Alabama’s agricultural commissioner Ron Sparks, who is vying to win the Democratic nomination for governor in 2010, lambasted Gov. Bob Riley’s Tuesday night state of the state speech in a statement released by the campaign on Wednesday.

“Last night’s performance by Bob Riley was shameful,” Sparks said. “At a time when our working families are struggling under the weight of an 11 percent unemployment rate, he says he’s created thousands of new jobs. At a time when teacher layoffs are a possibility and our kids bring toilet paper to school to help out, Bob Riley says he has plenty of money for education. And at a time when our seniors and children wonder if they will still have health care next year, Bob Riley says, ‘Don’t worry. Be happy.’”

“Folks, we don’t just have a budget crisis, we have a leadership crisis,” Sparks said. “I am the only candidate for governor with a plan to increase revenue. We need an education lottery and we need to make legal gaming establishments finally pay their share of taxes, just like Alabama families do. We need action, not slogans or sound bites.”

That’s the kind of governor we need, Sparks said, “not one that hides his head in the sand or tells us how sunny it is while the rain pours.”