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The executive committee of ALFA’s Farm-PAC met yesterday and approved the recommendations for endorsements made last week by its Farm-PAC advisory trustees.
In addition to the ones you already saw here at the Parlor in a sneak peek*, ALFA’s Farm-PAC also endorsed:
CD 5 – Steve Raby (D)
CD 7 – Terri Sewell (D)
Secretary of State – Beth Chapman (R)
State Auditor – Sam Shaw (R)
State Treasurer – Young Boozer (R)
ALFA’s Farm-PAC had already endorsed our incumbents in Washington, Supreme Court Justices Mike Bolin and Tom Parker, Supreme Court candidate Kelli Wise in Place 1, and Tommy Bryan in his re-election bid to the Court of Civil Appeals. Of those, Bobby Bright in Congressional District 2 is the only Democrat.
No endorsement was made in the governor’s race between Robert Bentley (R) and Ron Sparks (D).
See the ALFA announcement here.
*Kay Ivey (R) for Lt. Governor, Luther Strange (R) for AG, John McMillan (R) for Commissioner of Agriculture & Industries, Jan Cook (D) for PSC Place 1, and Susan Parker (D) for PSC Place 2 were noted here last week as receiving the recommendation for endorsement from ALFA’s Farm-PAC advisory trustees.
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Word in Montgomery is that Folsom tried hard to prevent Ivey getting the endorsement. He burned up the phone with ALFA contacts at the local and state level, but all to no avail. Rumor is that the endorsement was 21 for Folsom, 52 for Ivey. Not even close. That’s what I heard today. Other may hear a different story.
The one big surprise to me is the endorsement of Steve Raby in CD 5.
38-35 Simon. Check your sources. FYI, wishing doesn’t make it so.
If Alfa picked them, the best bet is to vote against them. Alfa’s agenda is so clear that it’s not even funny. They are bad for the average citizen and wonderful for BP, Exxon, big pharmaceuticals, etc.
Simon how wrong you are. Peck Fox only called one person, not to beg, but to simply point out how helpful Jim has been to the farmers and remind them of all of the programs Big Jim established. Get your facts straight!
Sounds like Peck Fox and Team Folsom should have tried a little harder then, no?
I don’t think that an ALFA endorsement was necessary for Folsom. As public opinion sours on ALFA, it may be better for Folsom in the long run to have fewer ties to the enfeebled organization.
ALFA does not have the clout they once had. I doubt any of this will matter.
ALFA has money though, that’s what will matter to these candidates.
What’s it all about, ALFA?
Ivey was not even the most problematic for ALFA — vote was not close at all. She had the backing of exec. board members for many months now. The problem was over the Luther Strange race. Insiders tell me that this was the one the was revisited more than two times. And Jan Cook and Twinkles was very close — Cook
by a slim, slim margin
And for 2010, would rather have them on my side than against in a general election. ALFA has always been eratic in primaries.
Why would ALFA publish or make it known what the vote totals were? ALFA is a better friend in the general election. What was their record in the primary? Troy Boy King, Dorman “Dummy” Grace and Little Earl lost.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_governor_elections/alabama/election_2010_alabama_governor
Bentley by 20 over Sparks. And if anything Bentley will win by more due to more Republicans getting over the AEA jumping in the primary and coming on board and the Republican base turning out far bigger than the Democrat. Make no mistake when it comes down to it – Republicans will get over it and vote for Bentley.
Spark will not reach 40%.
I love this site. Plenty of witty and insightful posts, but there is one thing I never understood… why lawn mower repair?? Am I missing something here?
Why, Miss B., we’ll fix your lawn mower or your policy problem. Rebuild your carburetor or your campaign platform. Help you with thorny problems in the back yard or on Goat Hill. Whether you need an opinion on big tractors and your property landscape or on Big Mules and the political landscape, we are your one-shop stop.
The place started as a lawn mower repair shop, but folks started leaning on the counter talking about what needed to be done in the state and in Montgomery. Or something like that.
Ah, to tell the truth there is no great or easy answer. It may help if you picture a lawn mower repair shop where patrons linger and talk politics. We should do more posts on lawn mowers though.
Thank you for the kind words.
Steve Raby is a career lobbyist and has been running several PACs (political action committees) that have essentially laundered contributions and funds doing PAC to PAC transfers which flow down to politicians and other organizations. It is difficult to follow the money. They build their own power structure to influence elections. The ALFA PAC is part of the game. The giving of funds, i.e. “endorsements” to a politician doesn’t have to be about the convictions or values of the candidate. And in the case of Steve Raby, the ALFA endorsement can’t be about the convictions or values of Raby because he has not publicly presented his platform on what he stands for. Raby has been laying low. And recent hearsay is that Steve Raby doesn’t want to do a debate against Mo Brooks is further telling that Raby must not have a platform for which he is eager to present or defend.
Steve Raby needs to disclose his own platform and not lay back and attempt to ride this election on the coat tails of a former Senator.
ALFA also endorsed Democrat Terri Sewell from Alabama’s Seventh District and I don’t understand that at all. She’s the female equivalent of Obama, and she states plainly that she supports all his policies and will support him when she gets to Washington. What’s up with this?
Steve Raby’s past work as a lobbyist seems to be the focus of opposition to him and it’s pretty understandable why — his detractors don’t want the focus to go where it should. that is — on the obvious fact that steve would be a better worker for north alabama, a more serious soldier fighting for the area, than his opponent. Why? because his opponent’s focus is on ideology — socialism, socialism, socialism, pelosi, pelosi, pelosi. his opponent obviously wants to go to congress to harangue. steve’s a worker type — a take care of problems type. A tax breaks for the little guy — not for exxon-mobil et al. some night if you haven;t got anything better to do and if you’ve got a strong stomach turn the tv to the station that broadcasts the House of Representatives life. you’ll see pipsqeak pols screaming “socialism, socialism socialism.” that;s the choir steve’s opponent wants to sing in.
Any idea on any of the legislative and senate endorsements? Thoughts?
Officially, will be released RSN. However, reasonable to suspect Wendell Mitchell will get favorable mention.