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‘Seth’s most qualified’
Pundit says Hammett was most qualified of 12 considering 2010 run
Published Saturday, January 17, 2009
Seth Hammett
When Speaker of the House Seth Hammett (D-Andalusia) removed his name from the list of potential candidates for governor in 2010, Alabamians lost the chance to vote for the man most qualified to be governor, one of the state’s political pundits said Friday.
“His legislative experience makes him by far the most qualified candidate of the 12 considering running,” former state representative and current lobbyist and political commentator Steve Flowers of Troy said Friday. Flowers, who sat next to Hammett in the statehouse when the two men both served in the House, said Hammett is one of the most organized people he’s ever seen.
“I sat by him for a decade. I had Hammett on one side of me and Holley on the other,” Flowers said, referring to current Sen. Jimmy Holley’s days in the House. “I never have seen anybody as organized and methodical as Seth was.”
“If you add his organizational ability to 30 years experience, including 12 as speaker, there’s no one more qualified,” Flowers said. “He’s the second most powerful figure in state government, in terms of crafting budgets and influence on public policy.”
Bob Martin, editor and publisher of The Montgomery Independent and author of a political commentary published statewide, agreed with Flowers.
“He would have been a very efficient governor,” Martin said of Hammett. “He runs the house like a business. I always thought he was a good organizer and would get things done as governor.”
It was perhaps his sister, Carolyn Davis, who manages issues in the district for him, who summed up the potential best.
“He would have been the best governor ever,” she said. “The State of Alabama would really have benefited from his even-handed management of issues and his fairness to all people.
But Davis said in some ways, her brother may be too nice to be governor.
“He’s not publicity hungry,” she said. “He’s not turning every issue so that he gets the benefit of it.”
And running for higher office would have meant spending the next two years raising money.
“It’s a shame it becomes a money issue,” Davis said. “That would have been the sole focus of his life for the next two years if he had run.”
Democrats considering entering the race include Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr., U.S. Rep. Artur Davis of Birmingham and Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks.
Artur Davis said later Friday that Hammett would have been a "formidable opponent" for candidates in the 2010 governor's race.
"But I do think that the race will miss Seth Hammett's command of state issues and his commonsense approach to government," Davis said.
Republicans considering a run for governor include Greenville businessman Tim James, Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins, Postsecondary Chancellor Bradley Byrne, Mobile Congressman Jo Bonner, Alabama Treasurer Kay Ivey, Attorney General Troy King and Alabama Republican Party chairman and state Rep. Mike Hubbard.
Hammett and the late Jimmy Clark, a Democrat from Eufaula, are the only three-term House speakers. The speaker's chief aide, Jeff Woodard, told the Associated Press Friday that Hammett expects to seek re-election and a record fourth term as the House's presiding officer.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Comments
Posted by Andalusiawatchdog (anonymous) on January 17, 2009 at 6:47 a.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by mbishop (anonymous) on January 17, 2009 at 7:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Andalusiawatchdog, Last I checked most of the people in the school system weren't simple minded, small time crooks. And I don't actually think I've ever seen anyone with just one tooth. But, if you look around Covington County at a lot of the stuff that we have that required state funding it never would've happened without Seth Hammett in office. But, whatever you're entitled to your simple minded opinion. However, you're bout the only one that thinks that.
Posted by crater (anonymous) on January 17, 2009 at 7:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Alot of things would not have happened in covington county without Seth Hammet but at whose cost did those things happen. Also, he will draw a state pension for being LBW President, he will draw a state pension for being Speaker of the House especially since he was the main one behind their 64% state raise. I guess drawing a third state pension was just too much for the back stabbing crook to handle. Thanks to people like him in Montgomery there will be school closings and programs cut in the college budgets that help the children of lower income parents attend college. There are school systems that do not have enough books for children because of cutbacks. But I guess they deserve their 3 figure incomes so they do not have to really work for a living, just sit back and steal from the working class people of the state of Alabama.
Posted by nurse (anonymous) on January 17, 2009 at 11:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Wow! Mr. Hammett's wife was a school teacher for many years and I had the privelege of being her student. I believe that Mr. Hammett would be a great assett in the Governor's seat. Mr. Hammett is a person...a real person. He always knows people when he sees them and goes out of his way to speak to them. I hope that Mr. Hammett reconsiders his decision to run for governor.
Posted by Andalusiawatchdog (anonymous) on January 17, 2009 at 6:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thats because the uneducated,simple minded,generational poverty stricken, morons of Covington County and the other counties in "south alabama" have no idea how they have missed the boat on technology development and advancment into the 21st century, because of these small time rednecks. They have prevented minimal growth to protect just a few famlies. Why don't the voters get rid of these crooks. Hammett just steals a few crumbs for you idiots once in a while and gets you temporary jobs just to benefit a few family businesses. There are just so many road projects and the majority of the money is going in just a few peoples pocket. Andalusia is a disgusting town because the voters are short sided rednecks. Wake up!!! It's 2009 and nothing has changed since the 70's. Vote them all out!
Posted by crimson1976 (anonymous) on January 18, 2009 at 12:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey watchdog, I've got an idea. How about you run for office? Or better yet, if you find residing in "south Alabama" so horrible, there are plenty of places that would be happy to have you as a member of their community. By the way, you may want to have someone proofread your post for you. (Thats=That's, famlies=families, alabama=Alabama, advancment=advancement. If not it makes it a little easier for those who read it to figure out which of the categories you fall in. (Uneducated, simpleminded, or moron)
Posted by Andalusiawatchdog (anonymous) on January 18, 2009 at 6:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey Crimson....just trying to fit in with the rest of you idiots.
Posted by Andalusiawatchdog (anonymous) on January 18, 2009 at 8:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Also Crimson......You must be the one with the "One Tooth"! Nice to meet you king!
Posted by nurse (anonymous) on January 18, 2009 at 8:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Andalusiawatchdog...you are so disrespectful. You must have venom flowing through your veins! What a miserable life you must live to feel the way you do about life in general. Seriously, why speak such vulgarities about people who have done you no harm? You state that Andalusia is a disgusting town...well, if you don't like it then move somewhere else. You are, by far, not Andalusia's watchdog...just some unhappy individual with a twisted sense of reality!
Posted by lookeyhere (anonymous) on January 18, 2009 at 10:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hahah, hey crimson that was great.
Posted by Andalusiawatchdog (anonymous) on January 18, 2009 at 10:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Instead of "Covington County" it should be called "Coverup County". From the drug dealing police/sherrif depts to the medicare fraud doctors.
Posted by lookeyhere (anonymous) on January 18, 2009 at 10:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Uh okay, not trying to start an argument. Please let me in on the names of these officers who are involved in drugs.
Posted by justice (anonymous) on January 18, 2009 at 12:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
lookeyhere i can give you several as well .
Posted by lookeyhere (anonymous) on January 18, 2009 at 12:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
justice.... Okay, Who are they?
Posted by nurse (anonymous) on January 18, 2009 at 5:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Everyone wants to threaten to name names...but no one is willing to actually do it! Sounds a little fishy to me!
Posted by lookeyhere (anonymous) on January 18, 2009 at 6:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
nurse... I was thinking the same thing.
Posted by lee (anonymous) on January 18, 2009 at 7:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Can't we all just get along???? guess not. ding ding next round.....
Posted by admin23 (anonymous) on January 19, 2009 at 10:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
And once again...this had absolutely nothing to do with law enforcement but once again we're back on to it. I think all the officers in this county should go on strike and let you idiots do their jobs for a week. Most of you wouldn't last a day. Andalusiawatchdog, were you beaten or abused as a child? You seem to have a lot of anger management issues and you should probably see a therapist. I have plenty of professional references as well as rehabilitation programs for you or justice. Since you both seem to know the officers "doing" the drugs you obviuosly have done a few with them so why don't we get you the help you need. The world would be so much happier for you both.
Posted by patwilliam (anonymous) on January 19, 2009 at 10:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is absolutely hilarious!
Posted by Andalusiawatchdog (anonymous) on January 19, 2009 at 11:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Admin....quit acting like you have a tooth!
Posted by lee (anonymous) on January 19, 2009 at 12:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh my..... Admin you are so right about this. Everybody wants to bring in the officers who do bad things and when we ask who they are. They will not say nothing. Watchdog i like to see you do what these officers do everyday and have to put up with. you couldn't do half of the work they do.....
Posted by Andalusiawatchdog (anonymous) on January 19, 2009 at 1:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Lee.....Zzzzzzzzzz yaaawn! Besides I don't want to deal drugs.
Posted by admin23 (anonymous) on January 19, 2009 at 1:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
watchdog, I have suggested removal of all of your comments. Just so you know. I feel you have been rude, quite confrontational, ignorant, and slanderizing and I hope that your comments are removed. Nothing you have said has any truth or backing to it therefore, as a blogger on this website I feel that your comments should be removed. Surely, the Star News staff will feel the same way. If not, so be it. We all know who is the ignorant one in the room.
Posted by crimson1976 (anonymous) on January 19, 2009 at 3:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What is amazing to me is the amount of comments on this story versus the Cancer Freeze fundraiser for a 5 yrear old little girl. Shameful.
Posted by walnutwilly (anonymous) on January 19, 2009 at 7:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Andalusiawatchdog, you belong in Montgomery. The comments you post on here are very much like the ones on the Montgomery Advertiser's site. Very, very ignorant. I think you just like pushing people's buttons. What an idiot.....
Posted by Andalusiawatchdog (anonymous) on January 20, 2009 at 3:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Admins a NARC! You must move out of your mothers trailer and just say NO!
Posted by harts0002 (anonymous) on January 20, 2009 at 10:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Andalusiawatchdog, it sounds to me that you are the one that needs to learn how to say NO. You have got to be on something to be as ignorant as you are. There is no possible way that you were born as stupid as what you are. None of your comments actually make any sense and have done nothing but try to start trouble, make accusations, and insult others. You have got to be about 5 years of age because I have a 13 year old son that has more sense, respect and character than you do. So if you hate this county and everyone in it so much, leave. No-one is holding you here and if for some reason you feel the need to stay in a place that you hate so much along with the people that reside in it. Do us all a favor and crawl back into the hole that you came out of and keep your stupidity to yourself.
Posted by Andalusiawatchdog (anonymous) on January 20, 2009 at 11:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
eeeeeeE
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