The Political Round-Up
Democrat eyes run for Congress;
Riley, Tyson playing footsie for awhile?;
'Why I oughta ...'
By Chip Drago
Mobile Bay Times
A graduate student of leadership and ethics is considering a Democratic race for Congress from Alabama's First District.
Michael Turcotte, 45, recently disclosed his prospective candidacy to the Mobile County Democratic Executive Committee. Turcotte said he hopes to formally announce his campaign once he handles some organizational items.
Born in Wisconsin, Turcotte will soon graduate from Spring Hill College with a Masters degree in Leadership and Ethics. He holds an undergraduate degree from Xavier University in Organizational Leadership. Depending on developments in his fledgling political career, Turcotte will either head to Washington or enter the MBA program at Spring Hill before going west to Gonzaga University for a doctorate in Leadership.
Turcotte fondly recalls his stint in grade school at St. Ignatius here from 1972-78 as his "impressionable years." He went to high school in Washington state and college in Ohio. His time in Mobile has had the most impact on his life, said Turcotte.
"I always wanted a degree from Spring Hill, so I came back," said Turcotte.
Turcotte acknowledged that he is a political novice.
"As a member of Congress, I’d look for solutions from either side of the aisle that will help everyone from small and big businesses to individuals from all walks of life succeed in their growth and prosperity," said Turcotte, "yet, ensuring, to the best of our abilities, future generations not be encumbered by our economical and environmental missteps."
U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, is the incumbent congressman from the First District. He has Republican opposition from Peter Gounares, a Mobile native now living in Orange Beach and involved in real estate development. The Constitution Party's David Walter, an Orange Beach businessman, has also announced his campaign for Congress.
Riley, Tyson playing footsie for awhile?
While Alabama's Republican Gov. Bob Riley shocked many political observers with his appointment this week of longtime Democratic Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr. to command the governor's anti-gambling task force, some GOP insiders were not surprised.
Riley considered tapping Tyson to succeed Bradley Byrne as chancellor of the state's two-year college system when Byrne left to launch his own GOP bid for governor, according to local Republican sources who are close to the Riley administration. Ultimately, Riley decided against Tyson, fearing that Tyson would get weak-kneed in the face of political pressure from the Alabama Education Association and its venerable honcho Paul Hubbert.
"Why, I oughta ..."
The on-going war between GOP gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne and the Alabama Education Association's Paul Hubbert has found its way to Facebook.
Wade Perry, who heads the AEA's chapter in Mobile, has created an "I knew Bradley Byrne when he was a liberal Democrat" page on Facebook.
Its purpose:
"This is a page for interested
parties who knew Bradley
Byrne back in the day to share
their stories.
For example, if you worked
with Bradley to help elect
Democrats like Roger Bedford,
Bill Clinton, or Herman
Thomas ... post up.
If you just supported Bradley because he supported higher taxes for public education ... share your story here.
If you were a New South Coalition member with Bradley Byrne, tell us about it."
Byrne served on the state School Board as a Democrat. He switched parties in the 1990's and was later elected to the state Senate as a Republican representing Baldwin County.
Byrne spokesperson Marty Sullivan said the "absurd online attack" is a sign of Byrne's growing strength and his opposition's desperation to thwart his reform-minded administration.
She described Perry as "a known political operative for the AEA" and, furthermore, an ingrate.
"When Wade was a young man, Bradley gave him the opportunity to work at his law firm so he could gain some experience," said Sullivan. "I guess this is how he repays a kindness --- by doing the bidding of his union boss Paul Hubbert and trying to smear Bradley."
According to Sullivan, Byrne, even as a Democrat, was a conservative, not a liberal.
"Like so many Republican voters in Alabama today, Bradley turned away from the Democratic party more than 15 years ago when its liberal agenda left no room for conservatives like him ...," said Sullivan. "The bottom line is this: Folks should take this kind of stuff for what it’s worth. If union bosses or other candidates want to attack Bradley, they need to come out of hiding and do it publicly, instead of urging surrogates to create distasteful and untruthful attacks like this. You would think those who consider themselves worthy to lead would have a little more class and a lot more courage."
"(Byrne) should be proud," Perry countered. "He was a good Democrat."
In fact, Perry suggested that Byrne's Democratic past will likely stand him in good stead.
"I think Bradley will get some support from Democrats, certainly more than any of the other 'R' candidates," Perry said. "I think most of Bradley's supporters are sophisticated enough to understand that he 'has to say' certain things to win the nomination, but don't really think he's totally abandoned his centrist, progressive roots.
"Nobody who knows Bradley Byrne actually believes that Bradley believes every word of the Bible to be the literal truth, for example, or that he doesn't still support constitutional or tax reform," Perry said.
And, for the record, Perry said, the late former Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Jack Miller, not Byrne, hired him at the old Miller Hamilton law firm.
Elsewhere on the state political scene
Former University of Alabama football player and Montgomery attorney Jeremy Walker will challenge two-term state Rep. David Grimes in the Republican primary in June. Walker, 29, recently announced his candidacy for the Alabama House District 73 seat. It will be his first bid for public office. Among his legislative goals, he cited support for small business owners and a desire to repeal the 62 percent pay raise that legislators voted for themselves in 2007. Walker is an attorney with Haskell Slaughter in Montgomery. The GOP nominee will face Democrat Joe Hubbard in the general election in November.
Democrat Virginia Sweet will run for the Alabama House of Representatives District 43, which includes parts of north Shelby and south Jefferson counties. Sweet, 61, is the former executive director of The Women's Fund of Greater Birmingham, which develops social change initiatives to address issues that disproportionately affect women and girls. Mary Sue McClurkin, R-Indian Springs Village, is the incumbent District 43 representative. This is Sweet's first run for political office. The Democratic primary is June 1.
