You can’t be too surprised to learn that House Minority Leader Mike Hubbard plans to add 35 House Democrats to the growing lawsuits. If - big if - there is going to be action against any elected officials who were unopposed in the primary and did not file campaign finance reports, then the consequences should apply to all of them.

State Democratic Party Chair Joe Turnham continues to believe that the voters should be heard:

“I think ultimately the best thing to do is to throw all of this out and give all these people certificates of election and let them get about business,” Turnham said.

Turnham said he doesn’t think Alabama voters want any of the candidates elections thrown out - Republicans or Democrats.

“I don’t think this is indicative of what the people expressed on Nov. 7. I think somebody needs to call time-out and we need to get this done,” Turnham said.

Or as he said before, let’s fix the law and quit playing “gotcha.”

I continue to hear that the one most likely to be in trouble is Sen. Larry Means (D - Attalla) whose infraction is related to the general election. The charges against the others are related to the earlier primary election.

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The general election results have been certified, and a reader writes:

As you can see, the statewide Amendment #1 will have to have an automatic recount so we won’t know the final additional amendment tally until later. Should the State send the bill for the recount to the delegates who drafted the 1901 Constitution?

I wish more Alabamians would think that email was funny.

Amendment 1 was to allow the City of Prichard to establish a Foreign Trade Zone. In Mobile County where Prichard is located, 59% of the voters supported the measure, but it looks like it will narrowly be defeated because the 1901 Constitution required the whole state to vote on this. Mark Berte of the Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform Foundation sent out an email pointing this out, saying, “Again and again, the 1901 Constitution thwarts the will of the people.”

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This started out as the second half of the previous post about the suits to disqualify the elections of some Democratic state senators, but I didn’t want to lose you in case your eyes glazed over with the talk about consolidation of lawsuits. If you are just getting here, you might back up a post (or more). Otherwise, picking up right where we left off…

Democratic Party lawyers have intervened to say that any action taken against Barron, Zeb Little, Sanders, and Bedford must include the Republicans who also faced no primary opposition and did not file campaign finance reports.

Democratic attorney Joe Espy said Wednesday he’d prefer that the court rule the four Democratic senators and all the Republicans followed the rules that had existed for 16 years, but if the court rules otherwise, its decision should cover both political parties.

The list of Republicans includes four senators, 21 representatives and two appellate court judges.

State Democratic Party Chair Joe Turnham has an opinion that may be entirely too reasonable to be heard in the din:

“The people have spoken and if campaign laws are ambiguous and confusing the place to settle that score is by fixing the contradictions and ambiguities of the Fair Campaign Practices Act in the next session of the legislature, not by overturning the votes of thousands of Alabama voters from the 2006 elections on ‘gotcha technicalities,” Turnham explained.

Lastly, consider this. After the primary defeat of Sen. Gerald Dial (one of the conservative Democrats who challenged Barron’s Senate leadership) led to the suit to disqualify four unopposed Barron Democrats, Jack Lowe, Jr. runs a late run-in campaign against Dial’s unopposed Senate buddy Larry Means. Follow that with the suit to nullify Means’ election (especially considering what Means means to the challenge to Barron’s control of the Senate). If you don’t see Barron’s fingerprints all over that, you should look again.

Or as Sen. Bedford politely put it, it will be ironic if a case that began with defeated Sen. Gerald Dial, who is one of Means’ Senate buddies, ends up getting Means.

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The suit to nullify the re-election of Sen. Larry Means (D - Attalla) to SD 10 has been consolidated with the suit to disqualify the election of Democratic Senators Lowell Barron, Zeb Little, Hank Sanders, and Roger Bedford. As I mentioned before, the circumstances surrounding the two cases, while similar, are not the same.

Two lawyers (one of them who has worked election cases) I’ve spoken with tell me that consolidation does not necessarily mean that the two cases will have identical outcomes. One likened it to a criminal trial with multiple defendants: though there is one trial, there may be different laws and different pieces of evidence that apply to the various defendants, and they may receive different verdicts.

Consolidation allows for “conservation of judicial resources” and “guards against inconsistent outcomes.” What you don’t want, one lawyer told me, “is different outcomes from different judges where you can’t tell what laws were in play or how they were applied.” The point as I understand it is that, even if the outcomes are different, they result from consistent application of the law. (I welcome readers who know more about this to weigh in with more - either in comments or directly to me.)

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http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/116488238012720.xml&coll=2 - Katrina survivors in Birmingham area continue to struggle with housing issues.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/116488233212720.xml&coll=2  -Assets of state’s prepaid college tuition plan sees greater growth than anticipated.

http://www.al.com/opinion/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/opinion/116488200912720.xml&coll=2 - The Birmingham News endorses Gov. Riley’s proposal to increase pay of staff at state’s correctional facilities.

http://www.al.com/opinion/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/opinion/116488296712730.xml&coll=3 - Press-Register characterizes Attorney General’s actions seeking a job from former chancellor as a “breached trust.”

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/116488227712710.xml&coll=1 - First candidate qualifies to fill seat left vacant by death of Rep. Albert Hall.

http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=OAN%2FMGArticle%2FOAN_BasicArticle… - The Opelika-Auburn News finds Nancy Worley’s service as Secretary of State “a recipe for disaster.”

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061130/NEWS02/611300350/1009 - State’s League of Women Voters seeks limits on lobbyist spending, legislative research staff, and changes in assignment of bills to legislative committees.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061130/NEWS02/611300351/1009 - Lt. Governor released from hospital following stroke, continuing recovery at rehabilitation center.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AL_SENATORS_CHALLENGE_ALOL-?SITE=ALMON… - Suit challenging election of state senators may have broad impact.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061130/NEWS/611300362/1007/NEWS02 -  Worley asked not to hire any new employees before leaving office in January.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061129/APN/611292377 - This article provides a listing of those elected officials who have been named in legal action seeking their disqualification for failure to timely file campaign finance reports.

http://www.gadsdentimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061130/NEWS/611300303/1016/NEWS - Secretary of State says she uncertain about whether she will certify reelection of Sen. Larry Means (D-Attalla).

http://www.annistonstar.com/opinion/2006/as-editorials-1130-editorial-6k29r5533.htm - The Anniston Star wonders if the Attorney General has “the sound judgment and ethical standards the job requires” if he cannot “grasp how the public perceives what he has done.”

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You should not miss the unfolding drama regarding the lawsuit seeking to invalidate the re-election of Sen. Larry Means (D - Attalla) in SD 10. The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of write-in candidate Jack Lowe, Jr. against Secretary of State Nancy Worley. Lowe’s lawyer Mark White has asked Worley to declare Lowe the winner.

Here’s a primer to get you up to speed on the big picture:

• Incumbent Larry Means was unopposed in the general election and received 22,727 votes in Etowah County and more from parts of Cherokee County. Jack Lowe, Jr. received at least 586 write-in votes, though not all write-in votes have been tallied.
• Lowe wants Secretary of State Worley or the courts to invalidate Means’ election because Means failed to file detailed financial reports for the general election, despite a Sept. 7 opinion from Attorney General Troy King that stated even unopposed candidates must file detailed financial reports if they exceed the spending or contribution thresholds.
• Means best defense so far appears to be that someone in the Secretary of State office told him he did not have to file. SoS Worley says this is not true. (Helpful tip: when you talk to someone in customer service, write down the name of the person you talked to.)
• Means is one of the six conservative Democratic senators who have publicly expressed a willingness to caucus with the twelve Republican senators, which would give the conservative coalition a slim 18-17 majority over the so-called Barron Democrats. If the election results were overturned and the conservation Senate coalition lost Means, it would throw doubt over their ability to form a majority - especially if Lowe was somehow proclaimed winner. Lowe is vice-president of the Alabama New South Coalition’s local chapter. The New South Coalition was founded by Sen. Hank Sanders (D - Selma), a Barron ally. If the seat were to switch from Means to Lowe, that seat’s organizing vote would presumably change from supporting the conservative coalition to supporting the Barron Democrats.
• A similar suit had previously been filed by Mark Montiel to disqualify four incumbent Democratic senators, Lowell Barron (Fyffe), Zeb Little (Cullman), Hank Sanders (Selma), and Roger Bedford (Russellville), for not filing similar financial reports for the primary elections. (FWIW, Mark Montiel had been defeated by Troy King in the Republican primary for the Attorney General nomination and has filed suit in a number of high-profile cases.)
• A defining difference between the circumstances of the two lawsuits is that the four so-called Barron Democrats behaved in accordance with an Attorney General’s opinion (from 1990 by then-AG Siegelman) that unopposed candidates did not have to file such reports. Troy King’s Sept. 7 differing opinion came after the primary, and before Means should have filed his reports for the general election. Also, there are a number of Republican senators in the same boat as Barron, Little, Sanders, and Bedford, that Montiel did not include in his lawsuit.
• Could Means be disqualified? Yes. Judge Pamela Millsaps won a Republican primary race in June but was disqualified because she missed a filing deadline. DaVon Grey’s Democratic primary victory for Mobile County sheriff was overturned for the same reason. Then-Rep. Sundra Escott-Russell filed one day late in 1990, her victory was not certified, and the governor called for a special election. (She was the only candidate to qualify for the second election.)

It is not difficult to imagine a scenario where his election would be overturned and Means would have, at best, a second election to try to secure the seat. He would presumably be a large favorite to win if he were in a second election. But many newly-interested parties would be looking at this race believing that it could be the deciding vote in an 18-17 majority for one side or the other for who controls the Senate. For who makes the Senate committee assignments. For who controls the flow of legislation in the Senate.

And then, as Gerald Dial might tell you, you just can’t be sure how it would turn out.

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Democrat Butch Taylor is the first candidate to qualify for the HD 22 vacancy created by the death of Rep. Albert Hall. Taylor looks to be a strong candidate as he is president of the Madison County Board of Education and hails from New Hope, the largest community in the district. (Though he did not tour with the Dave Matthews Band.)

The Republicans did not field a candidate against Hall in his re-election bid, but expect them to compete for the open seat.

Qualifying ends December 8, and the primary election will be January 23.

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http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1164796447313400.xml&coll=2 - Commission makes recommendations for improvement of education to Riley; Governor says he will support incentive pay for teachers.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1164797390313400.xml&coll=2 - Environmental watchdog group ceases operations due to lack of funds.

http://www.al.com/opinion/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1164797413313400.xml&coll=2 - The Birmingham News calls Attorney General’s request of former chancellor for help in locating job for staff member’s mother “a really bad judgment call.”

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1164795566313410.xml&coll=1 - Governor sets January primary date as campaigns begin to fill seat following death of Rep. Albert Hall (D-Gurley).

http://www.gadsdentimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061128/NEWS/611280320/1137/NEWS - Action seeking disqualification of Sen. Larry Means (D-Attalla) may stay as a separate legal action and not be joined with other cases seeking ouster of Democratic senators despite today’s court ruling.

http://www.gadsdentimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061129/NEWS/611290358/1016/NEWS - Despite calls by editorial boards, Secretary of State insists she will not resign post before end of term.

http://www.gadsdentimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061129/NEWS/611290347/1050/OPINION - The Gadsden Times comments on the controversy surrounding the reelection of Sen. Larry Means.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061129/NEWS02/611290326/1009 - Vote on Amendment One appears headed for recount.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061129/OPINION01/611290309/1012/OPINION - The Montgomery Advertiser supports calls for independent oversight of PSC.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061129/OPINION0101/611280301/1012/OPINION - Commentary by residential care provider praises DHR’s efforts to improve services to children.

http://www.politicalparlor.net/sanders-senate-sketches/senate-sketches-1017/ - Sen. Hank Sanders’ weekly newspaper column for his constitutents.

http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/opinion/editorials/061129a.shtml - The Decatur Daily sees actions of Attorney General in seeking job from former chancellor as a “lapse that undermines public trust.”

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061129/NEWS/611290343/1012/editorial1 - The Tuscaloosa News calls for Governor to initiate investigation of AG’s actions in seeking job from ousted chancellor.

FROM TODAY’S ANNISTON STAR:

State & Region News

Department of Corrections steps up recruitment of future officers

MONTGOMERY — It’s still short, but it’s a start.

The Alabama Department of Corrections, facing shortages of correctional officers and overcrowding throughout the system, has seen year-to-year increases in the number of cadets working in state prisons and the number of people taking tests to become officers.

(more…)

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Two internal party Beltway decisions could have major impacts on Alabama politics over the next election cycles.

Spencer Bachus and Artur Davis have talked of running statewide, with Davis’ flirtations coming as recent as the past few days. But both congressmen are aiming for key committee assignments in the 110th Congress that could significantly alter their future plans.

Bachus, who for years was viewed as an automatic candidate should a Senate seat open up, wants to be the top Republican on the House Banking Committee. Even with Republicans in the minority currently (but by no means permanently) if Bachus can snag the ranking member position, he’d be a virtual lock to chair the full committee should the GOP take back the House. However, if he is outdueled for the ranking member slot, an open Senate seat might be too tempting to pass up with his leadership track seemingly stymied in the House.

Artur Davis does not have the seniority Bachus has which means a chairmanship is out of the question. But Davis would like to land a seat on one of the “A” committees such as Ways and Means. While Davis currently sits on Financial Services and Budget, neither have quite the cachet or juice as Ways and Means. If Davis can indeed land a slot on Ways and Means, not only would he be in the catbird seat in terms of fundraising, but also his star would further ascend inside the House. Gaining a toehold on an “A” committee like Ways and Means might be such a plum that Davis would be loathe to gamble on a risky statewide bid in 2008 or beyond.

Ambition is a funny thing and can make politicians act in what would appear to be a less than rational way. But if these members get the committee slots they want, count them as much less likely to be on a statewide ballot any time soon.

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http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/116470896888360.xml&coll=2 - Increasing cost of health insurance far exceeds increase in median earnings for Alabamians.

http://www.al.com/opinion/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/opinion/116470960988350.xml&coll=1 - The Huntsville Times is critical of Attorney General’s actions seeking job for associate’s mother in community college system, and his failure to recognize the “awful judgement” shown in actions.

http://www.dailyhome.com/opinion/2006/dh-editorials-1128-editorials-6k27w1549.htm - DailyHome critical of Attorney General’s actions in seeking job from former chancellor, and his failure to remove himself from all aspects of the continuing investigation.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061128/OPINION01/611270338/1012/OPINION - The Montgomery Advertiser calls Attorney General’s actions to secure job for subordinate’s mother “appalling.”

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061128/OPINION01/611280311/1012/OPINION - The Montgomery Advertiser calls for defeated Secretary of State to resign position to allow Chapman to begin work immediately in struggling office.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061127/APN/611272656 - Both proponents and opponents unhappy with new Public Health’s new rules for abortion centers.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061127/APN/611272498 - Two men seek to replace state’s first female GOP chair.

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Lots to talk about… So let’s get on with it… Next on our list of the Top Ten Winners of the Alabama Elections…

#9. The Internet

Most really useful inventions - from refrigerators to microwave ovens, from telephones to the internet - go through stages on their way to widespread use:

1. Novel Idea,
2. Luxury Item,
3. Accepted Appliance, and finally,
4. Commonplace Tool.

Use of the internet is becoming widespread enough that the ‘net is much closer to the mature end of that cycle than it was only a few years ago. In this election, the internet grew into a particularly useful information tool beyond what it had in recent years. Think of all the campaign and election-related information that flowed freely in a manner unthinkable only an election or two ago.

• Candidates had their own campaign websites to extol their own virtues.
• Campaigns sent out email alerts to supporters.
• Television commercials were available for review anytime via YouTube and similar services.
• Here at the Parlor you could find G’s Daily News Digest served up every morning and get fresh news from around the state with an ease and convenience unimagined a few years ago.
• If that was not enough, you could check in with the Parlor’s campaign newsfeed for even more news stories.
• The website from the Secretary of State allowed anyone to dig into campaign finance reports to see whose money was flowing through what PACs and to what candidates.
• Political blogs from around the state and their readers kept up lively discussions on the issues and the campaigns.
• Falsehoods could be spread faster, of course, but they could be challenged faster.

More information is good, and the internet facilitated that information flow unlike in any previous election season.

In years past, the outlet did not exist for people to express in a far-reaching and effective manner their outrage over campaign claims made, for example, by Mark Gaines or Sunny Smallwood. This year, I received many email messages from people expressing their dismay at these campaigns.

One reader sent me email afterward and gave me permission to excerpt it:

I made the observation yesterday that this is the first time that I have really seen the effect of the internet on political campaigns. In particular, the internet fundamentally affected the impact that the traditional mailers used to have. In the past, a mailer like those sent out by Gaines and Smallwood could be very damaging because the opponent had virtually no way to respond quickly enough to the allegations. This time, however, your blog jumped on them and helped spread the word about their falsity. In addition, King’s campaign effectively used email chains to distribute Ginger Busby’s press release as well as attached recordings of Judge King’s radio ads responding to Gaines’ claims. I bet that I have talked with twenty people that got the Gaines mailer, but also read your blog or got the emails in response within hours of reading the mailer.

And undoubtedly the impact went far beyond the actual readers of these blogs and email messages. Most readers of blogs like this are the kinds of people to whom family members, co-workers, friends and acquaintances turn to get opinions. You are interested in these things, you keep up, the people around you know it and they want your opinion.

We have not seen the limits of how the internet will be used for campaigning. Some uses will be malicious, just like some uses of other tools (like the telephone) are malicious.

Granted, this is an idiosyncratic choice for an election season winner. But I shake my head in amazement when I consider this: this campaign season, people I did not know were sending me interesting information to share with other people I did not know. Quite interesting information to share with lots of people I did not know, and it all moved very quickly. We have not seen anything like this.

Related:
Top Ten Winners of the Alabama Elections
#10. Rep. Jeremy Oden

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Related Articles:

• Top Ten Election Winners: #10

Troy King has served up a hanging curveball for Alabama Dems.

Who’d have thunk that in the entirety of the two year college scandal that the highest ranking official to be ensnared would be the Republican Attorney General?

Now no matter what happens to individual Democratic legislators or other peripheral figures, the Democrats can point to the bipartisan nature of the scandal. King’s blunder of monumental proportions has single-handedly diffused the biggest and widest spread scandal to hit the Alabama legislature in a generation.

Now of course King is probably not in any legal jeopardy over this and it’s understandable that when trying to find a job for someone, you’d go where the jobs are. But cronyism and favoritism are two issues that cut right to the core of the two-year scandal and to have the Republican AG now mired in this has to make other Republicans nauseous.

Democrats of course can’t be too noisy about the Troy/Roy connection since it’s very possible that veteran Democratic legislator X and Y might be under the gun sooner rather than later. But no matter what happens in the future, King has successfully prevented the AL GOP from wielding the “Democrat scandal” club against the other side.

And on a side note, what happens if this comes out two weeks before the elections instead of two weeks after? Attorney General – elect Tyson?

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We are pleased to welcome Chauncey Sparks who will be blogging at least occasionally here in the Parlor. We are happy to have a new voice in the Parlor, and I think you will enjoy him also. And in our backroom, he’ll replace your spark plug or sharpen a mower blade faster than you can say “2010 Election.”

I hope you will make him feel welcome!

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http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1164623194293590.xml&coll=3 - Success of Black Belt Commission spurs creation of new commission to address needs of rural Alabama.

http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1164623572293590.xml&coll=3 - “The Political Skinny,” Press-Register’s weekly political roundup from Mobile, Montgomery and Washington.

http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1164622789293590.xml&coll=3 - Chapman says she’s ready to tackle problems of Secretary of State’s office.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061127/OPINION01/611220374/1012/OPINION - The Montgomery Advertiser says that certain responsibilities of government - including the operation of corrections facilities - are fundamental and should not be privatized.

http://www.annistonstar.com/opinion/2006/as-editorials-1127-0-6k26w3126.htm - The Anniston Star warns that “prudent politicians should not promise more than they can pay for.”

FROM TODAY’S ANNISTON STAR:

Local state legislators getting an early start
By Brian Lyman Star
Capitol Correspondent
11-27-2006

MONTGOMERY - The next legislative session doesn’t start until March, but local legislators are looking ahead. At least one is writing bills.

(more…)

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I hope you didn’t miss the article (included in G’s Daily News Digest) from Ben Raines in the Press-Register on our PSC’s obstacles to effectiveness. This may help you understand why our state’s natural gas prices have become the third-highest in the nation.

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