Lucy Baxley Campaigns in Arrington, Siegelman Territory
June 2nd, 2006by Glynn Wilson
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., June 2 - Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley made a last minute foray into hardcore Arrington and Siegelman territory Friday as she campaigned for the Democratic Party’s nomination for governor on Fourth Avenue North in Downtown Birmingham.
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| Photo by Glynn Wilson |
| Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley talks to Donald Witherspoon as she campaigns on Fourth Avenue North in downtown Birmingham |
The street is one of the few strongholds for African American business owners in the American South, and people here have a deep loyalty to former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington, the city’s first black mayor, as well as former Gov. Don Siegelman, who did much to court their support in his winning run for governor in 1998 and in 2002.
Donald Witherspoon, 54, who works at the Talk of the Town barbershop, said most folks in the neighborhood tend to support Siegelman, although they are looking for a Democrat who will work to get wages up.
“Gas is up. Everything else is up, while people are living on set incomes,” he said, as Ms. Baxley shook his hand and asked for his vote.
When she went into the shop to court the other patrons, he said Ms. Baxley may have a chance of getting some votes in the city just by having the courage to show up and talk to people in person, to shake their hands and ask for their votes.
Ms. Baxley is pushing a small business development initiative as part of her platform. Her campaign in the primary so far as been fairly vague and general, void of grand promises, a strategy that could work since her primary opponent, Siegelman, is on trial for alleged corruption by the Bush Justice Department in Montgomery.
But she has promised to create a cabinet level office of small business development if she is elected in November. The office would be responsible for responding to complaints by small business owners. The office would provide technical advice and assist small businesses in resolving regulatory problems as well as reporting small business concerns and recommendations directly to the governor.
You can read about it on the Lucy Baxley for Governor Web site: Small Business Development Initiative.
When asked if she would consider including a technology initiative for small online business owners as part of her plan if she wins the primary, she said she would “absolutely be interested in that.”
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| Photo by Glynn Wilson |
| Moses Jones, 76, a retired railroad worker, meets Lucy Baxley as he gets his hair cut. He said he will vote for Baxley, “In a heartbeat…” |
“Technology is the wave of the future,” she said.
Alabama tends to be way behind the rest of the country in the number of people who have Internet access and know how to use it, and in businesses that engage in online commerce. It will take leadership at the state level to change this trend, in part because the media companies in Alabama are not exactly on the cutting edge. (The Birmingham News did not even bother to send a reporter or a photographer to cover her downtown visit, even though she was only a few blocks from their building for more than an hour this morning).
Another factor in putting Alabama citizens behind on the technology curve is the fact that colleges and universities in the state have been strapped with budget constraints due to an inadequate tax base. Gov. Bob Riley tried to fix some of that with the tax package he proposed in his first year as governor in 2003. But the yeehaw, anti-tax conservatives in the state managed to vote it down.
Presented with the opportunity, we also asked Ms. Baxley about her knowledge and stance on the environment.
It has become increasingly clear that a lot of readers here are disengaged from politics in part because Democrats tend to promote the same types of issues as Republicans, perhaps with even less vigor. They have been called “Republicans Lite” by a number of pundits, and they do not generate respect from the technology and environmental left.
That led a number of hardcore environmentalists to support Ralph Nader and the Green Party in the 2000 presidential election, a move that cost Vice President Al Gore votes and helped hand the country to George W. Bush and his Republican cronies.
While Ms. Baxley has made it clear she will run openly as a pro-business, Christian Democrat, she said she is educated on environmental issues and, if elected, she will fight the Republicans when the time comes.
“If you are looking for someone to fight for a clean environment,” she said, “I can assure you I will.”
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| Photo by Glynn Wilson |
| Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley campaigns in hardcore Arrington, Siegelman territory with less than a week to go before the Democratic Primary vote June 6 (notice the Arrington portrait in the top right corner). |
Tags: Alabama Governor's Race
June 3rd, 2006 at 5:10 pm
What John Ehinger didn’t say about Governor Bob Riley
John Ehinger, Times editor, said in his endorsement of Bob Riley for governor of Alabama that “Not everything good that has happened in this state should be credited to Gov. Bob Riley.” Well, he certainly got that right. How about “almost nothing can be attributed to Bob Riley.” “Cleaning up corruption” is a moot issue since the ethics of Riley himself is questionable.
According to the Huntsville Times (4/14/06)) in 2002, Michael Scanlon, a Washington lobbyist convicted of bribery, gave $100,000 to four political action committees in Alabama that contributed heavily to Bob Riley’s campaign for governor that year. These PACS run by Joe Fine and Bob Geddie, contributed more than $625,000 to Riley’s 2002 campaign, making them among his largest campaign contributors. Scanlon, who was Riley’s press secretary when Riley was in Congress, was co-hort and partner with convicted lobbyist, Jack Abramoff. When Scanlon contributed the money to the four PACS, he was representing an Indian tribe in Mississippi that operated casinos. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges, including bilking his tribal clients.
Jack Giles, head of the Alabama Christian Coalition, and a supporter and contributor of Governor Riley, denied that the ACC accepted Mississippi gambling money.
The Tuscaloosa News ( l/18/06) reported that Texas Republican Tom DeLay created a political action committee in Alabama called Americans for a Republican Majority that transferred $25,000 in October 2002 to a suspect fund in his home state of Texas. This fund was the center of the indictment that led DeLay to step down as House Majority Leader.
DeLay’s Americans for a Republican Majority PACs under a slightly different name, gave then U.S. Rep. Bob Riley $11,000 in May 2002 for his Alabama gubernatorial nomination. In a highly questionable vote count , the Republican District Attorney refused to follow the law and allow a simple recount of the votes in Baldwin County, which were mysteriously re-tabulated after midnight to give the slim victory - less than 3500 votes out of l.3 million cast - to Riley.
Charges against Siegelman were started by Bush appointee, U.S. Attorney Leura Canary. Canary is married to William Canary, Riley’s campaign manager.
Mr. Ehinger might also have mentioned that Governor Riley had been charged with not paying his taxes on two separate occasions, and that he had the poorest attendance record of ANY member of Congress during his tenure as Alabama Congressman to the U. S. House of Representatives.
Riley is now seeking another term as governor.
What Ehinger didn’t say about Governor Don Siegelman
By omitting the true story of the nationally touted Reading Initiative Program, John Ehinger gave Riley credit for its inception. It was Governor Siegelman who (1) began and developed the Reading Initiative Program - and he did it on a shoe string. It was his brain-child and he got it into as many schools as he possibly could with the limited money he had.
Ehinger failed to mention that Siegelman had (2) eliminated thousands of portable classrooms; (3) built l,000 new schools, (4) signed the bill raising teachers’ salaries to the national average, (5) that during his administration, Alabama ranked eighth in the nation with the most National Board Certified teachers, that he (6) implemented the stiffest and highest high school graduation requirements in the United States, (7) that Alabama students entered college with SAT scores often above those the surrounding states’ scores, and often above the national average.
Ehinger didn’t mention that Siegelman (8) had the biggest road and bridge program in the state’s history, (9) that he was the driving force behind Alabama’s “cop killer” bill, guaranteeing the death penalty for anyone murdering a policeman, (10) that he pushed through tough drunk driving laws, (11) found the money for modernized communications equipment for local law enforcement, (12) signed into law bills making domestic violence a crime in Alabama, (13) that he rammed through laws requiring drivers to carry automobile liability insurance. Ehinger gave Siegelman no credit for (14) enacting tort reform (frivolous lawsuits and runaway jury verdicts) - even though the Governor himself was a trial lawyer!
Ehinger didn’t mention that it was Siegelman who (15) appointed the state’s first children’s commissioner and created a Childrens Cabinet (16) that he created the Office of School Readiness to begin providing early learning opportunities to four-year olds throughout the state or that (17) he established the country’s first state-run health insurance program for children in poverty-stricken families, (18) that he had the largest road and bridges program in the state’s history, (19) that he funded the Medicaid trust fund and that he (20) strengthen nursing home regulations across the state.
Ehinger never mentioned that (21) area leaders proclaimed economic development a Siegelman strong suit, nor that (22) it was Siegelman, not Riley, who brought FIVE automobile plants to Alabama , (23) 150 supplier plants, or (24) that 150,000 jobs were created during his term. Nor did he mention that there was almost universal praise for Siegelman’s effort to get skilled, high-paying jobs for the state.
Don Siegelman tells every audience that he is focused on more jobs for all Alabamians, fairer taxes, prison reform, poverty among children, health care for all Alabamians, and a new constitution. He blames Alabama’s financial woes on “greedy out-of-state corporations” that use Enron-style accounting games to cheat Alabamians out of hundreds of millions in taxes. ”
Brian Hilson, President of Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce said: “Siegelman was everything someone from a local economic standpoint could ask for.”
David Bronner, Head of Retirement Systems of Alabama said: “He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen.”
David Bronner also said, “Who else was able to push tort reform laws and get us off the front pages for being the haven for lawsuit abuse?”
Dr. Paul Hubbert, endorsing Siegelman over Riley in 2002, said: “My personal vote will go to Don Siegelman for Governor because education is our most important issue.”
Floyd Bowman, United Auto Workers Screening Committee member upon endorsing Siegelman for governor 2006, said: “Our endorsement is based on Governor Siegelman’s record of results for the working men and women of Alabama. He is the only candidate who is talking about the concerns of working families and he is the only candidate with a plan for substantial job creation.”
Leslie Hinshaw, Vice President UAW, noted that during his administration, Siegelman secured the economic incentives which saved the Delphi facility located in Athens. “Governor Siegelman was the only candidate who reached out to the workers with assistance and support. It’s a question of loyalty. You don’t leave old friends to make new friends.”
samesther(at)bellsouth(dot)net