This week’s column

By Jennifer J. Foster

In case you missed it in Saturday’s print edition of The Opelika-Auburn News, I’m posting my most recent column, in its original entirety, here for your convenience.

Getting the best from gubernatorial hopefuls

Lee County Republicans were treated to an entertaining evening with four of their seven gubernatorial candidates in attendance at a forum Thursday night.

As Joe McAdory and I discussed in our online wrap-up following the event, the candidates who appeared – Robert Bentley, Bradley Byrne, Kay Ivey and Tim James – share views on what they consider to be the biggest issues facing the next governor: Economic development, education and jobs, jobs, jobs.

But we are beginning to see them forge niches for themselves within their agreement.

Bentley is running as a physician, Byrne as a states’ rights advocate and reformer, Ivey as the experienced hand in state government, James as the businessman-outsider.

It occurred to me while we were listening to the candidates’ responses, Alabama has plenty of problems. What a shame it is that we won’t make use of the best of all these ideas.

In politics, there are many more losers of elections than winners. This election will be no exception: One winner, eight losers. But just because a candidate doesn’t end up with the most votes on Election Day doesn’t mean he doesn’t have great ideas to offer.

Bentley, the physician, wants to establish a tuition-assistance program called the Alabama Health Service Corps to help alleviate Alabama’s dangerous shortage of primary-care doctors.

Byrne, a former state senator and chancellor of Alabama’s two-year college system, wants to assert afresh Alabama’s rights under the 10th Amendment when the federal government overreaches its constitutional bounds. 

Ivey, a former teacher and longtime public servant, has a no-nonsense way of bottom-lining complex problems facing the state and a “bite-the-bullet” attitude when it comes to solving them.

James spoke passionately about his interest in doing everything possible to cut Alabama’s staggering 40 percent dropout rate in half, insisting that such success would reap benefits in every aspect of life in Alabama.

I wonder if any of the candidates would pledge right now to build a coalition with the opponents he or she defeats in November – and whether they would pledge, also, to leave pride behind in defeat and become an active part of creating solutions for our state.

Perhaps too idealistic, yes. But why shouldn’t we expect the best of all worlds from those seeking to serve us?

* * *

Fewer than 12 hours after the GOP candidates discussed the ramifications of the ongoing gambling saga in Alabama, state troopers directed by the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling converged on the VictoryLand and Country Crossing gambling halls, trying again to raid the facilities and remove the machines they say violate state law.

Once again, lower courts got involved, issuing injunctions that stopped the raids, and once again, the governor’s task force appealed to the Alabama Supreme Court for help. Once again, the Supreme Court declined to engage, so once again, things are left up in the air.

There is a growing consensus among gambling supporters and opponents alike that this continued uncertainty, the back-and-forth between the sides, cannot go on the way it has. We have to have closure, one way or another. Pro-gambling legislators will try to provide some, with or without the Supreme Court’s guidance, through a constitutional amendment they want to place before voters this fall.

Then there’s the civil trial set for federal court this summer in which a prospective competitor to VictoryLand alleges conspiracy, corruption, racketeering and improper influence of public officials against Macon County Sheriff David Warren and VictoryLand’s owner, Milton McGregor, allegations both men deny.

Gambling is going to dominate the state’s news and politics until election time in November.

And that’s a sure thing.

Bill Johnson meets Mike Rowe

By Jennifer J. Foster

His ethics allegations against Gov. Bob Riley fading, Bill Johnson looks to be continuing the string of look-at-me press stunts to elbow his way back into the conversation. Got a press release from the campaign tonight (full text below) announcing that Bill and his wife, Kathy, “want to identify the dirtiest jobs in Alabama and work alongside some of our hardest working families.“

Move over, Mike Rowe.

The Johnsons are doing this, they say, because “too many public servants have either forgotten what it’s like to work their fingers to the bone trying to make ends meet, or they never knew to begin with.“

Did you catch that, Bradley Byrne and Tim James? That swipe was barely veiled at all.

The Johnsons want to identify the “dirtiest jobs in Alabama,“ work alongside the people who do them and donate $250 to that person’s favorite charity.

OK. Let’s break this down.

No. 1. Why are only dirty jobs worth spotlighting? “Not just any jobs,“ the release says. Aren’t there plenty of Alabamians with not-so-dirty jobs whose contributions are also worth noting? Do people with “dirty jobs” just inherently work harder than others? That’s the assumption here.

No. 2. What are the Johnsons going to do if any of the recipients of these “dirty jobs grants” want the Johnsons to donate that money to a cause they don’t agree with—Planned Parenthood, for example? Considering the homelessness problem the Johnsons just spotlighted this weekend, why not donate $250 for each job to the homeless shelters that housed them? I’m sure they would welcome the extra cash.

No. 3, and this is perhaps the biggest question: What does any of this have to do with Johnson’s platform for governor? How is it connected to a jobs plan, an economic development plan, or an education plan or anything else? Or is it just meant to demonstrate empathy with “dirty jobs” workers?

I don’t knock the idea of getting in the trenches with Alabamians and working alongside them. Former Florida Gov. Bob Graham was famous for his “workdays” when he would do just that. Those efforts were some of the many things that personally endeared Graham to many Floridians for so long. But I find it unfortunate that the Johnsons are spotlighting one group of Alabamians above the rest, and in doing so, they are missing an opportunity to tie the experiences of everyday Alabamians to what Johnson wants to do as governor.

JOHNSONS LOOKING FOR ALABAMA’S DIRTIEST JOBS

GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Johnson and his wife are looking for jobs.  Not just any jobs—they want to find Alabama’s dirtiest jobs.

“Last Friday, Kathy and I spent the night in homeless shelters and recovery centers to better understand the challenges and potential consequences of losing jobs, homes and families.  People really are hurting—some through poor decisions they’ve made, and yet others who simply have hit really hard times and have no where to turn.  There is a real misconception of homelessness.  Loss of employment, and subsequently losing shelter, can happen to anyone regardless of race, gender, age, intelligence level or socio-economic status.  It was an eye-opening experience that will help us better understand the challenges and potential solutions to homelessness.

“Having spent a brief amount of time sleeping in homeless shelters and recovery centers, we now turn to address the enormous challenges our working families are facing.  Today, we kick off our ‘Working with the People-Alabama’s Dirtiest Jobs Tour.‘

“There are hard working people across Alabama that get up every day and make a contribution to their families, their communities and our State,“ explains Johnson.  “We want to identify the dirtiest jobs in Alabama and work alongside them; and, in honor of the contributions they’re making to their communities, we will also donate $250 to the selected families’ charity of their choice.

“Too many public servants have either forgotten what it’s like to work their fingers to the bone trying to make ends meet, or they never knew to begin with.

“Although Kathy and I have worked the past several years in management positions, we haven’t forgotten, nor do we ever want to forget, what true, hard, physical labor is-the kind of work in which our men and women leave work with dirt under their nails and aches in their muscles.  That’s what tens of thousands of Alabamians do every day in order to support their families.  We want to get out there with them and let them know we understand what they’re going through.“

“We truly believe that public officials have forgotten their role. It’s to connect with, listen to and serve the people, plain and simple. Kathy and I can relate to the hard-working families of this State, and we want them to know we understand their challenges.  We intend to represent all the people of Alabama—not just the elite, and we commit to spending time with, listening to and connecting with people from all walks of life.

“One of the things that sets us apart from the other candidates is that we both came from large families where money was tight and pay checks were small.  My dad was career military and had six children to feed.  Kathy came from a family of five children with a disabled dad.  Before either of us ever hit our teenage years, we had jobs, responsibilities and contributed financially to our families.  Our hearts will always go out to people who are struggling to balance tight budgets, put food on the table and find a way to educate their children.  That’s just who we are and what we stand for-hard work and contributing to family, community and country.“

Anyone who wants to recommend a ‘dirty job’ for the Johnsons’ “Working with the People-Alabama’s Dirtiest Jobs Tour” can do so by sending an e-mail with details to or by calling the Johnson for Governor Campaign Headquarters at (334) 328-3823.

See also:

During the course of hundreds of workdays, Bob Graham worked as “a police officer, busboy, railroad engineer, construction worker, fisherman, garbageman, factory worker, and teacher,“ and “on No. 365, he checked in customers, handled baggage and helped serve passengers on US Airways,“ according to Wiki.

Big lawsuit on the way

By Jennifer J. Foster

I made brief mention in my column for this weekend of a civil lawsuit in federal court involving Macon County Sheriff David Warren, VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor and McGregor’s Macon County Greyhound Park.

Let’s back up: Two and a half years ago, when I was a full-time employee at the Opelika-Auburn News, I came to work one day in July to find a white envelope on my desk. It had been mailed to the newspaper from somewhere in Tuskegee, and it bore no return address. The label with the newspaper’s information was computer-generated.

I opened the envelope to find a copy of this lawsuit. No note was attached.

I can only surmise that someone was tipping us that the suit was out there. It had been filed the previous December, in 2006, but to my knowledge, our newspaper hadn’t covered it.

I made plans to go get whatever paperwork I could on it from the court. But we ended up having a meeting that afternoon, and I ended up going on an unexpected medical leave the next day. To make a long story short, my job no longer existed when I returned from medical leave, so I never got a chance to get back on the story.

I have periodically wondered about that lawsuit. I’ve had a couple of conversations with folks in the intervening months and years about it. I assumed it had been dismissed in a summary judgment since I hadn’t heard anything about it since. But it’s just been this week that I’ve managed to get the paperwork and the time together to check it out.

Circumstance is a funny thing.

According to a clerk with whom I spoke Thursday, the lawsuit wasn’t dismissed. It’s still active—and it’s going to trial this summer.

The clerk said that William Keith Watkins, the judge in the case, ordered last week that the trial, originally set to start in March, will begin on June 21. The move was necessary, Watkins said in his order, due to the “length and complexity” of the issues involved. Watkins decided it needed to be “specially set” in its own term, so as not to crowd other things on the docket.

So what are the issues?

The plaintiffs are a prospective competitor for VictoryLand called Lucky Palace LLC and 17 non-profit organizations in Macon County that, presumably, are not currently benefitting from the charity bingo licenses VictoryLand holds. Warren, McGregor and the Greyhound Park are the defendants.

According to the third amended complaint, which is the version of the suit I received:

This complaint includes claims: (1) against Defendant Warren, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, for violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution; (2) against all Defendants, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, for a conspiracy to deprive the Charities of the equal protection of the laws; (3) against all Defendants for violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), (4) against all defendants for a conspiracy to violate RICO, (5) against Defendants McGregor and VictoryLand for tortious interference with contractual or business relations, and (6) against Defendants McGregor and VictoryLand for tortious interference with prospective business relationships.

The suit goes on to allege that “at least since the fall of 2003, Defendants ... have engaged in the improper influence of a public servant in connection with the promulgation and amendment of the rules and regulation governing electronic bingo in Macon County” and that McGregor and VictoryLand “through unlawful influence, caused Defendant Warren to arbitrarily promulgate unreasonable rules and regulations for the operation of bingo in Macon County that allowed only one entity—VictoryLand—to operate bingo games.

“Not only were the original rules and regulations a product of the influence and designed to favor only Victoryland, but, through the continued influence of the Enterprise, the rules and regulations were amended twice to ensure that attempts of competitors to enter the market would be thwarted,“ the suit reads.

Warren and McGregor are vigorously defending themselves against the allegations. According to the clerk, Warren, McGregor and Fred Gray Jr., McGregor’s business attorney who is also mentioned in the suit but is not named as a defendant, are represented individually or collectively by attorneys from no fewer than five separate law firms. In addition, she said, some 500 documents have already been filed in the case—and some of them are under seal.

I questioned her about the kinds of documents that were sealed, pointing out that one of the defendants is an elected official and as such, there should be particular care to providing as much transparency as possible. She said it was likely that the documents were sealed because they reveal information that would be otherwise protected by attorney-client privilege.

It is possible—even likely, perhaps—that the complaint itself has been further amended since I received my copy of it. The next time I’m in Montgomery, I’m going to swing by the kiosk at the courthouse, take a look at the paperwork and get the most updated copy of the suit.

In any event, this trial will be as notable for what is revealed in discovery as for what the verdict will be. It will get at the heart of the haphazard licensure process that Alabama uses to funnel a portion of gambling money to local charities—and the process by which local sheriffs, who are empowered to grant those licenses, make the decisions about who will have and who will have not.

The case is 3:06-cv-01113-WKW-CSC.

Pre-trial starts May 21.

Davis weighs in on attempted gambling hall raids

By Jennifer J. Foster

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Artur Davis has just weighed in on the attempts this morning by the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling to raid the VictoryLand and Country Crossing gambling halls:

I recognize that Alabamians are deeply divided over gambling, and that the law is all too unclear on what kind of gaming is legal in our state. But midnight raids that leave thousands of workers unemployed are not the answer. Alabama voters should have an opportunity to participate in a statewide vote that would clarify the legal definition of gaming. Then, each county should make its own choice as to whether it wants gaming facilities within its borders. Ultimately, the citizens of Houston County and Macon County should be the judge of whether Country Crossing and VictoryLand survive. I will never believe that we go wrong letting the people decide.

Again, Davis marks out pragmatic ground in a divisive debate. With unemployment in Alabama hovering somewhere between 11 and 18 percent, depending on whose numbers you use, it doesn’t seem smart to add thousands of people to those rolls at once—especially if the justices of the Alabama Supreme Court are content to sit on their hands while these injunctions and requests to lift injunctions are flying back and forth.

In my mind, they bear increasing responsibility for most of this confusion. By hearing just one of these big cases, they could provide clarity for us on existing law once and for all. The sooner that happens, the better—especially since the Alabama Legislature is now in session and could use the ruling to craft a constitutional amendment to put before the people of Alabama as early as this fall.

For the record, Davis’s opponent, Ron Sparks, called the attempted raids “insanity.“

No pragmatism there.

Johnsons going homeless

By Jennifer J. Foster

... Well, for one night, at least.

Got this from the Johnson campaign last night:                                               

Press Release Below Advisory

What: GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Johnson and wife Kathy will spend the night in homeless facilities to emphasize with those who have no where to call home.

Kathy’s Schedule

When: Friday, January 29, 2010
Arrive when intake closes at 4:00 p.m.
Depart approximately 8:30 Saturday morning

Where: The Lovelady Center
7916 2nd Avenue South, Birmingham  

Bill’s Schedule

When:: Friday, January 29, 2010
Arrive when shelter doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Depart approximately 8:30 Saturday morning

Where: The Old Fire House Shelter
1501 3rd Avenue North, Birmingham                                                  

JOHNSONS GOING HOMELESS

GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Johnson and wife Kathy will spend the night in homeless shelters tomorrow to empathize with those who have no where to call home.

“With one in 10 Alabamians out of work, as many as 1 in 4 unemployed in some counties, homeless shelters are becoming the busiest facilities in the State,“ Johnson explains. “Of the percentage still employed, their jobs aren’t guaranteed to be there next week. Even some who’ve given decades of service and worked their way to the tops of companies are being laid off.

“People are hurting, and we want to recognize and listen to the families who don’t have regular income and a house to call their own.

“Having worked for over two years on homeless issues as a Birmingham City Councilor, I understand the complex challenges of providing shelter and assistance for our homeless population. In a time when the entire economy is suffering, I imagine shelters are finder it even more difficult to provide critical services with smaller budgets and a growing number of clients.

“Kathy and I will stay in homeless facilities tomorrow night to spend time with those struggling with the loss of jobs, homes and families,“ Johnson continues.  “We won’t be arriving with suitcases in tow, but rather with a few toiletries in a Wal-mart bag-the only belongings many of our homeless have to their name.  To ensure we are not displacing someone else needing a bed for the evening, we have donated cots to the shelters.

“One of the casualties of homelessness is that it usually requires families to separate.  It’s difficult to find a shelter that accommodates men, women and children.“

Bill will be staying in The Old Fire House Shelter. Sponsored by The Cooperative Downtown Ministries, the facility offers the only homeless men’s emergency shelter in the community that does not have a specific time limit on the length of the stay.  In addition to providing shelter, the program seeks to get at the root of homelessness and develop a life plan for guests so they can live independently.

Kathy will spend the night at The Lovelady Center, a transitional facility that offers aid to homeless women and their children and requires residents to participate in a two-phase program that offers practical living assistance, faith-based recovery programs and employment opportunities. The program is for women who have lost hope and confidence due to devastating life circumstances, such as homelessness, domestic violence, addiction to substances or incarceration.

It’s commendable that the Johnsons want to draw attention to the very real problem of homelessness—and especially the reality that family shelters are in short supply.

It just irks me that this was distributed as a “media advisory,“ complete with itinerary, instead of just as a news release. It’s like they are begging the press to come take some pictures of them on those cots.