Boles drops out of GOP runoff for Senate seat, endorses Taylor

Ray Boles dropped out of the runoff for state Senate District 30 on Tuesday and endorsed Bryan Taylor, who finished ahead of two other Republicans in the primary, but did not have a majority of the votes.
Taylor, former policy director for Gov. Bob Riley, will face longtime Democratic state Sen. Wendell Mitchell in the November general election.
Boles' move allows Taylor to save his resources for the general election.
The third place finisher in the race, Ken Barnett, previously endorsed Taylor, who was 130 votes short of winning the primary without a runoff.
Boles said, after considering his options, he wanted to avoid a costly, lengthy and unnecessary runoff.
"I got into this race for one reason: We need to elect someone to the state Senate who will look out for the people and not the politicians," Boles said. "I've gotten to know Bryan pretty well over the last six weeks, and I can tell you that's why he's running too. The people of District 30 deserve their vote back, and I'm supporting Bryan Taylor so we can finally win it back once and for all."
Taylor said the race to bring conservative leadership to the Senate started Tuesday.
"We'll never change the Legislature until we change who we send to the Legislature," he said.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Barnett endorses Taylor in District 30

The man who finished third in the Republican fight for the District 30 seat in the state Senate has endorsed Bryan Taylor, who finished well ahead of the pack but did not have the majority necessary to avoid a runoff.
Taylor, former policy director for Gov. Bob Riley, will face Ray Boles in the July 13 runoff. Boles is a member of the Prattville City Council.
Ken Barnett, who works for the Alabama Department of Revenue, endorsed Taylor a day after the primary.
"Bryan Taylor is by far the better candidate, and I urge my supporters to vote for Bryan in the runoff," said Barnett, who finished with 18 percent of the vote on Tuesday. "Bryan is a conservative who will fight for our values. Ray Boles is not a conservative. Ray Boles either pretends he doesn't have a grasp on the issues, or he just really doesn't have a grasp on the issues. I'm proud to be supporting the real conservative, Bryan Taylor, in this important race."
Taylor finished with 49 percent of the vote.
The winner of the runoff will face longtime Democratic state Sen. Wendell Mitchell in November to represent the district, which include all or part of Autauga, Elmore, Lowndes, Butler, Crenshaw and Pike counties.
With the support, Taylor said he is confident he will win the runoff and continue to victory in November.
Barnett, Boles, and Taylor all lives in Prattville.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Bryan Taylor announces Senate run

Bob Riley will not be governor this time next year, but his former policy director hopes to be pushing his agenda in the state Senate.
Bryan Taylor resigned his position as policy director and legal counsel for Riley on Thursday. On Monday, Taylor announced he was running to represent Senate District 30, which includes all or part of Autauga, Elmore, Lowndes, Crenshaw, Butler and Pike counties.
He wants the seat held by longtime Sen. Wendell Mitchell, D-Luverne, who is running for an eighth term.
But, first, he has to defeat two Republican opponents including Ken Barnett of Prattville and Prattville City Councilman Ray Boles in the primary.
In front of about two dozen supporters that included several members of the Riley administration, Taylor said leaving the administration he has served in for four years was difficult, but he decided to run after seeing the continued antics of the Democratic majority in the Senate.
"Unfortunately, our cause to break up the corrupt, good-ol'-boy system in Montgomery has been met year after year with stiff resistance, particularly by the Democrat majority in control of the state Senate," Taylor said.
He accused the majority of killing education reform, mocking accountability and anti-corruption measures they campaigned on, and pushing to legalize casino gambling. The 34-year-old attorney helped shape the administration's stance on electronic bingo.
Taylor, who lives with his wife in Prattville, said the situation "reached the boiling point" several weeks ago.
"Like many of you, I was absolutely repulsed by the unabashed corruption on display in the state Senate," he said. "Some defenders of the system tried to dismiss it as politics. No, it wasn't just politics; it was pure, unadulterated corruption."
Taylor said the last legislative session, which ended Thursday, convinced him "this state desperately needs a new class of elected leaders who want to serve for the right reasons."
Senate Democrats said last week that the legislative session was the most successful in years. They said they balanced the budgets with decreased revenue coming into the state while protecting senior citizens, children and teachers.
The senators applauded the passage of bills that will let voters decide if they want to use $1 billion for road and bridge work, offer tax credits to businesses that hire unemployed workers, and help save the state's Prepaid Affordable College Tuition program.
Democratic leaders have said bingo is not taxed or regulated now and that the legislation would have ended the raids by Riley's Task Force on Illegal Gambling, and the legal fight between Riley and Attorney General Troy King over the gambling-related litigation.
Taylor said he is tired of the federal investigations, indictments, and convictions.
"I'm tired of being embarrassed by our elected officials," he said. "We deserve better."
Taylor knows the Riley talking points, carrying the governor's message of job creation and battling corruption. He talked about the accomplishments in education and economic development during the Riley administration.
"It happened in no small part because Governor Riley challenged the good-ol'-boy politics of the past and has operated the most open, honest, accountable administration in Alabama history," he said.
Taylor supports charter schools, disclosure of lobbyist spending on public officials, rewriting "Alabama's ridiculously weak ethics code," tax relief for small businesses, and targeted tax credits for businesses that will get people back to work.
He also wants the state to continue its support of the Alabama Reading Initiative, the Alabama Math, Science & Technology Initiative, ACCESS Distance Learning and First Class Pre-K.
Taylor, who was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service in Iraq, joined the U.S. Army after Sept. 11, 2001, and was a captain and a JAG prosecutor prior to joining the administration. He is a member of the Alabama National Guard.
Riley will join Taylor for a meet and greet in Prattville om Tuesday. Taylor traveled to Troy on Monday. He will visit Luverne and Greenville later this week.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Riley's policy director steps down to run for Senate

Gov. Bob Riley's policy director, Bryan Taylor, resigned on Thursday and will formally announce on Monday that he is running for the state Senate.
He will face fellow Republicans Ray Boles and Ken Barnett in the Republican primary. The winner will meet longtime state Sen. Wendell Mitchell, D-Luverne, in the November general election.
Taylor helped shape the administration's stance on electronic bingo.
He decided to run "after seeing yet another session of backroom deals and broken promises from Senate Democrats."
"It is a difficult decision to leave Governor Riley's administration," Taylor said. "But I felt absolutely compelled to run so that District 30, my district, would have a conservative vote in the Senate for the first time."

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Boles Picks Up Home Builders Endorsement

Republican Ray Boles received the endorsement of the Home Builders Association of Alabama (HBAA) in his bid for state Senate District 30. HBAA represents local businesses in the housing and construction industry across Senate District 30 and has 12,000 members statewide.

“I’m honored to receive the endorsement of such a highly-respected organization whose members are so vital to economic growth in Senate District 30,” said Boles in a statement Thursday. “I’m grateful for the confidence that the Home Builders Association has shown in my campaign and my vision for job creation and economic development."

Senate District 30 includes all of Butler, Pike and Crenshaw counties and parts of Autauga, Elmore and Lowndes Counties and is currently represented by Sen. Wendell Mitchell, D-Luverne.

Ken Barnett and Bryan Taylor, both Prattville Republicans, are also running for the seat.

"I look forward to working with home builders across our district toward our common goal of creating jobs, growth and progress," Boles said.

-- posted by Markeshia Ricks

Senator Mitchell being treated for rare condition

Longtime state Sen. Wendell Mitchell is being treated for a rare blood condition, but he will return to his normal duties in four to six weeks, according to a letter from his son.
Mitchell, a Democrat who represents all or part of Autauga, Elmore, Butler, Crenshaw, Lowndes, and Pike counties, is "being treated at one of the leading hematology clinics in the United States," according to the letter from Maury Mitchell of Montgomery to his father's friends and colleagues.
"His treatments are progressing well, and, hopefully, he can be back to performing his normal duties within four to six weeks," his son wrote. "In the meantime, by doctor's orders, he cannot make or receive phone calls.
"He very much misses being able to attend Senate sessions and conduct his normal daily workload with his school and among constituents."
Mitchell is the dean emeritus of the Jones School of Law at Faulkner University.
Marsha Allison, administrative assistant for Mitchell, said she talked to him Sunday and said he sounded better than he has in a while.
He is the deputy president pro tem of the Senate. By virtue of his position, Mitchell is a voting member of almost all standing committees in the Senate. He is chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee.
Mitchell was visibly ill when he came to the Senate to vote for the much-debated bingo bill, which would allow people to vote on whether they want to tax and regulate gambling in the state. He has said he is opposed to gambling, but supports letting people vote.
At the time, some of his Democratic colleagues applauded his effort to come to the chamber in spite of his illness, which they did not know was as serious at the time. They needed 21 votes to pass the constitutional amendment and the bill passed the Senate 21-13.
Some House members have discussed amending the bill, which would require 21 votes for the Senate to concur or take other action.
McDowell Lee, secretary of the Senate, said members must be present and answer the roll call to vote.
The Senate has three work days remaining including today.
Mitchell, 69, is in his seventh term representing District 30. He filed to run for an eighth term.
Jim Spearman, executive director of the Alabama Democratic Party, said the chairman of the party talked to friends of Mitchell and said the senator plans to run for another term.
"As far as I know he's our candidate and he'll be a good one as he always is," Spearman said.
Mitchell will face the winner of the three men in the Republican primary, Ray Boles, Ken Barnett and Bryan Taylor. He has no primary opposition.
Allison did not know where Mitchell was being treated. She said Mitchell's son would be by the Senate office this afternoon to pick up an envelope of cards and take those to Mitchell.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen