Jim Zeigler files report on Robert Bentley with state Ethics Commission
Alabama State Auditor Jim Zeigler has submitted an official report with the Alabama Ethics Commission, requesting the body investigate allegations Gov. Robert Bentley participated in an affair with senior advisor Rebekah Caldwell Mason, a former staffer who is no longer a state employee. Former Alabama Law Enforcement Agency director Spencer Collier disclosed knowledge Wednesday of a recording of the governor making comments of an intimate nature to who was presumed to be Mason, as well as an incident of viewing an explicit text message. The governor has denied a “sexual” affair occurred. Zeigler said he submitted the report as a request for the commission to investigate whether any state resources were unlawfully used in the alleged relationship. “The governor continues to disgrace the state of Alabama, and in my official capacity as state auditor, I am required to report these suspected violations,” said Zeigler said in a prepared statement released Friday afternoon. “It is clear that he is misleading the people of the state about the nature of his relationship, but it is also clear that Ms. Mason is required to either be classified as a public official, or file as a lobbyist, in her capacity as an advisor who is paid by an outside source.” Zeigler told Alabama Today the report stemmed from his discovering a seldom-used provision in the law, 36-25-17, requiring any agency head, which includes the auditor, who receives information of a violation of the ethics law shall report it to the Ethics Commission. “I am expecting next week, to get honest state employees, which is the majority, come into my office or call in with more information,” Zeigler said. “The information I get about any issue or problem is not self-generated, it comes from citizens or state employees contacting me with information.” Zeigler identified Collier as one of the sources for his information, but noted there were other sources. The auditor also said he expects to file two or three supplemental reports within the next month. Though Bentley’s former chief of staff, Seth Hammett also worked for the governor’s office while being paid by an outside group, the governor received permission from the Ethics Commission. No such permission was sought in the case of Mason’s arrangement with 501(c)4 group Alabama Council for Excellent Government (ACEGOV), whose website states the group “supports Governor Bentley’s bold vision to lead Alabama with greater economic opportunities and by tackling our state’s challenges with real solutions.” Zeigler has been a frequent critic of the governor’s since his own election in 2014, but in recent months he and Bentley have sparred over the very nature of the State Auditor’s office. A bill sponsored by Rep. Paul Beckman, would make the offices of State Auditor and Agriculture Commissioner appointed, rather than elected, positions. Zeigler said the move would be like “the fox guarding the hen house.” Stopping short of asking the governor to step down himself, Zeigler said he believes the only way Bentley will leave his office is if the Alabama Legislature removes him, or he’s convicted of ethics violations.
Jim Zeigler calls Cabinet re-org bill “power grab” by governor
The elected status of the Alabama State Auditor is threatened by a plan now circulating in Montgomery, and current auditor Jim Zeigler does not take kindly to it. The bill — HB 432 by Rep. Paul Beckman, a Pratville Republican and sometimes ally of Gov. Robert Bentley — would alter the offices of State Auditor and Agriculture Commissioner, making them appointed by the governor’s office rather than elected statewide as state law currently provides. Zeigler, a Republican, has been a harsh critic of the Bentley administration in his tenure as State Auditor since taking office in 2015. He contends the move is retribution for his criticism on issues like taxes, state parks, and a move to spend some $1.5 million on renovating the abandoned governor’s residence in Gulf Shores for what Zeigler has characterized as personal reasons. Zeigler said the inclusion of the Ag Commissioner as part of the Cabinet shakeup is simply window dressing, “a strategy to make it look like they are not targeting me.” “I believe that I am the main target of this legislation,” said Zeigler of the proposal, taken up for the first time last week by the Constitution, Campaign and Elections Committee. He added that the move was bad policy because it would remove the independent oversight his office – a unique, ombudsman-like position – by making the office subject to the governor’s approval. “Having the Governor appoint the State Auditor would be the fox guarding the hen house,” Zeigler said. Zeigler also issued an appeal to supporters via Facebook and a news release, asking opponents of the bill to seek out members of the CCE committee and voice their concerns. “Simply ask the Committee member to vote ‘No’ on HB432, and keep the State Auditor an elected office that represents the people of Alabama instead of the interests of the Governor,” Zeigler urged over the weekend.
Jackie Zeigler criticizes State School Board move to disqualify interim superintendent
State School Board candidate Jackie Zeigler on Monday criticized a recent move by the board to disqualify the interim superintendent they are set to hire from serving in the role permanently. The board voted by consensus last week to both hire an interim State Superintendent to fill a vacancy, but then voted 5-4 to make that hire ineligible to stay on the job beyond a brief provisional period. The move lowers the stakes for the decision to be made April 14 by the board – two days after April 12 elections – but also automatically eliminates a possible candidate who has passed vetting by the body. Jackie Zeigler – the wife of state auditor Jim Zeigler – declared her opposition to the move in a statement Tuesday. “This does not make common sense,” Jackie Zeigler said. “You always want the best superintendent – even if that person was serving as interim. On-the-job training is sometimes the best training. The best proving ground may be doing the job on a temporary basis,” she added. Zeigler used an anecdotal example of Mobile County Superintendent Martha Peek, who was hired on by the county system to stay on after three attempts to vet a permanent successor failed. “It proved the correct decision. She has been highly evaluated,” said Zeigler. “The interim can legally serve for a year. Since that person is now disqualified from consideration for permanent, your best people will not apply for interim,” she said, saying the move to disqualify could undermine the point of the interim search process. The motion to disqualify the eventual interim pick was made by board member Matt Brown, who Zeigler is challenging next month. Brown was appointed by Gov. Robert Bentley, a frequent target of public criticism by Jim Zeigler.
Jim Zeigler says vote for Amendment 1, despite faults with ballot language
State Auditor Jim Zeigler came out with a statement in support of an upcoming ballot initiative known as Amendment 1, despite some misgivings about “misleading” language voters will encounter at the ballot box. The state constitutional amendment says it authorizes the legislature to provide a retirement for new District Attorneys and Circuit Clerks. Not exactly, said Zeigler in a release Monday. Zeigler contends the amendment would “abolish a pension program the officials already have, to which they make no contributions from their pay,” replacing that so-called “supernumerary system” with a standard retirement like that offered to other state employees, which require contributions from their paychecks. The state auditor said the amendment would save the state substantial sums – his figures show it would save taxpayers $291,000 a year starting immediately, growing to $8.4 million a year in 30 years – but worries “the inaccurate wording is likely to get Amendment One defeated when it would actually save millions for Alabama taxpayers.” “Citizens are against giving a new pension or any other benefit to politicians at this time. Because the wording says that a retirement is ‘provided’ to these officials, it could draw a no vote,” continued Zeigler. “Whoever wrote this wording should be fired. They did a horrible job. This proposal reads like they took Common Core grammar. The wording is almost opposite of what the amendment would actually do.” “I am coming with legislation to turn the wording of ballot propositions over to the State Auditor — an elected, constitutional, statewide official. I can write the measure accurately in 30 minutes, costing taxpayers nothing. I will do this for free,” Zeigler said. “I will cast a ‘Yes’ vote on Amendment One, which is the conservative, waste-cutting thing to do,” concluded the self-styled Alabama “Waste Cutter.”
Jim Zeigler pushing constitutional amendment to prevent “raid” of state parks funds
State Auditor Jim Zeigler may occupy the executive branch, but that isn’t stopping him from getting involved in his favored issues during Alabama’s ongoing Legislative Session in Montgomery. Zeigler released a statement Monday night declaring his support for SB 260, a bill that would “stop the raiding of state parks revenues to fund other programs,” as Zeigler put it. Specifically the bill – sponsored by Republican Sen. Clay Scofield – would call for an amendment to the state constitution that would require revenues earned by the parks to stay in the parks’ operating budget. In recent years, state budget writers and Gov. Robert Bentley have chosen to close nearly half a dozen parks and reduce services in others, despite the parks’ general solvency. Funds from the parks have sometimes gone to subsidize other priorities through the Legislature’s general revenue fund. State parks have long been a priority for Zeigler. He recently accused the Bentley administration of mismanaging the parks system and using it as a cudgel against conservatives. “SB 260 is the first step in my plan for the state parks,” said Zeigler. “The parks internally generate around 85 percent of the money needed to operate. With tweaking, the parks can be self-funding, using NO tax dollars — requiring no money from the financially-strapped general fund. The Bentley administration would no longer be able to use the state parks as a political football, threatening closures if tax increases are not passed.”
Jim Zeigler urges Alabamians to help delay new Supreme Court nomination
State Auditor Jim Zeigler is telling his fellow Alabama residents to lobby their senators to prevent the Obama administration from choosing a Supreme Court justice who will replace the late Antonin Scalia. Over the weekend Zeigler took to Facebook on his “Waste Cutter” public page and implored followers to help prevent the nomination from coming to a vote until President Barack Obama exits the Oval Office next January. “YOU can make a difference in keeping President Obama from naming a Justice to succeed Antonin Scalia,” wrote Zeigler. The post continues: Please copy and send this entire message by e-mail, Facebook, or other means to all who support the Constitution: Please quickly contact your two U.S. Senators. Ask them to: __Go back in session immediately so that the President cannot make a RECESS APPOINTMENT to the Supreme Court. __Stay in session until a new President is inaugurated. __Delay or reject any nominee the President names so the new President can do that. While it is the President’s constitutional right to name a nominee, it is equally the right of the US Senate to confirm, reject, or delay. Zeigler also included a U.S. Senate director to help Alabamians reach out to Sen. Richard Shelby, the state’s senior senator, and Sen. Jeff Sessions, Alabama’s junior senator since 1997. The state auditor, who holds a unique ombudsman-like position in the state Cabinet, has been heavily involved in state and national politics of late. He issued an unorthodox intra-party rebuttal to Gov. Robert Bentley‘s State of the State address earlier this month, and speaks on his radio show as much about the Obama administration as he does Montgomery affairs. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told reporters as early as Sunday the Senate would be extremely reluctant to take up an Obama-appointed nominee. Senate Democrats, for their part, say it is the chamber’s constitutional duty to offer advice and consent to whoever is the sitting president.
Jim Zeigler to address gun rights group Saturday
State Auditor Jim Zeigler will speak to the pro-gun rights group BamaCarry in Bessemer this weekend on the importance of proactive protection of the Second Amendment and personal liberties through gun ownership. In an advance version of his remarks, Zeigler amends an apocryphal dictum of Thomas Jefferson by declaring, “The price of freedom is eternal, armed, and prepared vigilance.” It is not enough to just support the Second Amendment in principle, says Zeigler. A defender of liberty must put that belief into action. Or as Zeigler puts it: “Just sitting on the front porch watching is not enough. Unless you have a shotgun with you.” Zeigler will deliver his address at BamaCarry’s “Alabama Firearms Freedom Rally,” set for Saturday at the Bessemer Civic Center. The group boasts about 12,500 gun-supporting members across Alabama. In his speech Zeigler, who has held a unique ombudsman-like position in the state Cabinet since his election in 2010, plans to trumpet a recent move by leading gun manufacturer Remington to move operations to Alabama, and to declare that the best defense against crime is not the police or the state, but rather a well-armed and well-prepared citizenry. The BamaCarry convention is set to run from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are available to the public for $25.
Whoops! Jim Zeigler’s State of the State rebuttal up against Super Bowl
State Auditor Jim Zeigler owned up Friday morning to what he called a “super-blooper”: Zeigler unwittingly scheduled a statewide broadcast of his conservative rebuke of Gov. Robert Bentley to air at the same time as Super Bowl 50 this Sunday evening. “How many viewers would watch Zeigler vs. Bentley instead of Peyton Manning vs. Cam Newton? Not many,” said Zeigler. Zeigler issued a statement owning up to the mishap and saying he will now try his best to “turn lemons into lemonade” by posting video and text of the speech available on the Web, where it can be accessed at any time, even during the big game. Alabama Today published the full text of the speech after Zeigler delivered it Tuesday. Video of Zeigler’s address can be found here. The speech will also air on 7 p.m. this Sunday, which will be about the same time as halftime of the Super Bowl matchup between the NFC’s Carolina Panthers and AFC’s Denver Broncos. Zeigler said he gave the address — an unusual move, as rebuttals are typically reserved for the party opposite the sitting governor — at the behest of two conservative advocacy groups, the Alabama Tea Party Conservative Coalition and the Common Sense Campaign. In the speech, Zeigler hammers at the priorities of Bentley, who the state auditor has blasted over state parks closures, the removal of official the portraits of Govs. George Wallace and Lurleen Wallace and other issues.
Jim Zeigler lays out his objections in State of the State rebuttal
The following was delivered in full by State Auditor Jim Zeigler in response to Gov. Robert Bentley’s 2016 State of the State address. See our coverage of the speech here. The State of the State is a mess. This could not have been made more clear as Governor Bentley once again betrayed Alabama taxpayers with plans for bigger government and increased spending as a solution to our problems. This embrace of Democrat principles comes in the wake of a tumultuous 2015 in which Gov. Bentley disappointed Alabamians with flip-flopping and repeated betrayal of our values and his campaign promises. This stew needs to be stirred. As the Governor said: “The urgency, the challenge is now.” The legislature has received budget requests that are out of balance. They are about $225 million in the hole on day one. The Governor decided not to present any plans for solving that shortfall. The good news is that he did not propose any tax increases. The bad news is that he did not present any plans for saving money in state government by eliminating: Waste, mismanagement, duplication, and low-priority spending. And he did not present any plans for promoting: New efficiencies, cost-savings, and better ways to get things done for less money. We have an admission by the Governor that there is a huge imbalance in budget requests over revenues. We have the Governor’s decision not to do anything about it. What we saw was a complete abandonment of budgetary duties by the Governor. He has abdicated his leadership. One of the problems in the Bentley administration is that the Governor and his advisers believe a budget shortfall can be solved only in two ways – by raising taxes on the citizens of Alabama or by cutting services to the citizens. As a result of this misconception, we saw six state parks closed by the Bentley administration. We saw a bungling attempt to close drivers’ license offices in 31 counties. And we saw the State Auditor’s office cut by about 25%, much more than any other agency was cut. I suggest a third alternative – not raising taxes on the public and not cutting services to the public – but a better option I call THINKING OUTSIDE THE TAX. THINKING OUTSIDE THE TAX is delivering needed state services at a lower cost. A substantially lower cost. This cannot be done with the same old approaches that got us into this deficit situation. It will take entirely new approaches. Thinking outside the tax. One example is the state Medicaid budget. It is one of the largest and fastest-growing parts of Alabama’s general fund budget. With the growth of our elderly population, the Medicaid budget by itself has the potential to bankrupt state government. Unless we think outside the tax. I have an option for consideration of the legislature and the Medicaid agency. I call it the LIVE AT HOME PLAN. Right now, it costs the Medicaid agency around $6,000 a month to pay for a Medicaid patient in a nursing home. And for the rest of the seniors’ life no matter how long they live. Granny would prefer not to go to the nursing home. She and her family would rather she live and die in the comfort of her own home. Unfortunately, Alabama Medicaid pays for only a small number of patients on home care. The irony is that home care can cost Medicaid less than half of what the nursing home costs. Around $3,000 a month or less, rather than $6,000. A few baby steps have already been taken toward Medicaid home care. This has been enough to show that home care works. It is cheaper – half price or less. And the seniors and family are happier with Granny living at home. What we are suggesting is not an unrealistic, novel program but an aggressive stepping up of Medicaid home care that has already been proven to work. Nursing homes and their important lobby should not be opposed to the Live at Home Plan for two reasons. One, many nursing homes are at capacity and have waiting lists. As the number of seniors increases, the waiting lists will become longer. The Live at Home Plan can help solve this problem of growing waiting lists. Second, a small but growing number of nursing homes are diversifying and adding home care services in addition to the residential nursing care, a logical extension. The legislature should look at an automatic or expedited certificate of need approval for nursing homes wanting to add Medicaid home care. This provision could help win support of the important nursing home lobby. The Live at Home Plan would save Alabama Medicaid tens of millions of dollars a year, starting immediately. THINKING OUTSIDE THE TAX. A second large and growing area of expense is state prisons. The Governor proposed a bond issue for prisons, which would of course have to be repaid by obligating Alabama taxpayers over 20 years. Studies have concentrated primarily on how to solve the prison crowding problem in order to avoid a potential federal court takeover. What the studies largely did not do was THINKING OUTSIDE THE TAX. Alabama taxpayers provide more money each year for a prisoner than for a school student. And more money for a convict that for active-duty military. Alabama taxpayers do not want to pay more for inmates than for students and military. We badly need a return to old, time-honored approaches to corrections. Approaches that cost far less than providing the present prison facilities. THINKING OUTSIDE THE TAX. We will ask the legislature to consider a far cheaper way to safely reduce our prison population than simply building more facilities at taxpayer expense. So-called experts have had years to come with solutions to Alabama’s prison crowding problem. They have not done so, at a risk of federal court intervention. When those failed experts hear of this novel approach, which is actually an adaptation of an old-fashioned, time-honored approach, they will scoff and make fun. Don’t listen to these business-as-usual failures. Consider the common sense approach I have named “VOLUNTARY RELOCATION.” Here is how it could work, with emphasis on WORK: Qualifying inmates who have served a certain amount of time would be allowed to VOLUNTEER for voluntary relocation. As a condition of early release, they would agree to go at least
In conservative rebuttal, Jim Zeigler urges Bentley admin to “think outside the tax”
As promised, State Auditor Jim Zeigler delivered an unusual extra rebuttal to the annual State of the State address, delivered by Gov. Robert Bentley to the Legislature Wednesday morning. Zeigler got straight to his point with a cutting introduction “The State of the State is a mess,” said Zeigler. “This could not have been made more clear as Governor Bentley once again betrayed Alabama taxpayers with plans for bigger government and increased spending as a solution to our problems. “This embrace of Democrat principles comes in the wake of a tumultuous 2015 in which Gov. Bentley disappointed Alabamians with flip-flopping and repeated betrayal of our values and his campaign promises,” he intoned. Zeigler faintly praised the governor for not proffering any tax increases, but he also said he failed to put forward ideas for “new efficiencies, cost-savings, and better ways to get things done for less money,” ideas Zeigler prides himself on as Alabama’s “Waste Cutter.” Surviving the $225 million budget deficit currently projected without increasing revenues will require a strategy Zeigler calls “thinking outside the tax.” Zeigler enumerated several tactics for implementing his mantra including reducing Medicaid payments by allowing seniors to receive treatment in their homes, reduce prison populations by allowing offenders to work instead of serving prison time, and change funding formulas to allow state parks to fund their own operation. Zeigler agreed with Bentley on opposing the acceptance of Syrian refugees, but hammered away at usual disagreements involving official history, college tuition, and a general attitude about the size and scope of government. “The Legislature has before it a bill to enable the Governor to appoint a ‘Taxpayer’s Advocate.’ We are 100 percent against having the Governor make this appointment,” Zeigler said at one point in the speech. “To have Governor Bentley appoint a Taxpayer’s Advocate is like having the fox guard the henhouse.” Zeigler continued in a hard-right vein calling for an end to abortion and gun control, before ending on a painful note for the administration, the failure of its payroll software which allowed thousands of payments to vendors to fall into arrears. “The State of the State is a mess,” Zeigler concluded. “The taxpayers ask the legislature to exercise their constitutional checks and balances with the strongest steps to right the ship of state.” See the full text of Zeigler’s speech here.
Jim Zeigler to preview State of the State rebuttal Monday evening
State Auditor Jim Zeigler will give a preview of his unorthodox intraparty response to Gov. Robert Bentley‘s upcoming State of the State address Monday evening. A frequent critic of Bentley, Zeigler recently confirmed he will give an additional response to the governor’s annual address to lawmakers in Montgomery beyond the usual rebuttals from state House and Senate Democrats. Zeigler says he will give his counter-address “on behalf of the taxpaying public,” after he announced two conservative groups led by conservative operative Lou Campomenosi wrote Zeigler with the request. The annual address is scheduled for Tuesday, but Zeigler will give a sneak peek of his speech on his weekly “Weekly Waste Cutter Update” radio segment at 5:29 p.h. CT Monday, during The Rachel Hammers Show, a conservative talk program. The segment will be heard on two stations near Huntsville (WTKI-FM. 92.9 and WTKI-AM 1450) and in Decatur (WEKI-FM 94.7 and WEKI-AM 1490). It can also be picked up nationwide on the web at https://www.wtkiradio.com/ or the TuneIn.com smartphone app. In a social media post promoting the preview, Zeigler provided a list of areas of disagreement between himself and Bentley, whom Zeigler has often criticized as insufficiently conservative. “Now in office for one year, Zeigler disagreed with Bentley’s cancellation of the inaugural prayer service, which Zeigler then hosted anyway,” Zeigler wrote. “He led opposition to the removal of the portraits of Governor[s] George and Lurleen Wallace from the Capitol rotunda. He fought the closing of six state parks, saying the parks generate enough money to be self-sustaining. He criticized the cost of two Special Sessions to pass a general fund budget. He criticized the governor’s spending for personal staff and state aircraft. He called for increased cost control rather than tax increases. He disagreed with the governor’s spending of $1.8 million in BP funds to restore the ‘governor’s mansion at the beach,’” the state auditor continued. “A list of issues on which Zeigler agreed with Bentley would be shorter,” Zeigler said.
Jim Zeigler may give conservative rebuttal to State of the State address
State Auditor Jim Zeigler announced over the weekend two “taxpaying anti-establishment conservative” groups have asked him to give an unorthodox response to Gov. Robert Bentley‘s State of the State address next week. The annual gubernatorial address to the Legislature, set for next Tuesday, Feb. 2 on Groundhog Day. The State of the State is traditionally followed by a “rebuttal” from leaders of the opposing political party. Senate Democratic Leader Quinton Ross and House Democratic Leader Craig Ford are set to give responses on behalf of the minorities in both chambers. But Zeigler says two right-leaning groups, Alabama Tea Party Conservative Coalition and the Common Sense Campaign, have requested an additional response. Both groups are represented by spokesman Dr. Lou Campomenosi, who said Alabamians deserve to hear from an anti-establishment Republican as well as from the party’s standard bearer, Bentley. Despite coming out aggressively against the federal government on Syrian refugee relocation, health care, and other sundry issues, Bentley has been attacked by many conservatives throughout the state as insufficiently conservative. Campomenosi, a former candidate for Baldwin County School Board among other offices, is among the most outspoken of Bentley’s intra-party critics. Zeigler, for his part, has also been vociferous in his disapproval of the governor. Most recently Zeigler targeted Bentley for allegedly spending a portion of a settlement the state received after the 2011 BP oil spill on renovating an official residence in Gulf Shores for personal reasons. Zeigler said Sunday he will review the requests to give a State of the State counter-rebuttal and decide whether or not to deliver it by Wednesday. Bentley recently told AL.com he will not offer any plans to increase taxes or close loopholes in his speech next week, a subject that has rankled many of his GOP peers despite a substantial budget hole facing state government in Montgomery in recent years. “I have three years left in my administration and I have some major things that I want to get accomplished over the next three years, and I’m going to be pushing those things, and I think the people of Alabama, when they hear them in our State of the State, they’re going to be excited about what we’re trying to do,” said Bentley.
