elected

John Merrill elected Chair of Republican Secretaries of State Committee

At this year’s annual National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Winter Conference, Secretary of State John H. Merrill had the privilege of meeting with the Republican Secretaries of State Committee (RSSC), where he was then elected by his 28 other peers to lead the delegation as its Chair. “At our meeting in Washington, we … Continued

February 14, 2020

Whatley elected chairman of the Alabama State Parks Committee

Sen. Tom Whatley, R-Auburn, has been elected chairman of the state Legislature’s Joint Committee on State Parks, it was announced Thursday. The committee was created by the state Legislature in 2000 “to study, review, and concur in the long-range capital plan for restoration of existing state park facilities and the acquisition of new state park … Continued

September 20, 2019

Opinion

Do you really want Marsh to hand pick State School Board?

Let’s cut right to the chase. If the voters of Alabama approve a constitutional amendment next March that switches us from an elected to an appointed state school board, Senate majority leader Del Marsh will be in total control of the board. To date, most discussion of the amendment has virtually ignored the fact that … Continued

Larry Lee

September 19, 2019

Alabama approaches 97th anniversary of the first woman elected into the State Legislature

On Aug. 8, 1922, well-known suffragist Hattie Hooker Wilkins beat the incumbent candidate for a seat in the Alabama House of Representatives, making her the first woman elected into the Alabama Legislature. She ran alongside two other women for state Legislature seats that year, but she was the only one to win her election. In … Continued

Gabby Dance

July 24, 2019

Opinion

What has your government done for you?

I’m going to ask you a question, and before you land on the answer that your chosen political affiliation has conditioned you to provide, I want you to think about it. Really think about it. For just a second or two. When is the last time the Alabama Legislature did anything for you, the common … Continued

Josh Moon

June 12, 2019

Opinion

House and Senate “gas chamber”

Over confident and newly elected Republicans “gravely underestimate” the politically lethal notion of supporting a “Gas Tax Hike” in the first session of 2019. I can assure you this without equivocation, NO Republican in this state ran their 2018 campaign on a PRO TAX, pro Planned Parenthood, pro same sex marriage and pro gambling platform … Continued

John W. Giles

March 4, 2019

Opinion

Trump’s con game is almost over

It’s all true. All of the rumors. All of the speculation. All of the oh-my-God-have-you-heard-about whispers. All of it is true. All of the things that Donald Trump and his administration and family have been accused of doing … they actually did them. All of them. Even the really dumb ones. Even the really awful … Continued

Josh Moon

December 14, 2018

Sen. Bobby Singleton to replace Sen. Billy Beasley as Alabama Senate minority leader

The small cohort of Democrats left in the Alabama Senate has elected a new minority leader. The eight members of the Democratic caucus elected Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, to serve as the Senate minority leader. Singleton, who was elected to the Senate in 2005, will replace outgoing minority leader, Sen. Billy Beasley, D-Clayton. Beasley will … Continued

Chip Brownlee

December 13, 2018

Opinion

Three things. Three ugly things

Three events that should worry us this week: HOOVER SHOOTING Transparent. That’s a pretty clear term for most of us. A dictionary definition is equally transparent: “Open, frank, candid.” But to many (most?) governments, “transparent” is just a word. Hoover officials have been vowing transparency since they learned that 21-year-old Emantic Bradford Jr. was not … Continued

Joey Kennedy

November 29, 2018

Chris McCool sworn in early as Court of Criminal Appeals judge

District Attorney Chris McCool, who was elected Nov. 6 to serve as a judge on the Court of Criminal Appeals, has been sworn in early to serve out the remainder of Judge Liles Burke’s term. Burke was recently confirmed as a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama, leaving his post on the … Continued

Chip Brownlee

November 14, 2018