folks vote. This probably assures him a place in the runoff. My guess is that when the votes are counted on August 27, David Woods and Steven Reed will be pitted against each other in an October 8 runoff. Ironically, on the day of the August 27 Montgomery mayoral primary, there will be a runoff vote for the State Legislative seat in Montgomery held by the late Dimitri Polizos. House seat 74 in the City of Montgomery has been vacant since the death of the popular restaurateur, Polizos. Former school board member, Charlotte Meadows, and Montgomery attorney, Michael Fritz, are headed for a runoff on that same day. Charlotte Meadows led the six-person field in the first primary garnering 44 percent of the vote to Fritz’s 24 percent. She is expected to waltz to victory. 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.
Steve Flowers: Alabama is a republican state but U.S. is probably a democratic nation
The 2020 Presidential Election year has already begun. It usually begins on Labor Day of the year prior to the Election. However, in recent decades the parade has started early. They really are four-year caravans. They begin the day after the President is sworn in. Indeed, President Trump never shut down his campaign organization, He essentially has never stopped campaigning. He loves to campaign. He loves to entertain. That is really what he was before he was President and that is what he has been as President, an entertainer. He treats the Presidency as though it is an extension and continuation of his television game show. As long as he is the center of attention he is happy. Trump is amazingly similar to our two most colorful and prominent Alabama political icons, Big Jim Folsom and George Wallace. He is just as uninhibited and disarming as Big Jim was with the same irreverence for protocol and decorum. He is similar to Wallace in that he really likes campaigning and prefers campaigning to governing. Wallace really didn’t want to govern, he just liked running and getting elected governor. Speaking of Wallace, he liked to run for President also. He ran several times. He usually ran under some third-party banner. As he ran around the country running as a third-party state’s rights candidate, he would proclaim that there is not a dimes worth of difference in the national Democratic and Republican parties. However, even Wallace could not say that with a straight face today. Folks, there are a lot of philosophical differences in the national Republican and Democratic parties. They really should change their names to the Conservative and Liberal parties. The Republican Party is extremely conservative and the Democratic Party is very liberal. This extreme philosophy by each party is what has driven people into different political corners and is the reason for the political polarization of American politics. The electronic media and news networks have further driven and enhanced this polarization. Fox News Network is simply the network that Republicans watch. CNN and MSNBC could be and people assume they are appendages of the national Democratic Party. The CBS Stephen Colbert show is unashamedly the hate Donald Trump show. They should change the title to that name. The two-party machinery and nomination process is designed to choose a presidential contender as their nominee that is from the extreme segment of the party. This is especially true in the Democratic ranks. Therefore, the probability of a left wing socialist like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren being the nominee is likely. This does not bode well for our anomaly junior Democratic U.S. Senator Doug Jones. He will be running along with one of his liberal Democratic buddies. Jones has organized and voted lockstep with the Democrats since his arrival last year, which is what most folks who know Jones expected. He is a real national, liberal Democrat. He has always been and will always be a Democrat. In Jones’s defense, he is not a demagogue. He will not change his stripes or beliefs to get elected. That was evident with his vote against the conservative Trump Supreme Court appointee, Brett Kavanaugh. Jones was the only Southern Senator to vote against Trump. Indeed, Jones is the only Democratic Senator in the Deep South. His being on the ticket with the Democratic Presidential candidate in November 2020 in the Heart of Dixie, makes his chance of being elected slim-to-none. It would be a surprise if he gets 40% even with a ton of left-wing money pouring into the state on his behalf. Last year’s General Election proved we are a Red Republican State. One of the most Republican in the Nation. Donald Trump, or for that matter any Republican, will carry Alabama next year. Mickey Mouse would carry Alabama 60 to 40 if he were the nominee. However, Donald Duck would carry California and New York if he were the Democratic nominee. Folks, I hate to break it to you, but California and New York have more electoral votes than we do. It was just as much an anomaly that Donald Trump carried Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and even Ohio and Florida, as it was that Doug Jones won in Alabama. As we look to the 2020 elections, it is evident that Alabama is a Republican state. However, the United States is probably a Democratic nation. 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.
Steve Flowers: Legends of Girls State
For almost 100 years one of, if not the best annual event for young Alabama High School leaders in Alabama has been the Alabama Boys State and the Alabama Girls State programs. These events are sponsored by the American Legion and the American Legion Auxillary. Boys State and Girls State are sponsored nationwide by the American Legion. The programs epitomize the American Legion’s mission to honor those who have bought us our American freedom. The Girls State and Boys State programs brings the brightest high school leaders together every June. These young Alabama leaders will be Alabama’s governmental leaders in the future. During the week-long session these high school rising seniors develop leadership skills and action-based understanding of the governmental process that gives them a lasting foundation for success both professionally and personally. Boys State has spawned Alabama’s governmental leaders for decades. I attended Boys State 50-years ago this month. I remember it like it was yesterday. It is a lifetime memory. You make friends that last throughout life and have resurfaced my entire life. One of my contemporaries from Boys State, who became a lifetime friend, is current Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Tom Parker. Now that women have taken their rightful place in Alabama governmental positions, it is appropriate that our top two female leaders in Alabama got their start at Alabama Girls State. Governor Kay Ivey and BCA CEO Katie Britt were leaders at Girls State. Katie Britt, who was young Katie Boyd, has always been an outstanding leader. Katie became Governor of Girls State. Kay Ivey has stayed extremely active as a Board member and Director of Girls State ever since her years at Auburn University. She has volunteered as a counselor for over 50 years. She loves Girls State. In fact, when these young female leaders meet next week at the University of Alabama for the 79th time, Kay will address them as their Governor and fellow Girls Stater. These young women leaders will organize and assume the roles of government leaders. They will campaign in mock parties called the “Federalists” and “Nationalists.” They will divide up in cities and become mayors and county officials. Then others will have bigger roles as state constitutional officers and Supreme Court Judges. One will become Governor. She and the Lt. Governor will go to Washington D.C. to attend Girls Nation. They may even run for President of Girls Nation. Governor Ivey has mentored several Girls State leaders over the years. Lee Grant Sellers, “Mrs.” Girls State, was an outstanding leader from Montgomery. She is now the 18-year Director of Alabama’s Girls State. Lee’s husband, Will Sellers, currently sits on the Alabama Supreme Court. By the way, Lee and Will are Kay Ivey’s closest friends and confidants. We have had a President of Girls Nation mentored by Governor Kay Ivey, Cathy Johnson Randall. Kay bonded with Cathy through Girls State. Cathy has been one of the most outstanding leaders in Alabama over the past 50 years. She headed Kay Ivey’s Gubernatorial Inauguration Committee. I knew Cathy as a student at the University of Alabama. She was by far the most respected leader on campus, male or female. She was president of everything on campus. While at the University, she was a Chi Omega, a Crimson Girl, SGA Senator and ODK, and a member of Mortar Board. After graduation from the Capstone, she married Pettus Randall from Tuscaloosa, thus becoming Cathy Johnson Randall. Upon his death she became the Chairman of the Board of Randall Holdings. She is also on the Board of the Alabama Power Company and Mercedes Benz. While in high School, Cathy Johnson Randall was elected Governor of Girls State and then went on to become President of Girls Nation. Believe it or not, her husband Pettus, was Boys State Governor and Boys Nation President. Furthermore, she and Pettus had a daughter who was Governor of Girls State and President of Girls Nation. 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.
Steve Flowers: Road rage and deer hunting bills take center stage in legislature
Over 20 years ago when I was a legislator the State Trooper assigned to my county asked if he could come visit with me. “Of course,” I said. When he came he had a somber look on his face. I thought maybe he had a serious personal problem or had lost a loved one. He began, “This may not sound like a major highway problem, but one of the things that causes a good many accidents and incidents on our roads is people driving slow in the left lane and not moving over.” I never pursued legislation to this effect. However, he made me aware of the need to remedy this problem. Well, finally, a legislator has taken up this legislation. Rep. Phillip Pettus, a Republican from Lauderdale County, who by the way retired as a captain in the Alabama State Troopers after a 25-year career, has passed legislation to remedy this problem. He calls his Bill, “The Anti-Road Rage Act.” The Bill would prohibit drivers from staying in the left most lane on interstates for more than a mile and a half without passing another vehicle. Pettus explained, “People get ill when they come up behind people driving slow in the left lane and they are wanting to get by. Interstates were set up for the movement of traffic. This will make interstate traffic move better if the said road rage causes more wrecks than accident records would indicate, like when angry drivers cut in front of another vehicle and cause that vehicle to run off the road.” The House has passed the Bill on a 61-24 vote. It awaits action in the Senate. It has been 20 years since I was in the Legislature, and during the entire time I was there we had a perennial issue that would surface every year; whether or not to let deer hunters hunt deer with dogs. Today the issue has evolved into whether or not to allow hunters to use bait to attract deer. This Bill has become an annual debate in the Legislature. Both sides are ardent and take their deer hunting seriously. Well it looks like the baiters have finally won. Rep. Danny Crawford (Republican-Limestone) has passed legislation that gives hunters the option of hunting over bait. The bill passed overwhelmingly in both chambers. The deer hunting issue has been around forever. During the 1950’s and 60’s there was a legendary legislative sage named Rankin Fite of Marion County. Ole Rankin had been in the Legislature a long time. He was actually Speaker of the House well into the 1970’s when the first Ethic Laws were passed. Rankin was one of only six House members to vote against the Ethics Law. After the vote the media asked the former Speaker why he voted against the Ethics Law. He wryly replied, “It wasn’t tough enough.” He further pontificated this advice, “I voted for every tax, voting for taxes won’t beat you.” “I just voted against the Ethics Bill, voting against ethics won’t beat you.” “The issues you need to avoid are voting on daylight savings time or hunting deer with dogs.” Gov. Kay Ivey has done a good job with her judicial appointments throughout the state. In 2017, she appointed Circuit Judge Brad Mendheim of Dothan to the Supreme Court to fill a vacancy. Mendheim is a very well qualified jurist to sit on the state’s highest judicial tribunal. Mendheim is extremely well liked and respected in his native Houston County. In the 2018 elections, Mendheim lost a close election to Judge Sarah Stewart of Mobile. Gov. Ivey wisely reappointed Mendheim to the Court in the place of Justice Tom Parker who was elected Chief Justice. Former Chief Justice Lynn Stuart, who Tom Parker replaced, has taken a seat on the State Ethics Commission. Judge Stuart was a Baldwin County Judge for 12 years prior to being elected to the Supreme Court in 2000. She served 18 years on the Supreme Court. Her term on the Ethics Commission is for four years, through August of 2023. Gov. Ivey has set the Special Election dates for the seat of Dimitri Polizos in Montgomery. Dimitri, a popular restaurateur in the Capital City, died in March. The first primary is June 11 with a runoff on August 27. It is a Republican seat, which has drawn a crowded field of candidates. 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.
Steve Flowers: First quarter of 2019. Eventful politically. 2020 campaigns are kicking-off
A lot has happened politically in the first quarter of 2019. The governor and all of our constitutional officials have been sworn in and have begun their four-year terms in office with Kay Ivey as Governor, Will Ainsworth as Lt. Governor, John Merrill as Secretary of State, John McMillan as State Treasurer, Rick Pate as Agriculture Commissioner, and Jim Zeigler begins his second term as State Auditor. More importantly, the State Legislature has organized and the Regular Session begins next week. They will be dealing with a myriad of major issues, not the least of which are the two state budgets. The Legislature is more important than who the Governor is in state government. The reason being is they appropriate the money. Those who have the gold make the rules. Another apropos adage is the Governor proposes but the Legislature disposes. The powers in the 35-member Senate are Senator Del Marsh (R-Anniston), Senator Greg Reed (R-Jasper), Senator Jabo Waggonner (R-Vestavia), Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) and Senator Greg Albritton (R-Escambia). Orr and Albritton chair the Finance and Taxation Committees. The leadership of the House consists of Speaker Mac McCutchen (R-Madison), Representative Victor Gaston (R-Mobile), Representative Mike Jones (R-Covington), Representative Bill Poole (R-Tuscaloosa), and Representative Steve Clouse (R-Ozark). Poole and Clouse chair the Budget Committees in the House. All of the above lawmakers are Republicans. There is a super majority Republican domination in both Chambers. There are 77 Republicans in the House and only 28 Democrats. The State Senate is comprised of 28 Republicans with only 7 Democrats. There is only one white Democrat in the Senate. Senator Billy Beasley of Barbour, George Wallace’s home county. As predicted the 2020 campaigns have begun. We have a presidential campaign next year. It should be interesting. We also have a U.S. Senate race. Our anomaly, Democratic Junior U.S. Senator Doug “the California Kid” Jones will be running for a full term as a U.S. Senator. His philosophy and voting record more closely reflects a California senator than his Alabama counterpart, Senator Richard Shelby. He is truly unashamedly a Liberal National Democrat. He votes right down the line with the Liberal Democratic leadership in Washington. His voting record is identical to Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders. It is more of a parody than anomaly that one of the most, if not the most conservative states in America would have a Liberal Democrat representing them in the U. S. Senate. Indeed Jones is the only Democrat in any Deep South state in the Senate. It would be safe to say that Jones will be the underdog next year. Unfortunately, for him, he more than likely will not have Roy Moore to run against. Although my guess is that Roy Moore might run. All of the early Republican entrees or prospects are up in age, which is not conducive to building seniority or power in the Senate. Roy Moore is over 70. State Auditor, Jim Zeigler is 70, Congressman Bradley Byrne is 63, and State Senator Del Marsh is 62. Byrne and Zeigler have significant name identification having run statewide and built a statewide organization. They would be the early favorites. Marsh can be a player if he is willing to spend his personal money. It would take $2 to 3 million to put him in the game. Lt. Governor, Will Ainsworth, would be the perfect choice to take the Jeff Sessions/Jones seat. He is 37 years old and could build power for the state in Washington. The Republican to watch, if he enters the Senate race, is Secretary of State John Merrill. He has a free shot. He has the best and broadest statewide grassroots political organization in modern Alabama political history. Nobody will come close to outworking him. The Presidential Campaign Caravan has begun. There are a host of Liberal Democratic Senators lining up. Liberal is the optimum word, but most would prefer to be labeled Socialists. Their states will give you an indication of their philosophical tint. Senator Kristen Gillibrand of New York, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Senator Kamala Harris of California are seeking the Democratic nomination. A true Socialist Senator, Bernie Sanders, will more than likely join the fray. Also in is Julian Castro, who was Housing Director in the Obama Administration. His philosophy is akin to Fidel Castro. Doug Jones should run for president. His Senate voting record is just as liberal as the aforementioned other Democratic senators. He has a proven Civil Rights record and his fundraising base is built in California and New York. His odds are probably better for winning the Democratic nomination for President than being elected to a full term as a Democratic Senator from the Heart of Dixie. See you next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in more than 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Steve Flowers: Infrastructure program should be priority 1
As the new quadrennium crests in Alabama government, everybody looks toward a new beginning. There is a new fresh four years ahead for the newly elected leaders. They are overwhelmingly Republican. The Governor is Republican and all of the accompanying constitutional officeholders are members of the GOP. More importantly, the State Legislature, both the House and the Senate are Republicans. In fact, over two-thirds of each chamber are Republican. It is a supermajority. The cards are lining up for these leaders to leave a legacy. That legacy could and should be to rebuild Alabama’s roads and bridges. The optimum word is infrastructure. Folks know that it is time. Alabamians see the needs everyday as they drive to work. The staunchest and most conservative people I know throughout the state tell me, adamantly, that they are flat ready to pay more in gasoline tax to fix their roads. The hue and cry arises from rural folks whose roads are impassable from large potholes. Birmingham’s roads are deplorable. Suburban commuters who have to travel highway 280 in Jefferson and Shelby counties are exasperated. Indeed, commuters in the state from all of our largest metro areas are acutely aware of the horrendous log jams they experience every day. The country folks have figured out that it would be cheaper to pay more for gasoline than it is to pay for having their frontends aligned and tires balanced every few weeks from hitting holes in their roads. A good many of the rural bridges in the state have been condemned and are hazardous for heavy trucks and school buses to travel. The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) has an unprecedented number of unmet repairs and expansions. A spokesman for ALDOT says there are $10 billion of identified capacity projects and needs. Some big-ticket items on the ALDOT list include a new Interstate 10 and bridge and Bayway widening project in Mobile and Baldwin Counties, the completion of the Birmingham northern beltline, the Montgomery Outer Loop, and additional lanes along the interstate in Huntsville. Speaking of Huntsville, they are poised to be one of the fastest growing areas of the entire nation over the next decade. It is imperative that their infrastructure needs are met to keep pace with their expansion. Toyota-Mazda is set to build their largest plant in the Huntsville-Madison metro area. They were assured that roads would be built to accommodate their location and expansion. Alabama, like most states, relies on gasoline taxes to pay for their roads and bridges. It has been 26 years since our gas tax was raised. The last time that Alabama had an increase in our fuel tax was 1992. That state increase was just ahead of the last federal gas tax increase enacted by Congress. President Donald Trump pledged while running and again after his election in 2016 to advance a massive infrastructure program, the largest in U.S. history. He signaled support for increasing the federal gasoline tax to pay for this American infrastructure initiative. This rebuilding of America infrastructure is one of the bipartisan issues that both Democrats and Republicans are espousing. It is a certainty that states will have to come up with matching dollars to get the federal money. Indeed, 28 states have raised or reformed their taxes since 2013 in anticipation of a federal tax increase which they will have to match. This is the one issue in which both parties in Washington can come to an agreement. We in Alabama are not ahead of the curve, but we are poised to maybe come to grips with this issue. A gasoline tax increase to fund infrastructure needs will be the paramount issue of 2019. My guess is that it will happen this year. Governor Kay Ivey, shortly after taking office, said she “supported an increase in the state gasoline tax to fix state roadways.” House Speaker, Mac McCutcheon, of Huntsville, has trumpeted the need for a road program for years. Most of his Republican colleagues in the House ran for reelection without having to take a vow that they would not raise any new revenue or taxes. The stars are aligned for Alabama to act. The time is now. The timing is good. We will probably never have the Chairman of the United States Senate Appropriations Committee as our Senior Senator ever again. Senator Richard Shelby will make sure that we get our fair share of the federal money. However, we must have the basic revenue to draw down the federal funds. See you next week. ••• Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in more than60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Steve Flowers: What will our Congressional districts look like after the 2020 Census
Preparations are being made to take the 2020 Census. This process is not just a fun game to spell out demographic changes and interesting tidbits about us as Americans. It is a very important mandate dictated by the Constitution. The number of people counted determines how many seats each state has in Congress. Thus, it is taken every 10-years. The Country has been changing, demographically, over the last decade, as it always has over the course of history. The states of California, Texas and Florida continue to grow exponentially. All Americans, not just older ones, seek the sun. They like a sunny, warm climate. That is why our neighboring state of Florida is and has been for decades America’s growth state. Last week I visited with you about our 1940’s Congressional Delegation. At that time we had nine seats. We lost one after the 1960’s census. We lost another after 1980. We are projected to lose another one after this upcoming Census of 2020. We now have seven seats. It is predicted that we will only have six after next year. We most certainly will lose one to California if they are allowed to count illegal immigrants. The State Legislature is constitutionally designated as the drawer of lines of congressional districts for each respective state. Currently, we have six Republican seats and one Democratic seat. If indeed we drop from seven to six Congressional districts, how will it shake out. The census will reveal that Huntsville and North Alabama have been our growth spots. Alabama’s population continues to move toward the northern tier of the state. Two out of every three Alabamians live in Birmingham, Hoover, and Tuscaloosa north. The Black Belt continues to lose population. The census will also reveal quite a disparity of financial prosperity. It will show that the same Black Belt counties are some of the poorest areas of the country and conversely Huntsville will be one of the most prosperous. So who are the winners and losers under Congressional redistricting? You start with one premise. You have to have one majority minority African American district. The federal courts have mandated this edict. Therefore, Congresswoman Terri Sewell’s district is sacred. It now is very large, geographically. It will become even larger. The district will take in most of the African American population in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Montgomery, and the entire Black Belt stretching from south of Birmingham and Tuscaloosa all the way to Mobile. It will be a big geographic district and be numbered district six rather than seven. This leaves us with five Republican districts and six incumbent Republicans. Therefore, who gets the short end of the stick. A cursory look says the odd person out is Martha Roby in the second district. However, our current delegates have already come up with a plan to save everybody. Mo Brooks, the Congressman from Huntsville, will choose to move up or out in 2022. He is assuming that Senator Richard Shelby retires at age 88. Therefore, Brooks will see his fast-growing Tennessee Valley district divided and delved out to a plan that grows the districts north, which complies with the growth pattern. Our senior and most seniority laden Congressman, Robert Aderholt, will opt to stay in Congress rather than risk a run for the Senate. This is a very wise and prudent move for him and the state. He has over 24-years in seniority and is in line to be Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. He will move north and pick up part of the Huntsville area and he will cut Gadsden loose. Mike Rogers will move north and pick up Gadsden and all of northeast Alabama, which is a more natural fit for him with his native Anniston area. Rogers’ move north will allow him to abandon Auburn-Opelika, which in turn allows Roby’s district to exist primarily like it is with the population centers of East Montgomery, Elmore, Autauga, and the Wiregrass and Dothan and that district will add Auburn-Opelika. The current 6th District of Jefferson-Shelby represented by Gary Palmer will remain essentially the same. Its upscale suburbs will make it one of the most Republican in the nation. The last district seat of Mobile-Baldwin will remain intact and will still be District 1. However, the tremendous growth of Baldwin will require that the district only contain Mobile and Baldwin. The cadre of rural counties north of Mobile that are currently in the District will have to be cut loose to probably go to the Black Belt district. The current 1st District Congressman, Bradley Bryne, is running for the U.S. Senate in 2020. However, his replacement will be a conservative Republican. 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.
Steve Flowers: Alabama’s 1940’s Congressional Delegation
Recently I came across a copy of an old congressional directory from 1942. It is always fun for me to read about this era in American political history. Franklin Delano Roosevelt had been first elected in 1932 in the depths of the Great Depression. He would go on to be reelected in 1936, 1940 and 1944 and would have been reelected into perpetuity. However, he died in Warm Springs, Georgia in April of 1945, only four months into his fourth term. He was the closest thing we Americans have ever had to having a king. Nobody has or ever will serve four terms as President. After FDR’s omnipotent reign, the Constitution was changed to limit our presidents to two four-year terms. Roosevelt brought the country out of the Depression with his New Deal. However, he did not do it alone. He worked closely with a Democratic Congress. They congruently changed the nation and it’s government. Our Alabama delegation was an integral part of that transformation. Our delegation in Washington was seniority laden and very much New Dealers. A cursory perusal of Tom Brokaw’s book, The Greatest Generation, reveals that a standard prerequisite for being successful in politics in Alabama during that time was to have been a military veteran. All of our congressmen had been veterans of World War I, unless they were too old to have served. In the 1940’s we had nine congressmen, whereas today we have seven. All nine members of our congressional delegation were men and all were Democrats. Today, we have six Republicans and one token Democrat. There are several differences in our delegation on the Potomac today and our group of gentlemen congressmen of over 70 years ago. Obviously, their partisan badges have changed as have Alabamians. Another observation is the tremendous difference in power and seniority of the 1940s group versus our group today. Of that group of men, which included Frank Boykin, George Grant, Henry Steagall, Sam Hobbs, Joe Starnes, Pete Jarman, and John Sparkman, many of them had been in Congress for decades and wielded significant influence. Indeed, from the mid 1940s through 1964 ours was one of the most powerful delegations in the nation’s capital. They had risen to power through their seniority and their allegiance to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal policies. Henry Steagall from Ozark in the 3rd Congressional District was Chairman of the prestigious Banking Committee. He was instrumental in the passage of much of FDR’s New Deal banking laws which were revamped in the wake of the collapse of America’s banks in 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression. He was the sponsor of the Glass-Steagall Banking Act, which was a lynchpin foundation of FDR’s Banking Resurrection Plan coming out of the Depression. One of the monumental differences in that era’s delegation and today’s is their philosophical voting records. As mentioned, that group of men were witnesses to and participants of the Great Depression. Every one of them had been born in the late 1800s, therefore, they were in the prime of their life when the Great Depression struck. They witnessed the devastation of the country. These men voted lockstep with FDR’s liberal agenda to transform America. Given this partisan progressive loyalty to FDR and the New Deal, this delegation’s voting record was one of the most liberal in the nation. Because of their loyalty to FDR’s programs, coupled with this group’s seniority, no state benefited from the New Deal agenda more than Alabama. Through the Works Progress Administration and the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Alabama progressed. The Tennessee Valley of North Alabama was especially transformed. Later John Sparkman would create the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, which made this North Alabama city one of the most prosperous and progressive areas of the country. To the contrary, our delegation today is one of the most conservative in America. It was a different era. 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.
Steve Flowers: Last of famous probate judges: Hardy McCollum
In Alabama political history, the office of Probate Judge was the most powerful and prestigious position. In the old days, in every county in Alabama, the probate judge was not only judge, he also appointed all county positions, hired all county employees and was Chairman of the County Commission. He was essentially the “King of the County.” In bygone days, gubernatorial candidates ran grassroots campaigns. There were no televisions, therefore, the first and maybe the only stop they would make in their quest for the Governor’s mansion, was to kiss the ring of and get the endorsement of the probate judge. The omnipotent probate judge would endorse them and that endorsement usually meant that that they would carry that county. The local folks would follow the lead of their judge. They and their county would be on the right side of the governor’s race. The last vestige of the era of vintage Probate Judges will end this year with the retirement of Tuscaloosa Probate Judge, Hardy McCollum. Judge McCollum is only 71. However, Alabama law disallows judges from running for reelection after age 70. He has been the longest serving probate judge in the state, and at the time of his first election in 1976, he was the youngest probate judge in Alabama. Hardy was elected at age 28, and took the coveted office of Probate Judge at the ripe old age of 29. Hardy McCollum has served his home county as Probate Judge for 42 years. During that time, he has consistently been considered the most popular political figure in his county. He has always run as a Democrat. When the tide turned and the state went Republican in the 1980’s and 90’s and most of the state’s prominent politicians switched to the Republican Party, Hardy refused to change. He withstood the tidal wave and remained the most revered public official in Tuscaloosa County. The anomaly of his popularity is that he continues to hold the title of Chairman of the County Commission, a rarity in this day and time, especially for a large county like Tuscaloosa. There are only 15 counties in the state left where the Probate Judge still serves as Chairman of the County Commission and, only two populous counties, Lee and Tuscaloosa. Hardy McCollum was born and raised in Tuscaloosa. He learned at an early age how much the Goodrich and Gulf States paper plants meant to Tuscaloosa. Druid City was also dependent upon public employees. Tuscaloosa was home to the state mental health institutions, Bryce and Partlow. The University of Alabama has always been Tuscaloosa’s mainstay. Hardy grew up selling peanuts, popcorn and programs at Denny Stadium. Hardy married his high school sweetheart, Juanita. They both graduated from Tuscaloosa High School and they both continued on and graduated from the University of Alabama. They have three children, Jay, Jason, and Joy. Hardy and Juanita are fortunate that all three live in Tuscaloosa. They are able to enjoy their five grandchildren. Their second son, Jason, and Tuscaloosa mayor, Walt Maddox, grew up together as neighbors and best friends. After college, Hardy began work in Tuscaloosa and became active in the Jaycees, which was a normal training ground for aspiring politicos in those days. His first political experience was campaigning for Richard Shelby for the State Senate in 1970. In his first race for office, he was elected as Probate Judge. After that initial election in 1976, he was subsequently reelected to six more six-year terms, serving from 1976 through 2018. He had opposition every time but dispensed of his opponents easily each time. Hardy’s last reelection in 2012 was the one that caught the eye of most political observers throughout the state. President Barack Obama was heading the Democratic ticket. It was a tsunami wipeout of almost every white Democrat in the Heart of Dixie. This red tidal wave also swept through Tuscaloosa. Hardy McCollum stood out like a sore thumb. Hardy McCollum, who had refused to change parties, withstood the tidal wave and won reelection as a Democratic Probate Judge with 67 percent of the vote against a Republican Sheriff. There is an old saying in Alabama politics that home folks know you best. Hardy attributed his longevity and success to always doing the right thing regardless of whether it is politically popular. People will respect you if you are doing the right thing. Hardy McCollum has done the right thing for his home county for 42-years. It’s time for him to go to the house and, hopefully, he will enjoy his retirement years. You can rest assured they will be spent in his beloved Tuscaloosa County. He will be replaced as Probate Judge by a Republican. It marks the passing of an era in Alabama politics. 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.
Steve Flowers: Further analysis of general election – winners and losers
Now that the dust has settled on this year’s elections, let’s look back at who are the big winners and losers of the year. The obvious winner in the Heart of Dixie is the Republican Party. The GOP retained the reins of the state’s highest office and every other statewide Constitutional position. Kay Ivey was elected governor, overwhelmingly, as was Will Ainsworth as Lt. Governor, John Merrill as Secretary of State, John McMillan as State Treasurer, Rick Pate as Agriculture Commissioner, Jim Zeigler as State Auditor, Jeremy Oden and Chip Beeker as PSC members. Our entire judiciary is Republican, all members of the Supreme Court, and Courts of Criminal and Civil Appeals. There are 29 statewide office holders and all 29 are Republican. However, more importantly the Legislature is overwhelmingly Republican. More than two-thirds of both the House and the Senate are Republicans. That’s what you call a super majority. Our Republican legislature can pass anything they want without a Democratic vote or letting Democrats speak. Our Congressional delegation is made up of six Republicans and one lone Democrat. Folks, that makes us a pretty red state. Several years ago, I had the honor of being a keynote speaker at the Boys State 75th Anniversary. I had attended Boys State 45 years earlier as a high school leader and aspiring young politico. I shared with these future political leaders this advice, “If you plan to run for statewide office in Alabama even if you believe you are a Democrat, you will need to run as a Republican.” This year’s election reaffirmed and confirmed that truth. Winning the GOP Primary in Alabama is tantamount to election. Therefore, to pick the biggest individual winner of the year, you have to look back to the GOP Primary. Young Will Ainsworth, a 37-year old Sand Mountain Legislator/businessman emerges as the Gold Star award winner of the year in Alabama politics. His victory as Lt. Governor has propelled him onto the state political scene as the most prominent rising star. He was the top vote getter in the state on November 6th. He is a clean-cut, successful, family man who has been vetted by a high profile, statewide race. The second biggest winner of the year was the loser of the GOP Primary for Lt. Governor, Twinkle Cavanaugh. In all my years of following Alabama politics, I have never seen a more graceful and gracious second place finisher. She only lost by an eyelash. She genuinely smiled on election night and said she had not gotten the most votes, even though she could have contested such a closely defined outcome. She had entered the race as the favorite having been elected three times statewide. During October, she held a fundraiser for Will Ainsworth in her Montgomery home. She will never be seriously challenged in her post as President of the PSC. Speaking of rising stars, the third runner up is a young 18-year old fellow from Geneva County. Weston Spivey became the youngest elected official in the state by winning a County Commission seat in his home county. He won the GOP Primary before he was graduated from high school at Ridgecrest Christian School in Dothan. Young Spivey is also a volunteer firefighter with the Slocomb Fire Department. You should keep your eye on young Weston Spivey. He may become Governor of Alabama before he is 30. Besides Will Ainsworth, there were two other Republicans who were top vote getters. Governor Kay Ivey and Secretary of State, John Merrill. The biggest loser has to be the Democratic Party and our current anomaly, junior Democratic U.S. Senator Doug Jones. Mr. Jones won this seat until 2020. Because he was on the other side of the ballot than Roy Moore in the 2017 special election. Every left wing, ultra-liberal group and individual in the country gave to Jones to beat Moore. Jones has never hidden the fact that he is a liberal, national Democrat. He showed his true colors when he voted against President Trump’s Supreme Court appointee, Brett Kavanaugh. Jones voted against this highly qualified jurist to appease his contributors in San Francisco and his like-minded Democratic buddies, Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, and Diane Feinstein. We essentially have only one U.S. Senator. We have ceded our second seat to California. Jones believes in the old adage, “You dance with the one who brung ya.” Hope he is renting in Washington because Alabamians are the ones that vote in 2020. By the way, if you have Richard Shelby as your Senior Senator, you really don’t need a second senator. See you next week. ••• Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in more than 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Steve Flowers: Kay Ivey, our 55th governor
The legendary Alabama storyteller, Kathryn Tucker Windham, used to say, “Alabama is like a big front porch.” She was right, I have found that to be the case my entire life. Even recently, as I’ve traversed the state, I am always amazed at how you can visit with someone in one part of the state who is kin to or were college roommates with someone in another corner of Alabama. The Alabama that Kay Ivey and I grew up in was even more like a front porch. Kay grew up in Wilcox County where her family had been for generations. Therefore, she knew most everybody in the county and Camden. There were and still are less than 12,000 people in Wilcox County. There have always been more pine trees than people in the county. She grew up with and has always been best friends with a trio of very accomplished people. As I sometimes say when I see someone who I’ve known all my life, I’ve never not known them. Kay has never not known Jeff Sessions, Jo Bonner, and Judy Bonner. She was like a big sister to them growing up in Camden. It’s truly amazing that a small South Alabama County just north of Mobile would spawn our U.S. Senator for 20 years, Jeff Sessions, Mobile Congressman, Jo Bonner who served Mobile, Baldwin and southwest Alabama for more than a decade, and former University of Alabama President, Judy Bonner, and now a Governor of Alabama, Kay Ivey. Even more amazing is that they grew up together and are contemporaries. They all have impeccable southern manners, and are all quick to say yes m’am, no m’am and thank you religiously. Some of you might think that Kay’s Black Belt accent is accentuated. It is real and unique and indicative of someone who has roots in that area of the state. You might notice that Jeff Sessions diction and accent is similar. The most important thing that can be said about Governor Kay Ivey, Senator Jeff Sessions, Congressman Jo Bonner and President Judy Bonner is that you have never ever heard one comment or even one inkling of anything unethical or improper or taint of scandal about their public or personal lives. Folks, they were brought up right in Wilcox County. Kay Ivey was born to be a leader. She was president of everything in her high school. She went to Girl’s State and was a leader there. By the way, she continues to go back to Girl’s State every year to counsel and help lead the organization. She spent a short stint as a teacher, then banker in Mobile. Then politics beckoned and another Black Belt, Speaker of the House, Joe McCorquodale, made Kay the Reading Clerk in the House of Representatives. She parlayed that job into a job as Legislative Liaison for the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. I really got to know Kay at this point. I was a legislator with a major university in my district. She was plain spoken, straight forward, and very honest. Kay has always been known for her integrity and upfront frankness and honesty. To use an old saying, her word is her bond. She will not lie and she will not cheat or steal. She was raised right. Kay then got into the arena. She was elected State Treasurer twice where she served for eight years. Then she was elected Lt. Governor twice. She ascended to Governor 20 months ago and has done an excellent job of steadying the Ship of State. She seems keenly interested and driven by economic and industrial development. That will be her hallmark legacy. The state is poised to grow economically and industrially over the next four years. In the closing days of her very successful race to be Alabama’s 55th Governor, she revealed in an ad a letter from her days as a young girl visiting Governor Lurleen Wallace in the Governor’s Office, a letter she had written about the Governor’s desk. “This is the closest I’ll get.” However, deep down, I believe she dreamed that one day she would sit in that chair and now she does. Kay Ivey is the second female elected Governor of Alabama. However, she is the first elected Republican female and the only female elected in her own right. She will be a good Governor. Probably the best we have had in a while. 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.
Steve Flowers: More than election going on in Alabama politics
Our gubernatorial election year politics ended yesterday. However, there have been other political maneuverings and developments going on behind the scenes, which may ultimately have more long-term ramifications in the Heart of Dixie’s political future. The selection of a new Business Council of Alabama leader is imminent and will probably occur in the next few days. In addition, the jockeying and wrangling for the U.S. Senate Seat in 2020 has begun. Alabama Power President, Mark Crosswhite, prudently cleaned house at the BCA earlier this year. He organized a team of Cardinals to interview and select a new leader. Much like the vetting process for a new Pope, the Cardinals meet in total secrecy and send out smoke signals from the Vatican that they have not yet reached a decision. However, there are smoke signals that a new leader of the BCA is about to be named. The process has been very private with no leaks. This entire year long process of removing Billy Canary, who had reigned for 12 years, and selecting a new CEO has been a battle of business titans in the state. It has been a battle waged behind an iron curtain. The role of Mark Crosswhite in this change has been clear. Mr. Crosswhite has emerged as the clear leader of the Alabama Business Community. The original BCA was forged under the leadership of former Alabama Power President, Elmer Harris, several decades ago. It had become a toothless tiger in recent years through poor leadership. Mr. Crosswhite has picked the organization out of the junk pile and given it new life. Chances for a new beginning happen very few times. Like in politics, after the election, you must govern. My belief is that with a new leader and a fresh start the Business Council of Alabama will emerge bigger and better than ever. You can rest assured that the business community of Alabama, and indeed the nation, will be looking forward to defeating Doug Jones in 2020. It is a glaring anomaly that one of the most conservative Republican states in America would have an ultra-liberal, leftwinger in one of our senate seats. In last year’s Special Election against Roy Moore, Jones received $22 million from the most liberal zip codes and enclaves in America, especially from the left coast of California and San Francisco. It was the only show bill in town, and Roy Moore energized liberal money from throughout the country. Thus, the two truisms, “more people vote against someone than for someone,” and “money is the mother’s milk of politics,” combined to create Alabama’s accidental anomaly, Senator Doug Jones. Our anomaly senator has done nothing to remedy the uncertainty about who he is since taking office. He has done no campaigning or visiting around the state. He has shown a disregard and disinterest in basic political practices, like getting out among the rank and file Alabamians. Jones seems to just go to Washington to vote, then back to Mountain Brook. The book on Jones is that he will not be elected to a full term in 2020. It is a presidential election year and Alabama will vote for the Republican nominee, probably Donald Trump, overwhelmingly. This is a Republican senate seat and it will be won by a Republican. Jones seems to know this, therefore, he appears content to represent California during his tenure. As soon as Jones was sworn in, the race to be the Republican nominee began. The obvious candidates are one, if not all, of our six Republican members of Congress. Speculation abounded that the three best potential congressional horses would be Robert Aderholt, Bradley Byrne and Mo Brooks. The horse that has emerged as the favorite is Bradley Byrne. He has started early and has staked out the inside track. He has crisscrossed the state building an organization and is collecting and tying up the Washington establishment money. Aderholt will probably defer to staying in the House. He has over 20 years of seniority and is in line to chair the Appropriations Committee. Congressman Mike Rogers is moving up in seniority and is on Armed Services. Mo Brooks is expected to defer to Byrne in 2020 and look to run for Senator Shelby’s seat in 2022 if he retires. This stealth campaign for the 2020 Senate race has been going on this entire gubernatorial year. Byrne is indeed laying his stakes. There is a maxim in life and politics, “the early bird gets the worm.” 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.
