George Wallace Jr: A tribute to John Patterson and a life well lived
Since his passing last week at age 99, former Alabama Governor John Patterson, his character, and the deep and decades-long relationship he shared with my family have frequently been in my thoughts. I met John Patterson in 1958 when he was Alabama’s nationally-famous state attorney general and a candidate for governor against my late father, a former state representative and sitting circuit judge for Barbour and Bullock counties in the Third Judicial Circuit. As a six-year-old, I would stand on a chair and make political speeches on behalf of my father’s candidacy at political forums across Alabama. The crowds seemed to like the novelty of such a young boy campaigning for his parent, and it proved to be a valuable introduction to Alabama politics that served me well during my own campaigns years later. Gov. Patterson and I first shook hands at one of those forums, and he remained a welcome presence in my life for more than 60 years to follow. He and my father were friends before that campaign, and they maintained their friendship even after Patterson became the only man to defeat him in a gubernatorial campaign and later ran for governor against my mother, Lurleen, in 1966. In fact, their friendship grew and deepened as the years went by, and more and more of their colleagues, contemporaries, and political allies passed away. A World War II veteran who served on General Dwight Eisenhower’s staff, Gov. Patterson also saw action in the Korean Conflict before returning to Phenix City and opening a law practice with his father, Albert. Phenix City was known at the time as the “Wickedest City in America” because of the gambling, prostitution, and other vices that operated openly thanks to a complicit, wink-and-nod agreement with members of local law enforcement. Because so many of his soldiers were returning to base broke, beaten, and robbed after payday, General George Patton, while stationed at Fort Benning, once threatened to cross the Chattahoochee River and flatten Phenix City with his tanks. John’s father, Albert Patterson, a former member of the Alabama Senate who wished to restore law and order to the city, sought help from state officials in Montgomery, but he found that many of them, as well, had been co-opted by the Dixie Mafia when they refused his requests. Taking matters into his own hand, he ran a statewide campaign for attorney general on a platform of cleaning up Phenix City. Despite widespread vote fraud intended to rob him of victory, Albert Patterson won the Democratic primary, which was then tantamount to election, but he was assassinated outside his law office by the same criminal network he was working to destroy. John Patterson ran for attorney general in his father’s place, and he vindicated his murder with zeal. Working with the National Guard that Gov. Gordon Persons had called in after declaring martial law, Patterson secured almost 750 indictments against the local law enforcement officers, elected officials, and organized crime elements that operated the vices. He also successfully prosecuted the chief deputy sheriff for killing his father. Patterson became a national celebrity, and Hollywood even made a movie about the events titled “The Phenix City Story.” As a result, he was propelled into the governor’s office following the 1958 campaign. His term as governor was notable for a $100 million public school building program, increased services for the aged and infirmed, and opposition to loan-sharking operations that preyed on the poor, but most historians remember it for the early events that occurred during the struggle for Civil Rights. Yes, Gov. Patterson was controversial, as was my father early in his career, relative to the issue of segregation, but they were products of their era. As time passed, they saw the light, walked toward it, and embraced it while becoming advocates for brotherhood and understanding. In the end, they both got it right. One of the finest appointments my father ever made was placing John Patterson in an open seat on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, a post he held until retiring in 1997. His work and influence are felt on that court even to this day, and it is notable that he always preferred to be addressed as ‘Judge Patterson” rather than “Governor Patterson” after stepping down from public life. I had the pleasure of serving with Judge Patterson for more than 20 years on the board of Lyman Ward Military Academy, and the keen insight and wisdom he brought to our proceedings were always impressive. Following our board meetings, we would always have lunch in the mess hall with the cadets. Judge Patterson and I would sit across from each other as we reminisced and told behind-the-scenes stories about the political events and larger-than-life personalities of a by-gone era. We were always amused that the other trustees would quietly ease their chairs closer to ours in order to eavesdrop on our conversations and get an insiders’ look at Alabama politics. When our father passed away in 1998 at age 79, my family immediately asked Judge Patterson to deliver his eulogy at the state funeral service held in the Alabama Capitol Building, and it remains a touching memory to this day. After sharing remarks that were all at once reflective, humorous, candid, and emotional, Judge Patterson ended his eulogy about my father by saying: “His passing marks the end of an era in our history. Alabama has lost its greatest son, and I have lost a dear friend.” Those words he spoke in tribute to my father express exactly how I feel about the loss of Judge John Patterson, a kind, decent, and honorable man who loved Alabama fiercely and leaves behind a life well lived. He will be missed. George Wallace Jr. is the son of Alabama Govs. George and Lurleen Wallace. He previously served two terms as Alabama State Treasurer and two terms as a member of the Alabama Public Service Commission.
Segregationist former Alabama Gov. John Patterson dies at 99
Former Alabama Gov. John Patterson, who entered politics as a reformer after his father’s assassination but was criticized for failing to protect the Freedom Riders from angry white mobs, has died. He was 99. He died Friday, his daughter, Barbara Patterson Scholl, confirmed. She said funeral arrangements are pending. “He died very peacefully at home. His family and friends were with him,” she said. Patterson’s involvement with state government spanned a half-century, beginning with his election as attorney general at 33 after violence in Phenix City, and later as a judge. A segregationist as governor, he drew criticism when Freedom Riders were attacked while in Alabama and Patterson did nothing to protect them. He later voiced regret for what happened. He ended his political career more serenely on the Court of Criminal Appeals, where he continued to write opinions into his 80s. Patterson also was involved in the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion, helping the CIA get Alabama Air National Guard members to train Cuban exiles. Some Alabama pilots died when the 1961 invasion of Cuba failed. Patterson was born on his grandparents’ farm in the tiny Tallapoosa County community of Goldville but finished high school in Phenix City, where his father, Albert Patterson, was a lawyer. After serving on Gen. Dwight Eisenhower’s staff during World War II, Patterson returned home, got his law degree from the University of Alabama, and went into practice with his father, Albert Patterson. Albert Patterson ran for attorney general in 1954 on a platform of cleaning up the vice and illegal gambling that had turned his town into “Sin City, U.S.A.” He won the Democratic nomination to be the state’s top prosecutor but was gunned down in Phenix City on June 18. Democratic Party officials pressured his son to run for attorney general in his place. He did and won. In a 2003 interview, Patterson told The Associated Press he had no interest in politics until his father’s death. “If he hadn’t been killed, I never would have run for public office. Nobody would have ever heard of me outside legal circles,” Patterson said. As attorney general, Patterson kept his father’s campaign promise to clean up Phenix City. He also fought civil rights groups in court. In one case, he got a restraining order to keep the NAACP from operating in Alabama. The restraining order remained until 1964 when it was lifted by the U.S. Supreme Court. Patterson ran for governor in 1958, beating George Wallace in a Democratic primary that focused largely on Patterson’s pro-segregation stand. Patterson was the only person to beat Wallace in an Alabama election. Four years later, Wallace successfully claimed the segregationist banner to begin his dynasty. During Patterson’s term, Alabama launched a $100 million school building program, increased old-age pensions, returned the State Docks to profitability, and enacted a small loan law to curb loan sharks. But his term also saw attacks on the Freedom Riders who were seeking to integrate bus waiting rooms and lunch counters. Patterson said later he mistakenly trusted police in Birmingham and Montgomery to protect the Freedom Riders, but they didn’t. “I regret it, and it was bad for my administration,” Patterson said in 2003. Patterson said he knew segregation couldn’t be maintained under the Constitution, but he wanted to delay its end. He said he felt Alabamians would accept integration without violence if change occurred slowly. Exactly 50 years after the Freedom Riders were beaten by a white mob in Montgomery, Patterson welcomed 10 of them back to Montgomery on May 20, 2011, for the dedication of a museum honoring them. “It took a lot of nerve and guts to do what they did,” Patterson said. In a 2009 interview, Sam Webb, co-editor of the book “Alabama Governors,” said Patterson was “a brave and courageous” governor on many fronts, but those accomplishments were overshadowed by race issues. “Unfortunately what will stand out in John Patterson’s case is his vociferous opposition to civil rights and racial integration,” said Webb, a historian at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. During Patterson’s term as governor, the CIA began planning for Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and try to overthrow Fidel Castro. A CIA agent approached Patterson about getting members of the Alabama Air National Guard to help train the exiles. Patterson agreed after the agent assured him that President Eisenhower had approved the plan. About 300 Alabamians helped train Cuban exiles for the Bay of Pigs invasion, which was not carried out until President John Kennedy replaced Eisenhower in the White House in 1961. On the third day of the invasion, as it was failing, Alabama pilots flew the last bombing mission, and four died. Kennedy initially denied any U.S. involvement in the invasion, which was a shock to Patterson, who knew differently. Years later, Patterson disclosed that he had tipped off Kennedy about the invasion plans shortly before the November 1960 presidential election. Patterson, a Kennedy supporter, flew to New York to tell Kennedy out of concern that the Eisenhower administration would carry out the invasion just before the presidential election to boost Vice President Richard Nixon’s chances of beating Kennedy. Patterson couldn’t seek a second term in 1962 because Alabama law then prohibited consecutive terms. He tried a comeback in 1966, but lost to Wallace’s wife, Lurleen Wallace. He also ran unsuccessfully for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in 1972. Patterson, who had been friends with Wallace before their bitter 1958 race, eventually renewed the friendship and helped Wallace in his later campaigns for president and governor. In 1984, Wallace appointed Patterson to a vacancy on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. He won election to a full six-year term later that year and was reelected in 1990. In January 1997, he had to retire because the state constitution prohibits judges from running for another term after reaching 70. Still, Patterson continued to work for the court by helping write opinions because he said he enjoyed being a judge more
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Five things you need to know about Kay Ivey
The primaries are over, and the real battle begins. Incumbent Governor Kay Ivey won the republican nomination for governor in a landslide victory, with just over 56 percent of the vote she will face-off against Walt Maddox in the November general election. With that in mind, Here’s five things you need to know about Kay Ivey: 5. She’s been involved in politics since high school Ivey’s first introduction into politics was in 1962 when she served as the lieutenant governor for the Wilcox County High School at Alabama Girls State. While in college at Auburn University she spent four years in the Student Government Association and coordinated for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lurleen Wallace‘s campaign on the school campus. 4. She first ran as a Democrat in 1982 In 1979 she was appointed by then Democratic Governor Fob James to serve as a member of his state cabinet. Ivey then rose through the ranks quickly, serving as law clerk of the Alabama House of Representatives, and Assistant Director of the Alabama Development Office. In her first attempt to obtain a state office, Ivey ran as a Democrat, and was defeated by Jan Cook in the State Auditor’s race in 1982. Ivey didn’t change parties until 2002, when she began her race for State Treasurer and decided to run as a Republican. 3. She is only the second woman in the state’s history to serve as Governor Out of 54 governors who have been elected to serve as governor to the Yellowhammer State, only two have been female. Lurleen Wallace was the first and only female governor to hold the position until Ivey became the second woman to hold the office in 2017. 2. Under her watchful eye, the Alabama PACT program almost failed In 1989 the Alabama State legislature created the PACT program, allowing parents to pre-pay their children’s college tuition but when tuition rates begin to rise, and stock markets began to fall the program began struggling in the early 2000’s. Ivey, who served as State Treasurer from 2003-2011, said “only market conditions caused this, not staff or the board. It’s due solely to the economic conditions of the country,” according to AL.com. By 2010, the program stopped selling contracts, and the legislature had to pass a plan to save the program, shoveling $548 million over 13 years starting in 2015 to save the day. However, when Young Boozer took office in 2011 he said the money the legislature promised would not be enough to sustain the program, and in May the board approved the settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed by contract holders. 1. She was born on a cattle farm, and was raised as an only child Ivey was born in Wilcox county to Boadman Nettles Ivey, an Army Major and a World War II veteran who started a cattle farm in the small town of Camden, Ala. home to less than 1,000 people at the time. She used her upbringing in several different ads this campaign season, the most notable an ad in which she touted her knowledge of “mountain oysters” saying “don’t give me a mountain oyster and tell me it’s seafood.”
Jim Zeigler hosts tribute to Lurleen Wallace; continues fight to put portrait back in Rotunda
Monday marks the the 50th anniversary of the of death in-office of Alabama’s first female governor, Gov. Lurleen Wallace, the wife of her predecessor and notorious fellow Gov. George Wallace. Elected in 1966 after defeating a large field without a runoff, she served from January 1967 until her death May 7, 1968. State Auditor Jim Zeigler has planned a commemoration, at no expense to taxpayers, for Monday at 1:15 p.m. to honor her. The 30-minute ceremony will be attended by members of the Wallace family. “[I was] shocked to learn that no one had planned a ceremony on the 50th anniversary of Gov. Lurleen Wallace’s death, so my office and I stepped up and put one together. We must never forget,” said Zeigler. For nearly three years the state auditor has been on a mission to return the portrait of Wallace to the capitol rotunda. Her portrait, along with her husband’s, was removed from the rotunda in January 2015 by then-Gov. Robert Bentley in a move the auditor called re-write to Alabama’s history. To this day, Zeigler blames Bentley for their “premature” removal. “The mistreatment of the Lurleen Wallace portrait by the Bentley administration was a shameful example of historical revision,” Zeigler said. “With no notice, officials of the Bentley administration hurriedly removed the two Wallace portraits from the capitol rotunda. In their place, they erected a new portrait of Gov. Robert Bentley, in the final days of his first term. Shortly after she assumed office, Zeigler asked Gov. Kay Ivey in May 2017, to restore the portraits to the rotunda. “The Alabama Legislature passed joint resolutions in 1983 mandating that the Wallace portraits remain in the rotunda in perpetuity. It was clearly the legislative intent that this be done,” Zeigler wrote Ivey. “Your action in restoring the Wallace portraits to their rightful place would be a bold statement that we in Alabama respect our heritage and reject historical revision.”
Steve Flowers: Could 2018 be the Year of the Woman in Alabama politics?
This political year of 2018 may very well be the year of the woman in Alabama politics. In Alabama’s 200 year history, only one woman has been elected governor. Lurleen Wallace won in 1966. Only two women have served as governor, Governor Lurleen and our current governor, Kay Ivey. It may be a historic year. Sue Bell Cobb, the former Alabama State Supreme Court Chief Justice, and the first woman to hold that position, is hoping to be able to be the Democratic standard-bearer. She was elected Chief Justice in 2006, in a very expensive, high profiled battle with Republican Drayton Nabors. She had been a District Court Judge in her native Conecuh County for a long time before running statewide. She was elected to a six year term as Chief Justice in 2006, but quit after four years, inexplicably. Cobb, 61, is predicting that it will be an all female gubernatorial showdown. She believes that she will be the Democratic nominee and that Governor Kay Ivey will carry the Republican banner into battle. She says, “That’s never happened and my prediction is that is what it will exactly be.” However, first things first. Judge Cobb has to win the Democratic nomination. She is not the favorite in that primary. Tuscaloosa mayor, Walt Maddox, is the early favorite to win the Democratic nomination. Most political insiders suggest that Maddox is expected to get the overwhelming support of African American voters. The black vote makes up the bulk and majority of Democratic Primary voters in the state. This is no longer a monolithic vote. However, it tends to gravitate to one candidate in a primary. The few white voters who participate in the Democratic primary are young and they can more readily identify with Maddox who is 45. In addition, there is some disillusionment among Democratic voters that Cobb quit her term midway as Chief Justice and allowed Republican Governor Robert Bentley to appoint a replacement. He, of course, appointed a Republican. She was the only Democrat on the Supreme Court. Roy Moore won the seat of Chief Justice in 2012. Other Democratic partisans were dismayed that Cobb said she supported Donald Trump’s selection of Jeff Sessions for Attorney General. It may be perceived that her day has passed. Kay Ivey appeared to be headed for the house and her day may have passed when out of the blue Bentley resigns and she is plucked out of the obscurity of the Lt. Governor’s office and thrust into the governorship. She seems like a grandmother who sticks to her knitting and steadies the Ship of State, which has gone through stormy waters the past four years. Kay Ivey may indeed make it to the dance as the Republican nominee in November. She is in the catbird’s seat and favored to win the GOP Primary. However, she created a couple of stumbling blocks during the 2017 Senate election year that may thwart her reelection. Some GOP establishment stalwarts say that her changing the Senate election from 2018 to 2017 threw Luther Strange, their candidate, under the bus and gave the nomination to Roy Moore, which led to losing the seat to a Democrat. Her move also cost the state’s beleaguered General Fund $10 to $15 million. Some suburban women became disenchanted with her with she said she had no reason to not believe the women who accused Roy Moore of assaulting them as teenagers, yet she was still going to vote for him because he was a Republican. These two actions are only political stumbling blocks, not roadblocks. Therefore, what I see as a possibility is not an all female race for governor, but a possible triumvirate of females being sworn into the top three constitutional offices next January. You could see Kay Ivey sworn into the Governor’s office, Twinkle Cavanaugh sworn in as Lt. Governor, and Alice Martin sworn in as Attorney General. All three are Republicans. The Republican nominee goes into the general election with a 60/40 probability of winning. Currently, Kay Ivey is the favorite in the governor’s race. Twinkle is the favorite in the Lt. Governor’s race. Alice Martin or Troy King is favored in the Attorney General’s race. If you made me bet right now, I would bet that Alabama would at least have a governor and Lt. Governor that are women. That may be the story of the year in Alabama politics in 2018. 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: Year end tradition — remembering those we’ve lost
At the close of each year, my tradition is to acknowledge the passing away of significant political leaders from the political stage in our beloved state. We lost some icons this year. As I sit in my office writing this yearend column, pictures of two of my favorite friends and legends adorn my walls. The photos of GovernorAlbert Brewer and Congressman Jim Martin look down at me. Both were Christian gentlemen. Governor Brewer passed away last January in Birmingham. He was 88. We had visited over lunch only a few months earlier. Brewer grew up in Decatur, went to public schools and graduated from the University of Alabama and Alabama Law School. He came back home to Morgan County to practice law. He was quickly elected to the House of Representatives in 1954 at the age of 25. Eight years later in 1962, he was elected Speaker of the House. He was only 33-years old, the youngest Speaker in history. Four years later, he beat two state senators without a runoff to win the Lt. Governor’s office. He had been Lt. Governor for less than two years when in May 1968, Governor Lurleen Wallace succumbed to cancer and he became governor. Brewer had a low-key business-like style to the governor’s office that was dramatically different from George Wallace. He was governor for only 33 months, but he left an indelible mark in public policy, primarily in Education and Ethics. He and Wallace clashed in the 1970 governor’s race, which was one of the classic gubernatorial battles in state history. He led Wallace in the first primary, but Wallace overtly played the race card and pulled out a narrow victory in the runoff. Many scholars and historians sadly reflect that Brewer briefly was our “New South” governor. He spent the last three decades of his life teaching law at Samford’s Cumberland Law School. He molded generations of young lawyers in Alabama. My daughter, Ginny, was one of them. He was her mentor and friend up until he passed away. I first met Governor Brewer when I was a teenager. I became a page for him when he was Speaker and continued as his aide when he became Lt. Governor. We remained friends throughout the years. He was a very special gentleman. Jim Martin passed away last month. He was 99 years old. He was a lifetime resident of Gadsden. Jim was one of the fathers of the modern Republican Party in the South. He was one of five Republicans swept into Congress in the 1964 Goldwater landslide. In 1987, Martin became Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. As commissioner, Martin helped create the Forever Wild Land preservation program. Jim Martin was a special gentleman. Cullman County has been home to an inordinate number of legendary Alabama political leaders and icons. One of these was Tom Drake. Tom passed away in his beloved Cullman County in February at age 86. He represented the Cullman area for 36 years in the Alabama Legislature. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives during Wallace’s last term, 1982-1986. That was my first term in the House. I voted for and supported Tom for Speaker. He was one of George Wallace’s closest and most loyal allies. Tom was also one of Bear Bryant’s favorites. He coached for Bryant, was an All American wrestler at Alabama, and later wrestled professionally. He was a lawyer by profession and he came from the old school. If he shook your hand and gave you his word, you could take it to the bank. He was a loyal and trusted friend. Another legendary Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, Joe McCorquodale, died in April at age 96. Mr. McCorquodale was one of the most powerful and respected men to ever serve in the legislature in Alabama history. He served 24 yeas in the House from 1958-1982. He was Speaker of the House his last eight years, 1974-1982. He was a successful businessman. He was in the timber and insurance business. He lived his entire life in his beloved Clarke County. The Clarke County Democrat publisher, Jim Cox, a lifetime friend of Mr. McCorquodale, said he went to his office every day up until his death. McCorquodale gave current governor, Kay Ivey, her first job in state government. As Speaker, he made Kay the Reading Clerk in the House. We lost some icons this year. Happy New Year, 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: Jim Martin, father of the modern Republican Party in Alabama
Jim Martin passed away recently in Gadsden at 99 years old. His beloved wife of 70 years, Pat, was by his side. He was a true Christian gentleman. Jim was one of the Fathers of the modern Republican Party in the South. In 1962, John Kennedy was President. Camelot was in full bloom. The Congress was controlled by Democrats only because the South was solidly Democratic. The southern bloc of senators and congressmen were all Democrats. Because of their enormous seniority, they controlled both houses of Congress. The issue of Civil Rights was a tempest set to blow off the Capitol dome. Kennedy was under intense pressure to pass major Civil Rights legislation. However, he was up against a stonewall to get it passed the powerful bloc of southern senators. Race was the only issue in the South, especially in Alabama. George Wallace was riding the race issue to the Governor’s office for his first term. The white southern voter was determined to stand firm against integration and was poised to cast their vote for the most ardent segregationists on the ballot. Our Congressional delegation was Democratic, all eight Congressmen and both Senators. Our tandem of John Sparkman and Lister Hill had a combined 40-years of service. Lister Hill had gone to the U.S. Senate in 1938. He had served four six-year terms and had become a national celebrity in his 24 years in the Senate. He was up for election to his fifth six-year term. It was expected to be a coronation. He was reserved, aristocratic, and almost felt as if he was above campaigning. Hill was also soft on the race issue. He was a progressive who refused race-bait. Out of nowhere a handsome, articulate, young Gadsden businessman, Jim Martin, appeared on the scene. Martin was 42, a decorated World War II officer who fought with Patton’s 3rd Army in Europe. He entered as a private and became an integral part of Patton’s team, rising to the rank of Major. After the war he went to work for Amoco Oil and married a Miss Alabama – Pat McDaniel from Clanton. They then settled in Gadsden and he bought an oil distributorship and became successful in business. He was a business Republican and became active in the State Chamber of Commerce. When the State Chamber Board went to Washington to visit the Congressional delegation, they were treated rudely by our Democratic delegates who were still voting their progressive New Deal, pro union philosophy. Martin left Washington and decided that Alabama at least needed a two party system and that he would be the sacrificial lamb to take on the venerable Lister Hill as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate. Martin got the nomination in a convention and the David vs. Goliath race was on. By late summer the Big City newspapers could feel that Martin had some momentum. He was being perceived as the conservative and Hill as the liberal. Every Alabama courthouse was Democratic, all sheriffs, Probate Judges, and statewide elected officials. It was hard to imagine that the tradition of voting Democratic would change, but the winds of segregation were strong. When the votes were counted in November of 1962, Martin had pulled off the biggest upset in the nation. NBC’s team of Huntley and Brinkley reported the phenomenon on the nightly news. Republican President, Eisenhower, called Martin to congratulate him. However, things were happening in rural North Alabama. Martin had won by 6,000 votes but three days later, mysterious boxes appeared with just enough votes to give Hill the belated victory. The entire country and most Alabamians knew that Jim Martin had been counted out. Jim Martin would have been the first Republican Senator from the South in a century. Some people speculate that he would have been the vice-presidential candidate with Nixon in 1968. Regardless, he was the John the Baptist of the Southern Republican sweep of 1964, and father of the modern Republican Party in Alabama. That 1962 Senate race was a precursor of what was to come two years later. Jim Martin was one-of-five Republicans swept into Congress in the 1964 Goldwater landslide. He probably would have won the U.S. Senate seat of John Sparkman. However, he chose to run for governor against Lurleen Wallace. In 1987 Martin became Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. As commissioner, Martin helped create the Forever Wild land preservation program. Jim Martin has a special place in Alabama political history. 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: A midyear review of Alabama politics
As we take a midyear look at Alabama politics, it has been an eventful first half of the year. It is not every year that a governor resigns midterm. Gov. Robert Bentley’s resignation from office April 10 will more than likely be the most newsworthy story of the year. Bentley’s saga had begun 18 months ago. His troubles stemmed from his relationship with his primary and probably only adviser, who was married to a quiet man whom Bentley placed in a vague $90,000 position with the state. It was a titillating story that led to an investigation and later finding by the State Ethics Commission that there was reasonable evidence that Bentley may have violated the law. Facing probable impeachment by the Legislature, Bentley resigned in disgrace. The most noteworthy event was the appointment of our Junior U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions to the powerful post of U.S. Attorney General. Sessions was one of President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet appointments. Sessions departure from the Senate seat left open his coveted post. In his waning days as governor, Bentley interviewed about 20 qualified candidates for the interim appointment. Bentley eventually appointed Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange, a worthy choice. However, the appointment of Strange caused tremendous furor among Alabamians. A few months earlier, Strange stated he was investigating the Governor. The appointment of the Attorney General to the seat had the appearance of a brazen act of collusion between the Governor and Strange. Bentley resigned a month later and Strange went to Washington. Upon the resignation of Bentley, Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey became the second female governor in state history. Ironically, Kay was a stalwart supporter and worked for our only other female governor, Lurleen Wallace, when she was in college over 50 years ago. Gov. Ivey has shown calm, deliberative and wise leadership in her first three months as governor. She has done a good job and steadily stuck to her knitting governing, rather than cutting ribbons. She inherited the ship of state in the middle of a legislative session. She stayed in close contact with the Senate leadership and brought the session to a successful landing. The legislative session could indeed be considered a success. Mac McCutcheon, a Republican Representative from Madison County, led his first regular session as Speaker. McCutchen is level headed and a natural facilitator. He is a retired police officer from Huntsville, who worked as a hostage negotiator. He seems fair and runs a more open and egalitarian House than former Speaker Mike Hubbard. Any legislative session could be considered successful when both budgets are passed. The $1.8 billion General Fund budget passed early due to a one-time influx of $105 million from the BP oil spill settlement. The beleaguered General Fund will be much harder to balance next year, which will be an election year. For the eighth straight year, state workers got no increase in pay. Even though the Education Trust Fund budget grew by $90 million, teachers also get no pay increase. The $6.4 billion Education budget did include a 20 percent increase in pre-kindergarten funding. The Legislature abolished judicial override in death penalty cases, voted to require insurers to extend coverage to autism therapies, and ended the ban on midwifery in Alabama. They chose not to address the prison overcrowding issue. However, this may be a prudent call. It may be wiser to wait until the federal courts decree what they want from the state. This could be a paramount issue that requires a Special Session. The Republican majority ramrodded a reapportionment plan through the Senate and House over adamant disapproval of black Democrats. The final authority on whether it will stand rests with the federal courts. Until this is decided, there is a cloud over the upcoming legislative races. Republican legislators may have overplayed their hand this time. A federal judge may send Alabama’s demographics to a computer in New York to draw the lines and several of them may find themselves in the same districts several counties away. 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.
On 45th anniversary of shooting, Jim Zeigler asks Kay Ivy to return Wallace’s portraits to Rotunda
On this 45th anniversary of the shooting of former Alabama Gov. George Wallace, State Auditor Jim Zeigler is asking that the portraits of former-Governors George and Lurleen Wallace be returned to the state capitol rotunda. Zeigler sent a written request Monday to Gov. Kay Ivey asking her to return the Wallace’s portraits to their historic location. Both Wallace portraits were removed from the rotunda in January 2015 by then-Gov. Robert Bentley in a move the auditor calls a move to re-write Alabama’s history. “The Alabama Legislature passed joint resolutions in 1983 mandating that the Wallace portraits remain in the rotunda in perpetuity. It was clearly the legislative intent that this be done,” Zeigler wrote in his request to Ivy. “Your action in restoring the Wallace portraits to their rightful place would be a bold statement that we in Alabama respect our heritage and reject historical revision.” Below is the full text of Zeigler’s request: I hereby request that you return the portraits of Governors George and Lurleen Wallace to their legal and historical place in the capitol rotunda. The Alabama Legislature passed joint resolutions in 1983 mandating that the Wallace portraits remain in the rotunda in perpetuity. It was clearly the legislative intent that this be done. The Wallace portraits had been displayed in the rotunda until January 2015, when they were suddenly removed by the Bentley administration. Your action in restoring the Wallace portraits to their rightful place would be a bold statement that we in Alabama respect our heritage and reject historical revision. When I attempted to get the previous administration to return the Wallace portraits to the rotunda, officials of that administration reflexively thought up excuses not to do so. Each one of those excuses was flawed. If you were to hear reasons not to return the Wallace portraits, I would request the opportunity to meet with you to address those excuses. On May 15, 2017, we observe the 45th anniversary of the attempted assassination of Gov. George Wallace. What a wonderful tribute it would be to Alabama’s only four-time governor and presidential candidate to have you right this wrong and restore the Wallace portraits to their historical and legal place. Thank you for your consideration and action.
