Nathaniel Ledbetter announces fourth and final round of committee chair appointments
On Wednesday, State Rep. Nathaniel Ledbetter, the House Republican Caucus nominee for Speaker of the Alabama House, announced the final seven representatives he plans to appoint as committee chairs if elected as the next Speaker. “These committee chairs will handle some of the most important issues that affect the daily lives of Alabamians – health, public education, election integrity, veterans affairs, accountability to taxpayers, and local measures,” Ledbetter said in a statement. “And because the ability to easily transport goods plays such a vital role in Alabama’s economic development efforts, the new House committee on ports and waterways will be especially important in keeping our state growing.” Ledbetter created the new House Ports, Waterways, and Intermodal Transit Committee. State Rep. Chip Brown will be the inaugural chair of this new committee. Brown was elected to the Alabama House in 2018. He previously held a seat on the agenda-setting Rules Committee and served on the body’s Economic Development and Tourism, Urban and Rural Development, Insurance, and Mobile County Legislation committees. Brown is a commercial realtor and entrepreneur and served in the Alabama Army National Guard. He was deployed with the U.S. Army at the Central Command Forward Operations Headquarters in Southwest Asia during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was also twice deployed as a military advisor in Afghanistan. Ledbetter said he created the new House committee because Alabama possesses more than ten percent of our nation’s freshwater. When combined with the expansion of the State Docks in Mobile, the Tennessee/Tombigbee Waterway, the ports of Huntsville and Birmingham, and the port being constructed in Montgomery, that transportation hub can be leveraged into one of the state’s strongest economic assets. State Rep. Phillip Pettus will remain as the House Fiscal Responsibility Committee Chair. Pettus also held seats on the Judiciary Committee, the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, and the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee in the previous quadrennium. Pettus is a retired Alabama State Trooper Captain. Following 25 years of service, he retired from the Alabama Department of Public Safety in 2013. State Rep. Bob Fincher will return as the House Constitution, Campaigns, and Elections Committee chair. Fincher was elected to the Alabama House in 2014. He previously held seats on the House Education Policy, Agriculture and Policy, and Local Legislation Committees. Fincher is a retired educator who taught at Woodland High School and New Hope Christian School and twice served as one of Alabama’s presidential electors. State Rep. Ed Oliver will chair the House Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. Oliver joined the Alabama House in 2018 and previously held seats on the Agriculture and Forestry Committee, the Fiscal Responsibility Committee, and the Health Committee. The former Chair of the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee –Rep. Dickie Drake was defeated in the May Republican primary. Oliver is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He served as a military helicopter pilot and inspector general and devoted 31 total years to active duty, reserve, and National Guard service. He was employed for 15 years as a civilian helicopter air ambulance pilot. State Rep. Alan Baker will return as the chair of the House Local Legislation Committee. During the prior quadrennium, Baker also served as vice chair of the House Education Policy and the agenda-setting House Rules Committee. Before his election to the Alabama House in 2006, Baker worked for 27 years as an educator and football coach in Alabama public schools. While coaching at T.R. Miller High School, he won five state championships in football and five in track. State Rep. Terri Collins will return as chair of the House Education Policy Committee. Collins sponsored and passed the landmark Alabama Literacy Act in 2019. Throughout the prior quadrennium, she held a seat on the House Ways and Means Education Committee and chaired the Alabama School Safety and Student Security Task Force. Elected to the House in 2010, Collins is a retired marketing executive and businesswoman who enjoyed a 16-year career in the banking industry in Decatur. Retaining Collins is by far the most controversial committee chair choice by presumed Speaker Ledbetter, as Collins has often incurred the anger of social conservatives for her defense of the controversial Alabama College and Career Ready Standards – which many on the ultra-right feel are too tightly aligned with the Barack Obama era Common Core educational standards. State Rep. Paul Lee will return as the chair of the House Health Committee. He has served as a member of the committee since first winning election to the Alabama House in 2010. Lee is a former Dothan city commissioner. He retired from Sony’s Magnetic Tape Division as a senior production specialist following 31 years of service. He is currently the executive director of Wiregrass Rehabilitation Center in Dothan. It is highly likely that Ledbetter will be elected as the Speaker of the House during the organizational session in January, as he is the choice of the House Republican Caucus, which holds a 77 to 28 supermajority in the Alabama House of Representatives. Ledbetter defeated State Rep. Steve Clouse for the open Speaker position in a vote by the Caucus during a November meeting. Ledbetter is the former mayor of Rainsville. He follows Rep. Mac McCutcheon as Speaker. McCutcheon chose not to run for the legislature again. If elected, Ledbetter will be the third Republican Speaker of the House since the GOP’s takeover of the state Legislature in the historic red wave election of 2010 following 135 years of uninterrupted Alabama Democratic Party legislature control. Ledbetter is part of a new generation of Republican lawmakers who have never experienced being in the minority. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Conservative groups hold Welcome Back Rally at Statehouse today
Conservative groups around the state will hold their 11th Annual Welcome Back Rally today at the Statehouse. The event starts at 12:15 pm. The Common Sense Campaign, Eagle Forum, and HealthFreedom Alabama are sponsoring the rally. The Facebook event page stated, “We want the Legislators to not only see a big crowd of motivated voters, but we want you to go see your House and Senate members and lobby them to support some critical bills.” The Common Sense Campaign Tea Party President will open the rally, and pastor Dr. Terry Batton will give the invocation. State auditor Jim Zeigler will speak at 12:15 p.m. His address will be about Gov. Kay Ivey’s state of the state address. State House Rep. Bob Fincher will discuss replacing Common Core, and Rep. Shane Stringer will discuss repealing current conceal and carry legislation. Below is a tentative schedule: 12:14-Dr. Lou Campomenosi, President, Common Sense Campaign Tea Party, calls everyone to order Invocation: Pastor, Dr. Terry Batton, President, Barbour County, Taxed Enough Already Tea Party;Common Sense Campaign member Ms. Janet Taverna in period costume as Georgette Washington. 12:20-Key Note Speaker: State Auditor, Mr. Jim Zeigler,” Reply to Gov Ivey’s “State of the State Address” 12:30-State House Representative Bob Fincher, “Replacing Common Core–A Moral Imperative Now with Alabama at the Bottom of NAEP” 12:34-State House Representative Shane Stringer, “It’s Time for Constitutional Carry to Pass” 12:38–Ms. Becky Gerritson, Executive Director, Eagle Forum, Alabama, ” Pass VCAP to Protect our Children!” 12:42-Dr. Robin Litaker, Retired School Principal and Former Alabama Teacher of the Year, “Recovering From Common Core–The Way Forward” 12:46-Ms. Kim Harris, President, Baldwin Cty ‘Bama Carry, “Grassroots Support for Constitutional Carry” 12:50-Mr. Charlie Wycoff, President, ‘Bama Carry of Mobile 2:54-Dr. Lou Campomenosi, “What Will It Take for Gov Ivey to Replace Common Core?” 12:57-Dr. Lou Campomenosi, Closing remarks. Benediction, Pastor, Dr. Terry Batton
Sponsors of Common Core repeal bill to regroup for 2016
With the 2015 legislative session coming to a close, sponsors of a bill to repeal Common Core are already starting to rally for the next session. At a press conference on Wednesday, Sen. Rusty Glover and Rep. Bob Fincher – both retired educators — expressed continued concerns over what they described as lack of local control over the state’s education curriculum. Senate Bill 101 abolishes the Common Core education standards in Alabama and grants control of education curricula to state and local education officials. In addition, the bill prohibits state agencies from implementing any other national education standard to replace Common Core. Sen. Glover said that the proponents of the bill had been outspent this session. “It’s just really sad that a lot of what you have to say has fallen on deaf ears because […] money folks that have so much influence have disrupted our efforts,” he said. Sen. Glover also aired concerns that the portion of the Alabama College and Career Ready Standards (ACCRS) that is designed by Alabama educators would be sacrificed to reach standardized test performance goals. “When they say that this is an Alabama standard, 85 percent is Common Core and just 15 percent is created by local and state school board authority,” said Sen. Glover. “It’s outrageous to think that people are actually taking in an Alabama standard when the 15 percent created by Alabamians is largely ignored. If there’s a standardized test, there’s a lot of pressure on the teacher to do very well on that test. So you know that that 15 percent of curriculum standards will be totally ignored.” According to State Board of Education member Stephanie Bell, the curriculum has taken a toll in Alabama classrooms over the last four years. “Common Core is not just about bad education, it’s about destroying the potential of our children,” said Bell. “We have already lost some of our best teachers […] Not just 5 or ten, but hundreds.” Last month, the Senate Committee on Education and Youth affairs gave a favorable report to Senate Bill 101. The sponsors, however, have said that getting enough votes to pass the bill out of either chamber would be a challenge. Rep. Fincher said the way forward in the next session would likely rely on support from newly-elected legislators. “Our leadership in the House is not with us, some of the older members are not with us, but I have been encouraged – very encouraged – with some of the new members in the House that were just elected,” said Rep. Fincher. “We have a lot of support among the freshman in the House. A lot of them have stepped forward and signed the bill to bring about the defeat of Common Core.” “I think we’ve made some headway this time,” said Rep. Fincher. “We have not gotten where we need to be, and those who suffer will not be us, it’ll be the children of this state.” Ann Eubank, co-chair of the Rainy Day Patriots and legislative chair of the Alabama Legislative Watchdogs, told Alabama Today that her group was not surprised by the outcome. “I was not surprised that they killed the bill to repeal Common Core again,” she said via email. “They have been jerking our chain for 4 years. It ends now, no more nice tea party ladies.” Emphasizing their intent moving forward she added, “A strong group in opposition to Common Core are setting up a PAC for the next election and no one who supports Common Core is safe from a tough fight. In addition, we will be launching a program to boycott those businesses that give money to the Business Council of Alabama (BCA) which supports the destruction of our children and our country.” Updated at 5:04 pm to add quote from Ann Eubank, co-chair of the Rainy Day Patriots and legislative chair of the Alabama Legislative Watchdogs.
