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January 11, 2002 If Gov. Don Siegelman has truly made revision of Alabama’s 101-year-old antiquated, repressive and reactionary constitution an issue in this year’s gubernatorial race, as he attempted to do in his Tuesday night “State of the State” address on the opening day of the 2002 regular session of the Alabama Legislature, perhaps it would be instructive to examine what his main rivals for the office are saying about constitutional reform: • Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bishop, Siegelman’s only announced opponent for the Democratic nomination for governor, says he is in favor of the Legislature rewriting the constitution article by article and having the voters ratify or turn them down one by one. That way, Bishop says, the public can better understand what is in each article and will be more likely to approve them. “When the public does not understand what you are doing on a constitutional amendment, they will vote against it,” Bishop, who does not favor a full blown constitutional convention, says accurately. • Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Riley advocated constitutional revision when he kicked off his campaign in July and says he wants to do it through a constitutional convention which would be made up of both elected delegates and delegates appointed by various branches of government. What ever comes out of such a convention would also have to be passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor before going on to a vote of the people. Riley was also critical of Siegelman for coming to the cause of constitutional reform relatively late, likening him to “someone who joined the parade on the last block and then acted as if he were the grand marshal the whole way.” • Lt. Gov. Steve Windom, who has his own limited home rule package to introduce in the current legislative session, also favors a convention, though he says he does not think the Legislature will be able to set one up in this, an election year. While not specifying how he would select delegates to the convention, Windom, a Republican said he hopes “we can make it truly a people’s convention.” • Greenville businessman Tim James, son of former Gov. Fob James and a Republican, is the only candidate in either party to flatly reject the whole concept of constitutional revision. Sounding much like his father, the younger James contends the push to rewrite the convention is all about money and raising taxes and says if he is governor “we will never allow an entire rewrite of the Alabama Constitution.” “Bob Riley, Don Siegelman and Steve Windom are three peas in a pod on this issue,” James adds. In his “State of the State” address, Siegelman called on the Alabama Legislature to authorize a constitutional via a constitutional amendment which would be on the Nov. 5 general election ballot for approval or rejection. If the voters approve such a convention, it would then be held during the next term of the governor and new legislature. Siegelman has not yet specified how delegates to such a convention would be selected or how their work would be put to the people in a referendum, although he promises details within the next few days. Return to: Editorial Index |
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| Alabama Citizens for
Constitutional Reform Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 34 Montgomery, Alabama 36101-0034 E-mail: accr@constitutionalreform.org |
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