Steve Flowers: Five seats on the Alabama Supreme Court up for election in 2024
Next year is a big year nationally. It is a Presidential year. However, it is a down or off year for Alabama. We, like several other southern states, have our big election year in non-presidential years. We elected our governor, other constitutional offices, and our entire legislature last year in 2022. However, since we have staggered six-year terms for our state judges, we have an inordinate number of seats on our Supreme Court up for election next year. We have nine members of our State Supreme Court. All nine are Republicans. Even though our Supreme Court is elected, we have a surprisingly wise and very qualified state high tribunal. All nine are well-qualified and well-rounded, yet very Republican and very conservative. We are a very Republican and very conservative state. Therefore, these nine judges are reflective of the Heart of Dixie. Even though there are five seats up for election, there is only one opening. Chief Justice Tom Parker is precluded from running for a six-year term. He is 72, and our state laws mandate that someone cannot run for a judgeship after they reach the age of 70. Popular and younger jurists hold the other four seats. Three of the four will seek reelection and will win easily even if they draw opposition. These three incumbents are Will Sellers, Jay Mitchell, and Tommy Bryan. The fourth, Sarah Stewart, is opting to run for the Chief Justice post Tom Parker is vacating. Justice Will Sellers probably will not draw an opponent. He is perfectly suited for the State Supreme Court. His resume reads as though he was born for the job. He was a successful tax attorney in his hometown of Montgomery. He graduated from the University of Alabama Law School and has a Master of Law Degree in Taxation from New York University. His Tax Law expertise is invaluable to his colleagues on the Court. Will has a keen political mind in addition to his legal prowess. He and his wife, Lee Grant Sellers, are Governor Kay Ivey’s closest confidants. Will has sworn Governor Ivey into office at both her Inaugurations. Justice Sellers also pens a monthly column on historical events. Justice Tommy Bryan is up for another six-year term. This popular incumbent jurist will be reelected without opposition. He hails from rural South Alabama – Brantley in Crenshaw County, to be exact. He was first elected in 2012 and reelected to a second six-year term in 2018. Therefore, he will be seeking his third six-year term in 2024. He previously served eight years on the Court of Civil Appeals. He and his lovely wife Pam have two adult children. Tommy and Pam are very active members of the First Baptist Church of Montgomery. Judge Jay Mitchell is the tallest member of the Supreme Court. He stands a good 6 feet 8 inches. He also stands tall with integrity and wit. He is an affable fellow and is finishing his first six-year term on the high court. He will easily win election to his second term, probably unopposed. He graduated from Birmingham Southern College, where he starred in basketball. He graduated from the University of Virginia Law School. He and his wife, Elizabeth, reside in Homewood with their four children. Jay Mitchell is only 46. He is not only the tallest member of the Court but also the youngest. Justice Sarah Stewart is opting to leave her safe seat as an associate justice to seek election as Chief Justice next year. She has already announced and is actively running. More times than not, the early bird gets the worm. Justice Stewart served 13 years as a Mobile Circuit Court Judge prior to going on to the Supreme Court. Judge Chris McCool, an associate justice on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, is favored to win Justice Stewart’s seat. You can bet your bottom dollar he will not be outworked. Even though there are five seats up for reelection on the high court, there will be very little change when the dust settles. This is a good court, and they have an excellent collegial working relationship. The 2024 elections have begun. 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: Who are the nine people who sit on our state Supreme Court?
This week allow me to share with you a sketch of the men and women who sit on our State Supreme Court. These nine Justices are all Republican, all conservative on both social and business issues. All are very devout in their faith and very connected to their church and their family. Chief Justice Tom Parker has been on the State Supreme Court since 2005. He was born and raised in Montgomery and went to Dartmouth College and Vanderbilt Law School. Chief Justice Parker and his wife the former Dottie James of Auburn have been married 39 years. Dottie was a supervisor of the governor’s mansion during the Fob James administration. They are Methodist. Justice Jay Mitchell is the most personable and definitely the tallest member of the Supreme Court. Jay was a star basketball player at Birmingham Southern where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He is imminently qualified for the Supreme Court having graduated from the University of Virginia Law School and had a sterling career with a Birmingham Law firm prior to being overwhelmingly elected to the high tribunal in 2018. Justice Mitchell and his wife, Elizabeth Mitchell, have four children. They reside in Homewood and are members of the Church of the Highlands. Justice Tommy Bryan is a popular and conservative member of the high court. Tommy was born on a family farm in Crenshaw County. He served on the Court of Civil Appeals and was an assistant attorney general prior to being elected to the Supreme Court in 2012. Justice Bryan and his wife, Pamela Bryan, are very active members of the First Baptist Church of Montgomery where he is a Deacon, Sunday School teacher, and sings in the choir. He and Pam are very close and have raised two fine children. Justice William “Will” Sellers, like Justice Parker, is a Montgomery native, as is Will’s outstanding wife, Lee Grant Sellers. Justice Sellers and Lee have been married 33 years and have three adult children and are active members of Trinity Presbyterian Church of Montgomery. Will was a prominent Tax Attorney prior to going on the court. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama Law School and has a New York University tax degree. Justice Brad Mendheim was a Circuit Judge in Houston County prior to going on the Supreme Court. He was born and raised in Dothan and is one of the most respected young men to have come out of his hometown. He is a graduate of Auburn University and Cumberland School of Law. He and his wife of 24 years, Michelle Mendheim, are very active members of the First Baptist Church of Dothan and they have three fine sons. Justice Greg Shaw epitomizes a judge both professionally and personally. He is said to be the hardest working member of the Court and takes his role seriously and is well above reproach. He has an outstanding wife, Samantha “Sam” Shaw, who has also had a sterling career in politics. She was overwhelmingly elected State Auditor twice, serving eight years. Greg and Sam live on a farm about an hour from Montgomery. They have two outstanding sons and are members of the Auburn United Methodist Church. Justice Shaw graduated from Auburn and Samford’s Cumberland School of Law. Justice Sarah Stewart is a longtime Mobilian and was a Mobile Circuit Judge prior to going on the Court. She is a very respected jurist and a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School. She and her husband, Craig Stewart, have two children and are Methodists. Justice Mike Bolin is one of the finest men I have ever known. Mike was a stellar and popular Probate Judge in Jefferson County prior to his service on the Supreme Court. He is a graduate of Samford University and a graduate of Cumberland School of Law. Justice Bolin and his wife, Rosemary Bolin, have one daughter. They attend St. Peter the Apostle Church in Hoover. Unfortunately, Judge Bolin cannot run for reelection next year. He will be over 70 and is term limited under state law. However, last but not least, Justice Kelli Wise is well below 70 and can and will run for reelection next year and she will win. She is a very popular member of the high court. Kelli served several terms on the Court of Criminal Appeals before matriculating to the Supreme Court. Justice Wise and her husband, former District Court Judge Arthur Ray, have one daughter and are members of the St. James United Methodist Church. Kelli is a Wiregrass native up for reelection next year in 2022. 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.
