Paul Davis: Will Alabama elect a black man governor?

Will a state which denied a majority vote to the nation’s first black president be willing to take a close look at a black man, Harvard educated and a United States congressman, who wants to become Alabama’s next governor?

I wonder. Congressman Artur Davis, a Democrat and Seventh District congressman, says he can and will win the state’s highest office. And last week, he signed on Jere Beasley to lead his campaign. Beasley, no matter your feelings about trial lawyers, is a formidable man to have on your side.

So powerful that his endorsement of Davis may just knock Sue Bell Cobb out of the race. She too, is a powerful political figure and, as head of the Alabama Supreme Court, also carries much clout. She won the job she now has with the support of trial lawyers. They want her to stay where she is. They sent that message. When she didn’t hear it, Beasley made it real loud and clear.

She hasn’t officially announced her bid for governor. I’m inclined to believe she’ll back out. To run for governor, she would have to give up her seat on the high court.

I’ll also bet Beasley’s endorsement of Davis will give Alabama’s Agriculture Commissioner, Ron Sparks, some serious indigestion as a candidate in the Democratic primary.

There is also much talk in Republican circles. More rumored candidates have dropped out than have dropped in. Thus far, candidates for the GOP primary are Bradley Byrne, head of the two-year college system; Tim James, of Greenville and son of former Gov. Fob James; Kay Ivey, state treasurer; Robert Bentley, state representative and Tuscaloosa physician; and Judge Roy Moore, certified nut.

Bradley looks like a winner in this race, but it’s easy to pick one so far away from voting day. Kay Ivey, a charming woman and a great public servant, has personally placed $1 million of her own money into her campaign fund, but the future looks like a tough ride for her. She’s being hammered by the collapse of the stock market and the ensuing tumble of Alabama’s pre-paid college tuition program, which cannot now meet its obligation to parents who invested to pay tuition for their college-bound children. Ivey didn’t cause this problem, but she’s being blamed.

Dr. Bentley is going nowhere. Ditto for Judge Roy Moore, removed as head of the Alabama Supreme Court for refusing to remove his Ten Commandments monument from the court building.
Tim James will split the “Bible thumpers” vote, meaning he may come in second and be trounced in a runoff. The James name as a political brand has lost its glow in Alabama.

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Here are a a couple of the 60-plus emails in response to a column on Auburn University trustee and former banker Robert Lowder.

“This is the part of free speech no one wants to hear. Sounds like Lowder fired you or didn’t include you in his circle so you’re unhappy. Get a life and move on.”
“Enjoyed your column on Lowder. It will be interesting to see how Bobby operates without the money/power he has had in the past.”

Paul Davis writes a Sunday column for the Opelika-Auburn News. You may contact him at Paul_Davis@charter.net.