Former State Senator Roger Bedford has died
Former State Senator Roger Bedford Jr. has died. Bedford was 67. He was diagnosed with cancer in September. At one time, Bedford was one of the four or five most powerful people in the state Legislature for a number of years. Bedford was first elected to the State Senate in 1982 when he was only 25. He was re-elected in 1986. He did not seek re-election in 1990 due to a cancer diagnosis. After defeating cancer, he ran again for the Senate and was elected in 1994. He would go on to serve eight terms in the Alabama State Senate. Bedford, a White rural Democrat – back when White rural Democrats aligned with Executive Secretary Paul Hubbert and the Alabama Education Association (AEA) dominated the Legislature – quickly rose in prominence statewide. In 1996, he ran for the Democratic nomination for the open U.S. Senate seat when Sen. Howell Heflin (D-Alabama) retired. Bedford, mainly due to his AEA support, defeated Congressman Glenn Browder (D-AL04) in the Democratic primary. However, Bedford lost the general election to then-Alabama Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Bedford remained in the State Senate, where he continued to grow in power and influence until 2010, when Republicans gained control of both Houses of the Legislature after 135 years of Democratic Party control. Bedford was one of the few White rural Democrats in the Alabama Senate to survive the 2010 election. He served as Senate Minority Leader from 2011 to 2013. He did not survive the 2014 election when Dr. Larry Stutts unseated him in the 2014 election by just 13 votes. Bedford’s wife died last year after a long illness. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Steve Flowers: New fiscal year begins, teachers and state employees looking good
The new state fiscal year begins October 1, and the two state budgets are flush. Both the General Fund and the State Special Education Budgets will be the largest in state history. The General Fund Budget is a record-breaking $2.7 billion. It increases the revenue for mental health and prisons. Medicaid continues to be a money-eating monster. State employees are getting a 4% cost of living raise. This is the third time in recent history that state workers have gotten a back-to-back pay raise. In addition, retired state employees will get a bonus. State Senator Greg Albritton (R-Escambia) and Representative Steve Clouse (R-Ozark), the budget chairmen, deserve accolades. Veteran Alabama State Employees Association executive director Mac McArthur deserves a lot of credit for state employees getting a 4% pay increase this year and 2% last year. Ole Mac has put together four raises in five years for his folks. Alabama Education Association (“AEA”) head Amy Marlowe and her chief lobbyist ally, Ashley McLain, deserve kudos for garnering a 4% teacher pay raise. Once again, the AEA has become a power to be reckoned with on Goat Hill. The legislature passed a record-breaking $8.17 billion Education Budget. The historic spending plan increases education funding by about $502 million over the current year. It drew praise from all corners of education for its increases, which includes teachers’ salaries and workforce development. There will be more money for classroom materials, the hiring of technology coordinators and reading coaches, and $20 million to implement the K-5 math instruction bill. The budget includes a 4% raise for teachers and lump-sum bonuses for retirees. There is also a $33 million bonus to increase teacher longevity. Other states have been giving similar salary adjustments. One of the budget allotments that has gotten the most accolades is the increase from $700 to $900 per classroom in supply money. The story that has been building over the past several years is the resurgence of the AEA as a power player on Goat Hill. The fruits of their labor emerged immensely during the regular session. It is apparent that AEA was instrumental in crafting the Education Budget with the 4% pay increase for teachers and the money that is going into the classroom. You would have thought Dr. Paul Hubbert was still sitting in the gallery directing legislators’ votes with a thumbs up or a thumbs down. They have built AEA into a power to be reckoned with at the Statehouse. The new leadership of Marlowe/McLain have reorganized by acknowledging that Alabama, and especially the Alabama Legislature, is very Republican. They understand the rule that “money is the mother’s milk of politics” and “you win more bees with honey.” The AEA has generously donated to House Republicans like nobody’s business and no other Special Interest entity. It is no longer taboo or heresy for a Republican legislator or State Senator to accept teacher union money. They have made $10,000 to $15,000 contributions to House members on both sides of the aisle. In reviewing campaign disclosure statements, AEA is the only entity writing checks that large. Checks to senator’s coffers are $25,000 or more. AEA lobbyists, especially Ashley McLain, have earned the friendship and respect of the Republican House members and Senators. She and her team have gone out to their districts all over the state and gotten to know them and their families. They have connected the legislator with key educators in their hometowns who are respected centers of influence and can orchestrate a field or army of teachers to work the districts for their legislative friends. This footwork and shoe leather, coupled with large campaign checks, hits home with legislators of both parties. The telling blow that resonated and echoed off the walls of the Statehouse was the defeat of the so-called School Choice Bill. Senator Del Marsh made it his final mission to place state education dollars into private, parochial, and charter schools. His school choice was given a stinging defeat by none other than the AEA. Folks, make no doubt about it; the AEA is back in Alabama politics. 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.
Inside the Statehouse: Observations
Steve Flowers discusses some general observations about Alabama politics.
No fireworks in Democrats’ final debate for governor
Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls spent their final debate Wednesday focused on policy, instead of taking jabs at each other, as their party seeks a revival in the GOP-dominated state. Former Alabama Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, former state legislator James Fields, Doug Smith and Chris Countryman appeared in the Wednesday debate hosted by Alabama Boys State, a civics and leadership program for teens. Alabama has not elected a Democrat to the governor’s office in 20 years, but the candidates — casting an eye toward the November general election — argued Alabama needs a change in leadership. Cobb said the state has been damaged by the “drama and embarrassment” of a series of GOP scandals, including a Republican governor who resigned in the wake of a sex-tinged scandal and a Republican House speaker convicted on ethics charges. “We’ve got to have leaders that will not embarrass us, will do the job and provide the visionary leadership Alabama deserves,” Cobb said. Maddox in his opening statement recalled as a teen hearing then Democratic candidate Paul Hubbert in the 1990 gubernatorial election talk about improving access to health care and education. Twenty-eight years later Alabama remains, “48th, 49th and 50th in everything that matters,” Maddox said. “Alabama is at a crossroads between the past and the future,” Maddox said. In the hour-plus debate, candidates spoke in favor of Medicaid expansion, establishing a state lottery and the need to boost economic opportunities to keep young people from leaving the state. Fields, in response to a question about funding infrastructure, said he opposed raising the tax on gasoline — a measure favored by some politicians in both parties — because he said it would be a tax, “on the poor.” “We are going to put the tax where it needs to be and that’s on property. Folks, poor people don’t own a lot of property but we want to continue to tax the poor,” Fields said. He said he also favored removing the tax on food. Countryman said the state needs to invest in renewable energy sources to curb dependence on fossil fuels. Countryman said he also favored legalization of medical marijuana and to look at the possible legalization for recreational use. Smith, an economist, said the state has stagnated in economic growth. The forum in front of the mostly teen audience was cordial despite contentious moments in earlier debates between Maddox and Cobb. The two are considered the front runners in Tuesday’s primary contest. The winner will face the Republican nominee in November. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
