Riley deputy will be top staffer for new speaker

Josh Blades, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Bob Riley, will finish his term with the governor before moving Jan. 18 to work as chief of staff for new House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn.
Hubbard said Blades has "already been working and helping and preparing and that sort of thing."
"He's going to be great," Hubbard said. "He's a sharp young man."
Jeff Woodard, who was the chief of staff for former Speaker Seth Hammett, will be moving into another role in the House, Hubbard said.
Hubbard said he is expanding the number of employees in the speaker's office from four to six, but will keep the budget essentially the same because those working for him will be paid less.
Other hires by Hubbard include legislative analyst Sommer Vaughn, legislative counsel Jason Isbell, policy analyst Boone Kinard, and executive assistant Erica McLain.
Hubbard said he has yet to hire a communications director.
Vaughn is assistant to Riley’s chief of staff Dave Stewart. Hubbard said she worked for the Republican Party before going to work for Stewart.
Isbell is an attorney and has worked with the Legislative Fiscal Office for eight years so "he brings a great deal of knowledge about the budgets and policy," Hubbard said.
Kinard has worked in constituent services in the governor's office and McLain works in the governor's scheduling office.
The speaker said he hopes to revamp the office where more services and resources are available to House members and there is less dependence on information from lobbyists.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Republicans select Hubbard, Marsh as leaders

The two men who were the faces of the Republican effort to take over the Alabama House and Senate from Democrats for the first time in more than 130 years were rewarded with top leadership posts by their new majority on Thursday.
House Republicans selected Alabama Republican Party Chairman Mike Hubbard, who is also a state representative from Auburn, as their choice to be the next speaker of the House.
Senate Republicans voted for Sen. Del Marsh of Anniston to be the president pro tem when they organize. The pro tem is the most powerful member of the chamber who helps with assigning bills and managing the body.
With Republicans holding 22 of the 35 seats in the Senate, Marsh is expected to be approved by the full Senate when the members organize either in January or in a special session called by the governor before that.
Sen. Jabo Waggoner of Vestavia Hills was selected as majority leader.
Hubbard is considered the architect of Campaign 2010, the Republican plan to raise money and take control of the Legislature from Democrats for the first time in more than 130 years. Republicans hold 62 seats in the 105-member House.
Marsh helped raise money for the Republican effort to take control of the Legislature.
The Republicans unanimously voted for Hubbard even though there had been talk of another candidate entering the race. Rep. Paul DeMarco of Homewood and some other members had privately expressed interest in becoming speaker and talked to other members trying to win over their support.
But on Thursday at their meeting, no one offered up another candidate.
Members had also discussed voting for speaker and then for speaker pro tem, but then decided only to vote for speaker on Thursday, giving new members an opportunity to know the potential candidates before voting.
State Rep. Jay Love of Montgomery said they recognized with the hard work and organizational skills of Hubbard "that he would be our best choice for speaker."
Waggoner said Marsh would be an effective pro tem. He said his colleague is knowledgeable about issues, is a "good debater," and has proven leadership capabilities.
Marsh, 54, is the president of two companies, Aerospace Coating and Industrial Plating, which employee a total of about 150 people, he said. He is in his fourth term.
Marsh said he would be able to bring people together.
Both Marsh and Hubbard were elected in separate closed-door caucus meetings.
Republican governor-elect Robert Bentley said he met at his Tuscaloosa home on Wednesday with the people who expressed interest in being speaker, Hubbard and DeMarco.
He said he did not impose his will on legislators as they elected their leadership, but was trying to be a "peacemaker" and trying to "smooth things out" in the House delegation, where he felt there was contention. Bentley said he believed the situation had been resolved with a power sharing agreement.
"I really support whoever the caucus votes for," Bentley said after addressing the Senate caucus during the meeting at the Alabama Forestry Association. "It is their right to decide their leadership."
Bentley said he thought Hubbard "had done a good job" leading the party up to the election.
Hubbard, 48 and president of the Auburn Network Inc., is in his fourth term as a legislator. He has served as minority leader in the Alabama House for six years and as chairman of the state party for four years.
Hubbard said his role as chairman was to get as many Republicans elected as possible and to be the "tough guy," but he said speaker "won't be a partisan position" and is more about governing.
"I am looking forward to taking off that partisan hat," he said.
The new leaders said Thursday that their priorities would be ethics, and efforts such as tax incentives to help small businesses.
Waggoner said they did not decide on committee posts at the Thursday meeting and he said those would be decided between now and December.
Waggoner and other senators said there was no conflict between Marsh and Sen. Scott Beason of Gardendale, who challenged him for the pro tem position.
"They are on the same page," Waggoner said. "We are all on the same team."
Marsh said Beason would be in a leadership position "where he chooses to work."
After the original vote, the Republican senators voted again for the victor to ensure there was unanimous support for the pro tem selection.
Sen. Bryan Taylor of Prattville said he was glad to see men "approach such an important issue with mutual respect."
Sen. Dick Brewbaker of Pike Road said he was happy the caucus is "of one mind" and said it is a great step forward "for everybody to agree on the basic agenda."
Beason said he was not successful, but was glad they came back and voted unanimously for Marsh. He said he has learned that while sometimes someone might lose individually, "you have to remember it's about the cause."
Marsh said they all pledged when they ran for office that they would support the nominee of the caucus.
"Once we agree as a caucus, we're unanimous," he said.
When he addressed his colleagues on Thursday morning before they met behind closed doors, Waggoner said "I have been waiting for this (takeover) for 20 years."
"This is a dream come true for a lot of us," said Waggoner, who was previously the minority leader. Waggoner has been a member of the Legislature since 1966.
Pat Harris, assistant secretary of the Senate, spoke to the group along with Bentley and incoming lieutenant governor Kay Ivey. Waggoner and Marsh said they needed help from Harris and others because they have never been in the majority and never been through this transition.
Bentley told the members he knew the Senate had been dysfunctional, but he was hopeful.
He also said he was hopeful that the Republicans would not operate like Democrats and would not be vindictive now that they are in the majority. Bentley also said they should not serve lobbyists and the special interests.
Bentley, a two-term state legislator from Tuscaloosa, said he wants to stay in close communication with legislators and is also reaching out to Democrats. He named outgoing Democratic House Speaker Seth Hammett to his transition team.
Most of the Senate Republicans participated in a ceremonial swearing in in the historic House chamber in the Capitol on Thursday. Waggoner told people in attendance they were witnessing history.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Key legislators talk about federal investigation into bingo

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. attorney's office and other top law enforcement agencies are looking into public corruption that is alleged to be involved with the bingo debate in the Alabama Legislature.
"They said there was substantial evidence that there was some public corruption in the bingo issue," said Senate Minority Leader Jabo Waggoner, R-Birmingham.
Waggoner and other top lawmakers confirmed that the FBI, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the public corruption section of the U.S. Department of Justice met with them Thursday to inform them about the investigation, ask for their help and ask some questions.
Waggoner, Senate Majority Leader Zeb Little and House Minority Leader Mike Hubbard confirmed they were summoned to the office of Col. Chris Murphy, director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety, along with Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr., House Speaker Seth Hammett, and House Majority Leader Ken Guin.
They were joined by three FBI officials, two from Washington and one local, and two assistant U.S. attorneys, Waggoner said. Murphy moderated the meeting, according to the lawmakers.
The lawmakers were all asked if they knew of any corruption occurring in the Legislature concerning the bill, according to Little and other Democratic legislators.
Each legislator responded that they did not, they said.
"We're not aware of any wrongdoing on the part of any senator," said Chip Hill, director of external affairs for Folsom. "We hope there was no wrongdoing. We are very concerned about the timing of this investigation. We hope it was not designed to infringe on the people’s right to vote on this issue."
The Senate voted 21-13 two days earlier to approve a bill that, if approved by the House of Representatives, would let voters decide if they want to tax and regulate gambling in the state.
The bill was approved largely along party lines with most Democrats voting for it and most Republicans voting against it.
Democrats failed to get enough votes earlier in the session to push through a more comprehensive bill that would have determined the 10 places where casinos would be located in the state.
Gov. Bob Riley and other Republicans have said both pieces of legislation are corrupt. They said the first piece gave monopolies to existing casinos in Macon, Houston, Lowndes and Greene counties.
They said the current legislation, which if approved would bring legislators into special session early next year to decide more details, would allow a simple majority in the House and Senate to determine the future of gambling in the state.
Little, Senate President Pro Tem Rodger Smitherman, Sen. Lowell Barron, Sen. Roger Bedford and Sen. Hank Sanders, the top Senate Democrats, released a statement saying that they believe Riley, who has been waging a campaign against electronic bingo, is behind the investigation.
"The timing of this smells to high heaven," the statement said. "Gaming has been a contentious issue for the last four years in the Alabama Legislature. But within 48 hours of a successful vote on electronic bingo in the Senate, in swoop investigators.
"We believe Gov. Bob Riley is behind this effort. We believe this is a latent attempt to undercut the people’s right to vote on the bingo issue, something that a large majority of citizens support, and to ensure the death of this legislation. This is about intimidation and killing bingo. The timing proves it."
Jeff Emerson, communications director for Riley, responded in a statement that the governor had nothing whatsoever to do with the investigation.
"Gov. Riley was not even aware this meeting was taking place," Emerson said. "He's had nothing to do with the investigation. From what our office was told by people in the meeting, the investigation is being run by the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C."
Waggoner said they were told that this is an ongoing investigation and not a fishing expedition. He said the investigators were vague and did not give details concerning who they were looking into.
Hubbard, who is also chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, said he was talking to Riley on the House floor following a joint session of the Legislature on Thursday when Hammett asked him to come by his office, where he informed him he had learned about the FBI investigation and told him about the meeting.
Hubbard asked about the time and said Hammett called him back later to tell him that the meeting was at 1:30 p.m.
"The FBI agents and U.S. attorneys walked in. None of them were smiling. They never smiled," Hubbard said. "An FBI guy did the talking."
He said they were told there was an ongoing criminal investigation and that the officials were there to inform them as a courtesy. They were told "we have substantial evidence to believe that crimes have taken place," Hubbard said.
He said the agents told them they believed it was time for them to know about the investigation, although Hubbard said he did not know why that was.
When asked if they were talking about the bingo issue, Little said "yes" and added "everybody knew what they were talking about."
Little, D-Cullman, said people should be investigated and prosecuted if there is evidence of corruption, but said it is also a crime to lie to a federal agent. If the accusations are not true, he said he told them the accuser should be prosecuted.
"Gov. Riley has used every tool in the book to deny the people of this state the right to vote," Little told the Montgomery Advertiser.
Little commended the law enforcement and said they are bound to look into accusations.
"These folks are doing their job," he said.
Little, an attorney, and some other officials also questioned how the meeting happened, two days after the vote and pulling all of the lawmakers together to tell them about the investigation.
"If you're trying to catch the bad guys, you don't tell them you're coming," he said.
Hubbard said Little immediately said the investigation looked political and that they appeared to be trying to kill the bingo legislation.
Hubbard said they told Little they did not care whether the bill passed and were only worried about the crime. He said they told them the only people involved in the investigation were in that room.
"We asked a few questions and they gave vague answers," Hubbard said.
He said they were asked, if they were aware of any criminal activity, to cooperate and pass along the information.
Little said the investigators asked for help.
Hubbard and Little both told the Montgomery Advertiser they were not aware of any criminal activity. Hubbard said there have been rumors "all over the place."
"If there has been criminal activity, they need to be prosecuted and justice served," Hubbard said. "I don't know that it has taken place. They just said there was substantial evidence."
When contacted by the Advertiser, Guin, D-Carbon Hill, said "I'm not going to talk about that issue."
Hubbard said he called the House Republican Caucus together after the meeting, told them what occurred, and told them, as he said he has done repeatedly before, not to do anything that could be construed as quid pro quo.
"My main concern was to let our caucus know to be very careful," he said.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Colleagues mourn Beck's unexpected death

Several Republican lawmakers rushed over to the Embassy Suites on Wednesday after hearing about the death of state Rep. Warren Beck.
Beck, 65, was found dead on Wednesday at the hotel. While foul play is not suspected, an investigation is being conducted, according to an e-mail from the Alabama House of Representatives.
Beck, the former mayor of Geneva, was elected to the House of Representatives in 2002 to represent Geneva County and southern Dale County.
Rep. Joe Faust, R-Fairhope, sat beside Beck in the back of the House chamber for eight years and the men had offices across from each other in the State House. He was emotional as he talked about his colleague and his "best buddy" in the Legislature.
"I dread in the morning," Faust said of sitting in the House chamber next to Beck's empty chair.
Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, added "it will be tough with that vacant seat."
"I just can't believe it," said Rep. Harry Shiver, R-Bay Minette.
Shiver said he spent time with Beck on Tuesday and would get up at 3 a.m. to drive hours to eat breakfast with Beck.
"He was the kind of guy you would drive three hours for," he said.
Faust, Beck and other lawmakers who sat nearby would often joke with each other and those speaking at the podium.
Because Beck often joked in the chamber and during committee meetings, Faust said some people thought he was carefree.
"He wasn't. He really had a heart for what he was doing," he said.
When considering serious legislation, Faust said Beck gave serious thought to the issues.
Beck recently announced that he was one of a few Republicans who would support legislation to let people vote on whether they wanted to tax and regulate electronic bingo in the state.
The lawmakers said Beck still preferred to be referred to as mayor.
"He loved being called mayor of Geneva," Baker said.
Beck, who was involved in the insurance industry, had two children and four grandchildren, according to the Web site for the House of Representatives.
Faust and his wife, Sharon, said Beck had lost two wives and had married his high school sweetheart in the last year.
"Everybody loved Warren Beck," Faust said. "He was one good guy. In my opinion, he's just as good as gold."
Baker said they learned about the death from a clerk while they were in a committee meeting at the State House. They arrived as the body was being removed from the hotel.
Beck, according to his colleagues, had called in a prescription for cough syrup and had skipped a reception on Tuesday night to rest.
Faust said Beck was found with his hands on his chest.
Shiver said they usually stayed at the Drury Inn, but that Beck was staying at the Embassy Suites this week because the Alabama Federation of Republican Women was hosting an event at the hotel.
Faust and his wife, who is participating in the event, were staying there.
Sharon Faust said she last saw Beck in the hotel about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. She said her husband had a special relationship with Beck.
At least three other legislators have died unexpectedly during the current four-year legislative term including Rep. Lea Fite, D-Jacksonville; Rep. Albert Hall, D-Gurley; and Sen. Pat Lindsey, D-Butler.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen