Two-year college system Chancellor Bradley Byrne made it official today: He's running for governor in 2010.
Byrne said this morning during his remarks that he will base his candidacy on the three Es: Ethics reform, education and economic development.
Byrne was gracious in his remarks toward Gov. Bob Riley as he embarked on the campaign to replace him. Byrne said that Alabamians have seen in Riley what a conservative, Republican reform-minded governor can do for this state; Byrne will be a governor in that mold, he said.
It's not surprising that the man who became a gubernatorial prospect because of the way he handled the cleanup of corruption in the two-year college system would be at his best on the stump when discussing ethics reform. You can catch a segment of his remarks here, or you can read his complete press release here.
Incidentally, I was forwarded a link to this story by a friend earlier today. It discusses the tension between some of the State Board of Education members and Byrne and their perception that he has used the chancellor's post as a springboard to governor.
I couldn't help but provide you with this excerpt, because I believe it demonstrates the bold, bottom-line, take-no-prisoners streak in Bradley Byrne that makes him such an effective crusading reformer. It details an exchange between Byrne and SBOE member Ella B. Bell, who was the lone board member to vote against Byrne's appointment as chancellor:
Upon hearing of Byrne’s departure, Bell said she had never heard anything from him about leaving the chancellorship before his fulfilling his three-year contract. Still, like many critics, she said his intentions were obvious.“It’s been apparent every since the day you came here that you would run for governor,” said Bell, restating her words to Byrne at a recent board meeting. “You came here to build a platform off of state dollars. Everybody knows you were put here to run.”
Of this criticism, which many union members have also echoed, Byrne only offered a simple response.
“I don’t know of a single person who has gotten to be elected governor as a chancellor of a two-year college system that is between two major criminal investigations and amidst Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of a scandal by a local newspaper,” Byrne retorted.
As Michael Kelso would say, "BURRRRN!"
Come to think of it, "burn" is a homophone for our candidate -- and it's an indication of what he'll do to those who still seek to cheat and steal from this state and its taxpayers.
Byrne is on the web at ByrneforAlabama.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @bradleybyrne.
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