controversial Archives • Alabama Political Reporter

After Montgomery’s controversial tax increase, Pike Road just got a bigger one.

Montgomery leaders were forced to jump through hoops to get a 12-mill increase approved. Pike Road got a 19-mill increase with barely a whisper.

June 2, 2021

Marsh says that “a $6 toll is not fair or reasonable”

Tuesday, the Alabama Department of Transportation’s Mobile River Bridge plan received another crushing body blow when a powerful State Senator and a member of the Alabama Toll Bridge and Road Authority came out publicly against the plan. State Senate Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said in a statement that a six dollar toll is not … Continued

August 21, 2019

“Progressive” is not a bad word

After I wrote a controversial column a few years ago that received a gaggle of ad hominem attacks from characteristically inarticulate readers, a friend of mine from the Northeast texted me: “Joey, you and Veronica need to move to a blue state. It’ll add 10 years to your life.” In today’s crippled, dying world, I … Continued

June 6, 2019

Alabama moves to protect free speech on campus

Free speech zones, meant to move certain discussions away from where they could offend listeners, or be heard at all. Speech codes, meant to limit acceptable topics to an ever-shrinking list of progressive-leaning beliefs. And heckler’s vetoes, meant to give the power of censorship to a loud minority. These tactics and others are part of … Continued

May 17, 2019

“We don’t want no charter school and we don’t want no Muslims”

The gentleman who made this statement was one of 200 people who came to the Washington County high school in Chatom on Monday night, April 29. He was probably in his 60’s. His face was weathered and he wore a baseball cap and work shirt. Like everyone else in the auditorium, he had sat attentively as … Continued

May 1, 2019

The Montgomery intervention’s $700,000 CFO is missing, but still getting paid

Where is Jason Taylor? Taylor, one of former state superintendent Michael Sentance’s most controversial hires, was brought into Montgomery by the Alabama State Department of Education to serve as chief financial officer for the Montgomery Public School system during the ongoing state intervention. Taylor, the CFO in the Huntsville system at the time, signed a … Continued

September 18, 2018

The Ivey Plan: do nothing, claim everything

There’s a recipe for being a successful governor of Alabama. Do nothing. Promote no legislation. Take no controversial stands. Avoid debates. Do lots of no-question photo-ops. Just stay out of sight and out of mind. In other words, the Kay Ivey Plan. There has rarely been a governor do less than Kay Ivey, while she … Continued

April 26, 2018

Don’t look away just yet, HB317 is still around

House Bill 317, a controversial piece of legislation that has received pushback from both sides of the aisle and prompted threats of a filibuster, never made it to the Senate floor on Thursday, raising questions about whether the bill was still alive. It is. Even though lawmakers would need to raise to get the bill … Continued

March 23, 2018

AG, commerce secretary hide real problem with economic development bill

During a hearing on Wednesday to discuss the controversial economic development bill, HB317, not a soul present addressed the critical problem with the bill — the gaping loophole created by allowing individuals to work as part-time economic development professionals. Of course, the bill doesn’t use the words part-time. Instead, it calls this individual a “less … Continued

March 16, 2018