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Robert Bentley

Does Volkert chairman have millions of reasons to support Canary at BCA?

Perry Hand, the chairman of Mobile-based Volkert Inc., is standing behind the Business Council of Alabama’s besieged CEO Billy Canary, while his company has seen a dramatic rise in state business that roughly coincides with his tenure on the association’s board. Could it be that Hand’s dogged support of Canary is tied to the engineering … Continued
April 23, 2018

The black hand behind Perry Hand

Shortly after the Alabama Political Reporter made it known that the Business Council of Alabama’s Executive Board had voted on April 10 to terminate Billy Canary from his position as CEO, nearly a dozen Republican lawmakers were burning-up their mobile phones, trying to find out who Perry Hand is and who could convince him to … Continued
April 19, 2018

Inside the Statehouse: Races to watch

Our antiquated 1901 Constitution was designed to give inordinate power to the Legislature. During the Wallace years, the King of Alabama politics, George Wallace, usurped this power and controlled the Legislature from the Executive Branch of Government. Over the last couple of decades the Legislature has wrestled this power back and pretty much excluded the Governor from … Continued
April 18, 2018

Auditor’s Office is being evicted from Alabama State House

Friday, Alabama state Auditor Jim Zeigler received legal notice that the state auditors are losing their office space in the Alabama State House. The working offices of the auditors have been in the State House since July 2007, but Zeigler has received notice that they will have to be out by September 30, 2018, the … Continued
April 17, 2018

Hot buttons worth pressing

They don’t want you to vote. Remember that. And “they” are mostly the Republicans today. Voters scare Republicans just about to death. I stand corrected: “They” don’t want you to vote unless you vote for them. But to be fair, when Democrats controlled all the branches of Alabama government, they weren’t too crazy about you … Continued
April 12, 2018

Bentley left office one year ago today. Still, rogues and scoundrels remain

Today marks one year since Alabama’s 53rd governor, Robert Bentley, left office in disgrace. In just the last two decades, two Republican and one Democrat governor of Alabama were proven crooks. Many more were no doubt rogues and scoundrels, but unlike Bentley, Guy Hunt or Don Siegelman, they never were convicted of their crimes. Of … Continued
April 10, 2018

Bentley investigation not the first time Ellen Brooks cited gaps in law to let perps walk free

If the findings of a special grand jury empaneled to hear allegations of wrongdoings against former Gov. Robert Bentley and his cronies sound familiar, it should. In 2012, after an eight-month investigation, a Montgomery grand jury found that the state’s ethics and campaign finance laws were not specific enough to indict former Gov. Bob Riley … Continued
April 9, 2018

Sources: Marshall appointed AG after agreeing to investigate “rogue” prosecutors

Gov. Robert Bentley appointed Steve Marshall to be Alabama attorney general after Marshall agreed to launch an investigation into Special Prosecution Division Chief Matt Hart and Acting Attorney General Van Davis, who successfully prosecuted former Speaker Mike Hubbard. According to well-placed sources, Marshall was the only district attorney that Bentley approached who promised he would … Continued
April 6, 2018

AG candidate Chess Bedsole criticizes lax ethics laws, results of Bentley investigation

On Wednesday, many Alabamians were surprised to learn that apparently using law enforcement personnel to intimidate witnesses and investigate family matters and potential political leaks is completely legal under Alabama law. At least that is the conclusion that many are drawing from the end of the Bentley investigation that found that there were no grounds under … Continued
April 6, 2018

A grand jury closed Bentley’s case, but Supreme Court is letting lawsuit against him move forward

Former Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley might have been freed from further prosecution by a special grand jury that closed his case Wednesday, but on the same day, the Alabama Supreme Court refused to intervene in a lawsuit filed against him by former ALEA Secretary Spencer Collier. The Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously denied a writ … Continued
April 5, 2018