Don Siegelman Kicks Off Race for Governor in Birmingham
by Glynn Wilson
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman kicked off his campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination for governor on Sunday at a ritzy suburban shopping mall off Highway 280 near Mountain Brook.
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| Photo by Glynn Wilson |
| Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman kickes off his fourth campaign for governor in Birmingham |
There was no bar or food of any kind, only Pepsi, an indication of a sparse campaign hampered by a federal indictment, which has made it hard to raise money and cast doubt on his ability to win the primary, the general election or serve if elected.
Siegelman kicked off his presentation by attacking Republican fixer Bill Canary, the president of the Business Council of Alabama, whose wife is the U.S. attorney in Montgomery who brought the indictment against him and deposed HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy, ostensibly for exchanging lottery campaign money for a position on a state hospital board.
Siegelman and Scrushy have denied the accusations of a quid pro quo and Siegelman dismisses the charges as "political."
"It's one of the strangest series of coincidences in the history of American politics," Siegelman said.
In 1994, Canary worked on judicial races in Alabama with GOP political operative Karl Rove, now famous for orchestrating the election and re-election of George W. Bush as president in 2000 and 2004.
In 1998, Canary and Rove ran the campaign of former Attorney General William Pryor, who now sits on the federal circuit court of appeals in Atlanta thanks to a recess appointment from Bush, which bypassed the U.S. Senate's confirmation process.
Canary also helped U.S. Attorney Alice Martin with her campaign for the criminal court of appeals, according to Siegelman's campaign literature. After she lost that race, Bush appointed Martin to the U.S. attorneys office in Birmingham, where she presided over the failed prosecutions of Scrushy and Siegelman.
In 2001, Bush appointed Canary's wife Leura as U.S. attorney in Montgomery. She empaneled a grand jury in 2003 and indicted Siegelman in 2005, just in time for the political primaries in Alabama to kick off in earnest.
Canary, now president of the Business Council of Alabama, also helped Bob Riley in his last run for Congress.
"Can it possibly be a coincidence that a man who is Bob Riley's top political consultant, who is known as a Republican fixer, has this many incidental connections to people who have sought my destruction?" Siegelman asked.
As for a platform, Siegelman said he was not going to run simply on the record of what he accomplished in his one term as governor from 1999-2003. He highlighted his first campaign promise in 1998 to get rid of the portable classrooms at the state's public schools. That feat was largely accomplished, even though the statewide lottery he proposed to pay for it failed at the polls.
"This election is not about what I did, but what we are going to do about Bob Riley's portable classrooms, popping up like mushrooms all over the state," Siegelman said to the most robust cheers and applause of the day. He spoke without notes for about 20 minutes.
He accused Riley of missing a number of important opportunities to lure more industry to the state, and he promised to be the education governor who would stand up for the public school system, to lead the effort to rewrite Alabama's outdated and racist Constitution, to "do more for seniors," and to once again push for a statewide lottery.
Siegelman never mentioned his primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley, who has largely avoided directly attacking Siegelman, except to suggest her campaign will not be marred by indictments.
Siegelman was introduced after a prayer by Cullman car dealer Mitch Smith, who said he has known Don a long time and loves him like a brother.
"I do not know of another person more qualified to be governor of Alabama than Don Siegelman," he said.
Links
AP: Siegelman Kicks Off Campaign for Governor, Targeting Riley
AP: Don Siegelman's Bio