Democrat Richard Lindsey announces retirement from Alabama House
Centre-Democrat State Rep. Richard Lindsey announced his retirement Monday saying that he will not run for another term in the House of Representatives next year. First elected to the State House in 1938, over 34 years ago, Lindsey serves District 39, which includes parts of Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, DeKalb counties. “I truly love serving the people of my district, and making this decision was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do,” said Lindsey. “I wrestled with this decision for months. I turned to God’s word for guidance and the third chapter of Ecclesiastes came to mind: ‘To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven…’ These words helped me find peace with the decision that required divine guidance.” Elected when he was only 27 years old, Lindsey is the seventh most senior member in the Alabama Legislature. “We have been very fortunate to have Richard in the Legislature all these years,” said Gadsden-Democrat, State Rep. Craig Ford. “He’s certainly earned his right to retire, but I sure do hate it for the people of our area because, now more than ever, we need people of his integrity and caliber in the Legislature.” During his tenure in office, Lindsey served for ten years as chairman of the Education Finance and Appropriations Committee, which was responsible for writing the education budget. He also served for three terms as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, and also served on several regional and national legislative committees.
A house divided: Alabama House GOP caucus split over leadership, direction
The 72 Republicans that hold a super-majority in the 105-member Alabama state House of Representatives have become “deeply divided” as they question their party’s leadership and direction as a caucus, says one state lawmaker. Decatur-Republican, state Representative Ed Henry says House GOP members nearly voted their majority leader, Representative Mickey Hammon, out of his position this week during a caucus meeting. Hammon narrowly escaped being ousted, by a singular absentee vote, during a secret-ballot confidence vote on Wednesday. Following the vote, Henry announced he was among those who cast a vote against the majority leader, claiming the party has a watered down plan for 2017 and that it needs to get back to a true conservative agenda. “Going forward, there is a desire from within from the members to form a true conservative caucus. The next several days are going to determine if there is a true fracture inside the Republican caucus,” Henry told the Associated Press. While Hammon has declined public comment on Wednesday’s vote, he did release a statement. “I will say that even after Rep. Henry raised his concerns with the Caucus, I remain Majority Leader with the support of my Republican colleagues,” said Hammon. “Though it is often difficult to lead 72 Republican House members with varying personalities and opinions, I look forward to continuing as Majority Leader as we work to reform government, recruit jobs, and improve education while using conservative beliefs and values as our guide.”
55% of the Alabama Legislature is on Twitter
Years ago, a lawmaker’s official website used to be sole clearinghouse for information — functioning as hub of schedule updates, press releases, contact information, and more. While those websites aren’t going anywhere any time soon, gone are the days where they’re the only platform lawmakers use to communicate with constituents. But with the advent of social media — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, to name but a few — it’s become increasingly important for members to take the extra effort to engage more directly, and frequently with those who put them in office. In 2016, 78 percent of Americans had at least one social media profile, making a strong argument that if lawmakers want to continue to be re-elected they should go where the people are — online. Which is why Alabama Today wanted to see just how many Alabama lawmakers have a social media presence on Twitter — a digital platform where users “tweet” 140-character messages to the world, and one another. In our research, we found that 55 percent of the current 135 member Legislature is on Twitter. To break it down further, we found 77 percent of the Senate is on Twitter, while on 47 percent of the House has jumped on the platform. Further still, the make-up of the Alabama Legislature on Twitter is 56 percent Republicans and 49 percent Democrats. But merely having an account on Twitter by no means the users are active. We discovered the vast majority of Alabama lawmakers on the platform only used to first get elected, and that most accounts are years out of date, like Rep. Thad McClammy who’s not tweeted since 2009, or Sen. Rodger Smitherman who’s not tweeted since 2010. While others, like Sen. J.T. Waggoner (R-AL-16) and Rep. April Weaver seem to have missed the entire point of being a public official with a Twitter account in the first place — to communicate with constituents — and have their accounts hidden behind privacy filters. Then there’s the smallest population of users, like RepublicanRep. Victor Gaston and Democrat Rep. Barbara Boyd who have created accounts, but have never actually tweeted from. Take a look at our findings: Alabama State Senate Sen. Greg Albritton (R-AL-22): N/A Sen. Gerald Allen (R-AL-21): @SenGeraldAllen Sen. Billy Beasley (D-AL-28): @senbillybeasley Sen. Slade Blackwell (R-AL-15): @SladeBlackwell Sen. Dick Brewbaker (R-AL-25): @dick_brewbaker Sen. Paul Bussman (R-AL-4): @PaulBussman Sen. Clyde Chambliss (R-AL-30): @Clyde_SD30 Sen. Linda Coleman (D-AL-20): @senlindacoleman Sen. Gerald Dial (R-AL-13): @sengeralddial Sen. Priscilla Dunn (D-AL-19): N/A Sen. Vivian Figures (D-AL-33): @vivian_figures Sen. Rusty Glover (R-AL-34): N/A Sen. Bill Hightower (R-AL-35): @hightower_bill Sen. Jimmy Holley (R-AL-31): N/A Sen. Bill Holtzclaw (R-AL-2): @billholtzclaw Sen. Steve Livingston (R-AL-8): N/A Sen. Del Marsh (R-AL-12): @SenatorDelMarsh Sen. Jim McClendon (R-AL-11): @SenJimMcClendon Sen. Tim Melson (R-AL-1): N/A Sen. Arthur Orr (R-AL-3): @SenatorAOrr Sen. Trip Pittman (R-AL-32): @PittTrippman Sen. Greg Reed (R-AL-5): N/A Sen. Quinton Ross (D-AL-26): @SenQuintonRoss Sen. Henry Sanders (D-AL-23): @SenHankSanders Sen. Paul Sanford (R-AL-7): @CitizenLawmaker Sen. Clay Scofield (R-AL-9): @ALConservative Sen. Shay Shelnutt (R-AL-17): @shelnutt417 Sen. Bobby Singleton (D-AL-24): N/A Sen. Harri Anne Smith (I-AL-29): @HarriAnneSmith Sen. Rodger Smitherman (D-AL-18): @alsenateprotem Sen. Larry Stutts (R-AL-6): @Larry_Stutts Sen. J.T. Waggoner (R-AL-16): @JaboWaggoner (protected account) Sen. Cam Ward (R-AL-14): @sencamward Sen. Tom Whatley (R-AL-27): @SenTomWhatley Sen. Phil Williams (R-AL-10): @SenPhilWilliams Alabama State House of Representatives Rep. Will Ainsworth (R-AL-27): @WillAinsworth27 Rep. Louise Alexander (D-AL-56): N/A Rep. Alan Baker (R-AL-66): N/A Rep. Mike Ball (R-AL-10): N/A Rep. George Bandy (D-AL-83): N/A Rep. Paul Beckman (R-AL-88): @RepPaulBeckman Rep. Elaine Beech (D-AL-65): N/A Rep. Marcel Black (D-AL-3): @marcel_black42 Rep. Chris Blackshear (R-AL-80): @chrisblackshear Rep. Alan Boothe (R-AL-89): N/A Rep. Barbara Boyd (D-AL-32): @131Babs (never Tweeted) Rep. Napoleon Bracy (D-AL-98): @hiphopstaterep Rep. K.L. Brown (R-AL-40): @RepKLBrown Rep. James Buskey (D-AL-99): N/A Rep. Mack Butler (R-AL-30): @RepMackButler Rep. Jim Carns (R-AL-48): @JimCarns Rep. Donnie Chesteen (R-AL-87): @DonnieChesteen Rep. Adline Clarke (D-AL-97): N/A Rep. Steve Clouse (R-AL-93): @RepSteveClouse Rep. Merika Coleman-Evans (D-AL-57): N/A Rep. Terri Collins (R-AL-8): @RepTerriCollins Rep. Danny Crawford (R-AL-5): N/A Rep. Anthony Daniels (D-AL-53): @anthonydaniels Rep. Randy Davis (R-AL-96): N/A Rep. Dickie Drake (R-AL-45): N/A Rep. Barbara Drummond (D-AL-103): @Drummond103 Rep. Christopher England (D-AL-70): @RepEngland70 Rep. Allen Farley (R-AL-15): @RepAllenFarley Rep. David Faulkner (R-AL-46): @RepFaulkner Rep. Joe Faust (R-AL-94): N/A Rep. Bob Fincher (R-AL-37): N/A Rep. Craig Ford (D-AL-28): @RepCraigFord Rep. Berry Forte (D-AL-84): N/A Rep. Matt Fridy (R-AL-73): @MattFridy Rep. Danny Garrett (R-AL-44): @DannyGarrett44 Rep. Victor Gaston (R-AL-100): @VictorGastonAL (never Tweeted) Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-AL-60): @RepJuandaGivan Rep. Lynn Greer (R-AL-2): N/A Rep. Dexter Grimsley (D-AL-85): N/A Rep. Laura Hall (D-AL-19): @RepLauraHall Rep. Micky Hammon (R-AL-4): @RepMickyHammon Rep. James Hanes (R-AL-23): N/A Rep. Corey Harbison (R-AL-12): N/A Rep. Alan Harper (R-AL-61): N/A Rep. Ed Henry (R-AL-9): @Ed_Henry_HD9 Rep. Jim Hill (R-AL-50): N/A Rep. Alvin Holmes (D-AL-78): N/A Rep. Mike Holmes (R-AL-31): N/A Rep. Ralph Howard (D-AL-72): N/A Rep. Steve Hurst (R-AL-35): N/A Rep. Reed Ingram (R-AL-75): N/A Rep. Thomas Jackson (D-AL-68): N/A Rep. Ken Johnson (R-AL-7): @KenCJohnson Rep. Ronald Johnson (R-AL-33): N/A Rep. Mike Jones (R-AL-92): N/A Rep. John Knight (D-AL-77): @alrep77 Rep. Kelvin Lawrence (D-AL-69): @Lawrencekj Rep. Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-AL-24): @RepLedbetter24 Rep. Paul Lee (R-AL-86): N/A Rep. Richard Lindsey (D-AL-39): N/A Rep. James Martin (R-AL-42): N/A Rep. Artis McCampbell (D-AL-71): N/A Rep. Thad McClammy (D-AL-76): @thadmcclammy Rep. Mac McCutcheon (R-AL-25): @MacDistrict25 Rep. Stephen McMillan (R-AL-95): @RepMcMillan Rep. Mike Millican (R-AL-17): N/A Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-AL-43): @Arnoldfor43 Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL-91): @RepBarryMoore Rep. Mary Moore (D-AL-59): N/A Rep. Johnny Morrow (D-AL-18): N/A Rep. Becky Nordgren (R-AL-29): @RepBeckNordgren Rep. Jim Patterson (R-AL-21): N/A Rep. Phil Pettus (R-AL-1): N/A Rep. Dimitri Polizos (R-AL-74): N/A Rep. Bill Poole (R-AL-63): @GoBillPoole Rep. Chris Pringle (R-AL-101): @ChrisPringle101 Rep. Kerry Rich (R-AL-26): N/A Rep. John Rogers (D-AL-52): N/A Rep. Connie Rowe (R-AL-13th): @rowe_reprowe13 Rep. Howard Sanderford (R-AL-20): N/A Rep. Roderick Scott (D-AL-55): N/A Rep. Chris Sells (R-AL-90): N/A Rep. David Sessions (R-AL-105): N/A Rep. Randall Shedd (R-AL-11th): N/A Rep. Harry Shiver (R-AL-64): N/A Rep. Kyle South (R-AL-16): @RepSouth16 Rep. David Standridge (R-AL-34): @JudgeStandridge Rep. Patricia Todd (D-AL-54): @RepTodd Rep. Allen Treadaway (R-AL-51): N/A Rep. Mark Tuggle (R-AL-81): @MarkMTuggle Rep. Tim Wadsworth (R-AL-14): @AlabamaLaw Rep. Pebblin Warren (D-AL-82): N/A Rep. April Weaver (R-AL-49): @aprilcweaver (protected account) Rep. Isaac Whorton (R-AL-38): N/A Rep. Ritchie Whorton (R-AL-22): N/A Rep. Margie Wilcox (R-AL-104): N/A Rep. Jack Williams (R-AL-102): @AlabamaWilliams Rep. Jack Williams (R-AL-47): @RepJack Rep. Phillip Williams (R-AL-6): : @PhilHouse44 Rep. Rich Wingo (R-AL-62): N/A Rep. Randy Wood (R-AL-36): N/A
