It’s elections year…

So much for once a week. Quick, somebody chastise me!

Now that that’s out of the way, this year is shaping up to be a pretty interesting election season in
Alabama, on many fronts. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, all constitutional officers, the Legislature, and many seats on the appellate and supreme courts are all up for grabs. (And I get to vote for them. Feel the power.)

Governor: Governor Riley claims to be a conservative, and while he may be on a few fronts (when it suits his purpose), taxes are the main thorn in his side. After making a campaign promise to not raise taxes, he turned right around and authorized the largest tax increase in state history. That was back in 2003, and of course it caused a lot hullabaloo, but opponents are having a tough time using that against him now. Too bad. Polls show him well in the lead for the June primary. Opponents include Mr. Controversy himself, Roy Moore; as well as current Lieutenant-Governor Lucy Baxley and former Governor Don Siegelman.
Moore has a real chance if he uses the grassroots effectively, but his refusal to take PAC money is making it tough for him to do much of anything. Baxley scores major points in the charm-and-personality sector, but is otherwise a political joke. Somehow, she’s still managed to get elected to State Treasurer and of course Lt. Gov. Polls show her in a slight lead if Riley wins the Republican primary. Siegelman has had criminal charges lingering over his head for a few years now, and if he wins anything, I’m leaving the state.

Lieutenant-Governor: Not much going on here as far as I can tell. As mentioned, the incumbent isn’t running for re-election, so it’s an open seat. The most interesting candidate is George Wallace, Jr., but I’m not educated enough for any witty comments.

The Legislature: The Democrats have a comfortable majority in both houses, but this is the South, so that’s not always a bad thing. The Republicans might gain some seats, but I don’t expect any huge political turnovers. Both my legislators are said Democrats and have no Republican opponents, so there’s nothing I can do about it anyway.

Supreme Court: A pit of vipers as it stands right now. Fortunately, there are a few strong conservatives running who actually have a chance at winning, so I’m hopeful. Justice Tom Parker (elected 2004) is running for Chief Justice, and frankly, anyone would be better than the current occupant, Drayton Nabers. Nabers was appointed by the Governor to finish out Roy Moore’s term. Aside from having zilch in that charm-and-personality sector I was talking about, Nabers moved up from the state accounting department, which is of course the logical choice for a court that deals with constitutional law. Parker’s judicial opinions are works of art, making him great CJ material, in my opinion. However, Parker’s connections with Moore are apparently the only thing keeping him alive politically, and this ticks some folks off. Another race of note is that between sitting Justice Champ Lyons, Jr. and newcomer Ben Hand. In recent news here, Justice Lyons’ son sent Hand a letter supposedly intended to scare Hand out of the race. Hand went to the press, and now Lyons’ son is doing some major backtracking. If things play out right, this could effectively destroy Lyons’ campaign, or at least deal a major blow.

To sum things up, it looks like a lot of seats could change hands, but I’m not hopeful for much real change in the way things are run around here unless Moore were to win the governor’s chair. A lot of power lies with the Legislature, and that’s where Republican’s should be focusing their efforts. Unfortunately, they’re not doing much of anything except holding pep rallies for themselves and hoping they pick up a seat or two. A few key wins could start to turn the tide. We’ll see.