Bright one of most vulnerable congressmen

Many publications that focus on national politics and campaigns have noted that they expect Democratic freshman U.S. Rep. Bobby Bright to have to fight to keep his seat in Congress.
In the last week, Roll Call listed the 10 most vulnerable members of the U.S. House during the 2010 election. Most of the congressmen on the list are Democratic freshman, including Bright.
Bright became the first Democrat to represent the 2nd Congressional District since the 1960s after claiming a narrow victory a year ago. He won by less than 1 percent. With voters in the district favoring Republican presidential nominee John McCain by 26 points in 2008, Bright is considered one of the most vulnerable candidates as he runs again in the conservative district.
Montgomery City Councilwoman Martha Roby, a Republican, is the only major-party candidate so far to announce she is running against Bright. National Republicans, as the Roll Call article points out, consider Roby a top recruit.
Nine of the 10 most vulnerable members on the list are Democrats.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

GOP launches video, campaign attacking Democrats on corruption

A year ahead of the 2010 general election, the Alabama Republican Party on Tuesday launched the last leg of its fight to take control of the Alabama Legislature and other offices with a video attacking corruption by Democrats in Alabama.

People can view the video by clicking on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaurRu7sb-M

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Riley responds to "buffoonery" over contract

Gov. Bob Riley turned the attack over a multi-million-dollar consulting contract back on Democrats on Friday, saying they are gearing up for campaign season by attacking a company who has performed well for the state and criticizing decisions made by career state employees.
Riley, a Republican, said he and his advisers have discussed how "to counter the buffoonery" over the contract.
He said the administration will move forward on the contract and will fight the lawsuit filed on Thursday by the legislative contract review committee.
The administration and Democrats on the contract review committee are involved in an escalating battle over an amended contract that would pay Paragon Source LLC up to $12.9 million. The state has already paid the company more than $5 million of that amount for previous work.
On Friday, Riley was joined by about 20 people in his office including staff members, state officials involved in selecting Paragon, and Spud Seale, the attorney for Paragon and its president, Janet Lauderdale.
Seale said Paragon has performed well and it was shameful the state did not come to Lauderdale's defense sooner. Riley said he was probably correct.
Seale and Riley said no one has found anything wrong with the work performed by Paragon.
They said there is nothing wrong or sinister about the contract or the work being performed. Riley said he has never met Lauderdale, she has never hired a lobbyist, and he has never received a campaign contribution from her.
State Rep. Alvin Holmes, chairman of the contract review committee, and other Democratic members have expressed concerns about giving the large contract to a computer consulting company that does not have a Web site or a listed phone number and that lists personal residences as its headquarters. The finance department and Paragon have released documents to the committee in response to subpoenas, but Holmes and other members have said they want more information on the subcontractors who were paid through the contract and what work they were performing for the money.
Finance department officials approached Paragon and hired the company to work with the state to help create a blueprint to update the computer system used for financial functions such as payroll and purchasing. The amended contract, which the governor signed on Oct. 23 after the Democrats held it up for 45 days, would begin to move forward with updating a portion of the almost 20-year-old system.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Lawmakers file lawsuit against Riley, finance department, Paragon

A legislative committee filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to stop the administration of Gov. Bob Riley from moving forward with a multi-million-dollar consulting contract.
State Rep. Alvin Holmes, chairman of the legislative contract review committee, and the committee filed the complaint Thursday in Montgomery Circuit Court against Riley, Acting Finance Director Bill Newton, the state finance department, and officials with Paragon Source LLC, the consulting company.
Todd Stacy, press secretary for Riley, said the office is still reviewing the case, "but this lawsuit is a total crock."
"This is nothing but political grandstanding by Alvin Holmes and other Democrats to divert attention away from their shameful record on corruption," he said. "Democrats are going to jail left and right on corruption convictions, so they want to change the subject."
Holmes has said he fought the administration of Gov. Don Siegelman, a fellow Democrat, on computer contracts so his actions are not political.
The finance department requested an amendment to the contract with Paragon that could take the total up to $12.9 million. The state has already paid more than $5 million to Paragon, and Newton wanted to extend the contract to allow the company to help the state update the computer system used for financial functions such as payroll and purchasing.
Holmes, D-Montgomery, wants a judge to cease all work and payments until there is a hearing, and he wants a judge to declare the contract null and void. The legislator said the panel has never filed a lawsuit over the issue before and he wants a ruling on whether no-bid contracts are legal.
The contract review committee members previously approved a contract for $195 an hour up to $200,000 to hire attorney Tyrone Means of Thomas, Means, Gillis & Seay, P.C., to represent them in handling the contract between Paragon and the finance department. Holmes said they did not go out for bids before hiring Means, but said the committee has never asked for bids or requests for proposals for lawyers or doctors.
The committee also voted this month to issue subpoenas, using that authority for the first time, seeking more information from Paragon and the finance department. Holmes and other Democratic members have said they want more information on who was paid through the contract and what work was performed for the money.
Newton said the committee has received all of the documents the finance department has on Paragon.
The Democrats also contend that Paragon did not have the authority to hire subcontractors without the authority of the state, which the administration disputes.
"Neither party may assign this agreement or delegate any duties hereunder without the prior written consent of the other party," according to the contract. Administration officials have said there was no prior written consent before Paragon hired subcontractors, but said the company has not delegated its duties and has supervised the project.
Holmes also questioned why Paragon received a sole source, no-bid contract while the company has found plenty of subcontractors to perform the work.
The review committee did not vote to file the lawsuit, but they did agree to hire the law firm and Holmes said he talked to the other members before moving forward.
Newton has said Paragon has performed well in helping the state. Other administration officials said overhauling the purchasing portion of the system could save $4 million to $6 million a year.
Holmes and other members of the contract review committee have expressed concerns about Paragon, which lists personal residences as its headquarters and has no Web site or listed phone number, receiving a consulting contract for the remainder of the almost $13 million.
The contract review committee held the contract up for 45 days, the maximum allowed by law, but the panel cannot stop a contract. After the 45 days, Holmes delivered the contract to Riley's office as required by law and asked him not to sign it.
Riley signed the contract Oct. 23, Stacy said. The governor will talk to the media about the contract this morning.
Some people have questioned Holmes hiring Means since the law firm's political action committee gave $500 to his campaign in 2006. The firm also gave more than $5,000 to Riley, one of the defendants, during that election cycle.
Holmes said the committee needed representation in the case, the law firm is reputable, many of the law firms in town have contributed to him in his more than 30 years in the Legislature, and that this is the first time he has recommended the hiring of a particular law firm.
The disagreement between the administration of the Republican governor and Democrats on the contract review committee has been ongoing for about two months.
"This is one of the worst contracts since I have been on the contract review committee," Holmes said.
Riley and Newton sent out a memo this month reminding state officials of the governor's policy that they must seek bids before purchasing items.
"The issue of contracts has gotten a lot of attention lately and this is to remind people of what this administration’s policy is," Jeff Emerson, Riley's communications director, told the Associated Press. He said Riley had not changed his policy.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Fite remembered in Anniston

Friends, colleagues and family of state Rep. Lea Fite, D-Jacksonville, gathered in Anniston on Thursday to mourn the unexpected death of the lawmaker.
Fite, a supermarket owner, died Monday morning after suffering a seizure.
He was known as a likable legislator who worked across the aisle.
In the last session, he sponsored and helped push through a law to help provide Medicaid coverage for more women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer who previously fell into loopholes in coverage. Both chambers passed the bill unanimously.
He also announced that he was giving the automatic cost of living increase that legislators received in their pay to the American Cancer Society. He donated $1,805.
His wife, Judy, is a breast cancer survivor.
"I could just give it up, but it would go into the black hole in Montgomery so I decided to take it and make sure it goes to a good cause," he told the Montgomery Advertiser in April.
He also encouraged his colleagues to give their raise to charities.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Holmes: Lawsuit to be filed over Paragon

The chairman of the legislative contract review committee told the Montgomery Advertiser late Wednesday that a lawsuit will be filed Thursday morning to try to stop the administration of Gov. Bob Riley from moving forward with a multi-million dollar consulting contract.
State Rep. Alvin Holmes, chairman of the committee, said a lawsuit will be filed Thursday in Montgomery against Riley, Acting Finance Director Bill Newton and officials with Paragon Source LLC, the consulting company.
The finance department requested an amendment to the contract with Paragon that could take the total up to $12.9 million. The state has already paid more than $5 million to Paragon and Newton wants to extend the contract to allow the company to help the state continue to revamp the computer system that the state uses for its financial functions such as payroll and purchasing.
Newton has said Paragon has performed well in helping the state. Other administration officials said overhauling the purchasing portion of the system could save $4 million to $6 million a year.
Holmes, D-Montgomery, and other members of the contract review committee have expressed concerns about Paragon, which lists personal residences as its headquarters and has no Web site or listed phone number, receiving a consulting contract for the remainder of the almost $13 million.
The contract review committee held the contract up for 45 days, the maximum allowed by law, but the panel cannot stop a contract. After the 45 days, Holmes delivered the contract to Riley's office as required by law and asked him not to sign it.
The disagreement between the administration of the Republican governor and Democrats on the review committee has been ongoing for about two months.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Langford found guilty, removed from office

Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford has been convicted in a bribery scheme, automatically removing him from office, according to the Associated Press. He was convicted Wednesday on all of the counts he faced, according to the report.
He was accused of accepting cash, clothing and luxury items valued at about $236,000 while he was president of the Jefferson County Commission. He was convicted of funneling about $7.1 million in bond business to prominent Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount, who had already pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate, in exchange for the gifts.
The mayor showed no emotion when the verdict was read, according to the report.
The conviction led to his immediate removal from office, just two years after he easily won over several other candidates including the incumbent.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen