Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Cam Ward (R-Alabaster), Cumberland Law School Dean John Carroll and Democrat activist and consultant Martha Bozeman talk about the current political shocker on Good Day Alabama. Watch here.

Read more of Rick Journey’s blog here.

This morning on FOX6 News Good Day Alabama, Armistead warned Democratic office holders who want to switch parties for the “purpose of being elected next year” won’t be welcome.

The former Shelby county senator says “conservative Democrats” with a “proven track record” will be welcomed if they consider a switch.

One Montgomery insider who knows Democratic party politics well won’t make Armistead’s list: Paul Hamrick

The one-time chief of staff for former governor Don Siegelman was announced in an email from Republican Majority Leader Sen. Jabo Waggoner as a contract consultant of PR/Communications for the Senate Republican Caucus.

It immediately prompted questions from several Senate Republicans.

Armistead says he has heard from several, “I do have a problem with that. I’m getting a lot of calls as party chairman about that. He (Sen. Waggoner) says that’s not a done deal and I’ve asked him not to make that a done deal.”

Armistead says he will focus on county courthouses in 2012 where Democrats still hold a strong majority as Probate Judges and Circuit Clerks.

He dismisses perceived factions between loyalists of former Gov. Bob Riley and supporters of Gov. Robert Bentley as “inside baseball.”

Armistead says his job will be to unite any factions to focus on 2012.

Read more of Rick Journey’s blog here.

“Really, Dad, shouldn’t you consider on a case by case basis,” I recall saying.

Nope. He says he has held firm to his “No” strategy over the years.

He now appears to be among the trendsetters.

The Birmingham News Editorial page appears ready to “gum up the works” in the name of constitution reform.

Wednesday the editorial board wrote:

“The fact counties must beg for permission to perform basic functions is the main reason well more than 800 amendments weigh down the Alabama Constitution. What we have isn’t a fundamental charter spelling out citizens’ rights and state government’s responsibilities, but a string of statutory laws for state and local governments.

It makes for inefficient government on a grand scale…. Starting this election cycle, The News’ editorial board will recommend “no” votes on virtually all constitutional amendments.”

The Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform email today:

“Many of us on the Board and supporters of ACCR, Inc., and its efforts to persuade the legislature to allow the people to vote on a constitutional convention, are considering and/or planning to vote “no” on all constitutional amendments next Tuesday.

Although the ACCR, Inc, Board has not officially adopted a Just Vote No strategy, we would like to hear your opinion on the subject as we consider our legislative and advocacy options for the upcoming legislative year.”

There are four statewide amendments on the ballot this year.

AlabamaVotes.gov offers a county-by-county list of sample ballots for Tuesday’s vote.

Read more of Rick Journey’s blog here.

Amendment 1 is probably the most difficult of the 4 proposed constitutional amendments to understand on your ballot. It is very wordy, and even has some Latin thrown in there to make things extra confusing.

To get to the point, Amendment 1 has nothing to do with raising taxes or reducing taxes in any way shape or form.  It is merely a sort of addendum to an amendment passed in 2006.

If passed, then tax collection offices will receive the same percentage of money for operation that they have received since the 2006 law was passed.

Tax collection offices receive money from multiple agencies across Alabama. The 2006 amendment wrote some of the groundwork for how the proportions are doled out. The 2006 law was worded in such a way that it will leave out certain taxes in the next several years putting a higher burden to run tax collection offices on some state government agencies more than others.

There is an education element to this ballot issue as well.  If approved, some counties’ public schools could have less of their money held back in from taxes in order to support the county tax collector’s office. This provision will effect each county differently depending on how its code is written.

The Alabama Education Association supports the measure, saying it is a small amount of money and it doesn’t have a glaring impact on schools or county tax offices which need money to continue working.

A vote for Amendment 1 means you want to keep the funding stream the same. A vote against means other state government entities will collect more from the collected taxes which would take away from county tax collection offices.

Be sure to check with your particular county’s tax collection office and see how your code is written for an even more detailed impact of either approving or turning down Amendment 1.

Those words from Rep. A.J. McCampbell (D-Linden) caught on video during an ABC News investigation into lobbyists influence on statehouses across the country.

Rep. McCampbell was holding a golf club in his hand as he dismissed a college journalist’s repeated questions about his golf outing during a legislative conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

The raw video from the incident is posted on the ABC News website.

In the ABC News report that first broadcast Wednesday, Brian Ross told Diane Sawyer “in (add emphasis here) Alabama, lobbyists can give a lawmaker up to $250 a day without reporting it….completely legal.”

Ross also featured Sen. Paul Sanford (R-Huntsville) who claims a lobbyist offered $250,000 to buy his vote for the e-bingo bill.

Campbell tells Kim Chandler of the Birmingham News, “Overreacted? I don’t know… when someone puts a camera and sticks a microphone in my face and they keep doing it — I’m one of those people I don’t appreciate that. You respect my space.”

Read more of Rick Journey’s blog here.

What surprised me most during the hours we spent on the road with them?  I was most surprised that Bentley allowed me to do it at all.  If you believe the polls, he’s considerably ahead and candidates who are ahead usually do everything they can to minimize risk.  That means managing the media and reducing  access.  I hope that means he will be as transparent if he’s elected Governor.  Same for Sparks.  Neither candidate hesitated to let me follow them and go behind the scenes while they wore out microphones. 

One risk that Bentley does need to minimize, however, is not wearing his seatbelt.  I was behind him in the back seat and never noticed it.  An alert viewer who watched the story pointed it out to me.  I watched the story over again on our web site, and indeed, it does look like the seat belt was hanging from the door frame and not stretched across his chest.

To see the stories on Dr. Bentley and commissioner Sparks go to myfoxal.com… look for the “VIDEO” icon in the middle of the page and just to the right of it click where it says “Video On-Demand.”  The Sparks and Bentley stories are both in that section under Web Extra Videos.

Anderson says claims by Republican opponent Luther Strange that he has legal ties to Milton McGregor is “just a story.”

Anderson says he represents Macon county’s sheriff which has put Anderson in court several times this year over attempted raids of Victoryland by the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling.

“You’ve got to follow the law,” Anderson says about the challenge facing the next attorney general when it comes to e-bingo.

“We haven’t had a court say what’s being played at Greenetrack and Victoryland is legal or illegal.”

As for Strange, who campaigned with Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli this week, Anderson says he has never tried a case.

“I’ve tried hundreds of cases,” Anderson says, “he (Strange) is just a Washington lobbyist.”

Read more of Rick Journey’s blog here.

The headline grabbing AG considered a Tea Party favorite is campaigning for Alabama’s Republican nominee for AG, Luther Strange. Cuccinelli has been campaigning for fellow Republicans around the country.

Monday he was campaigning for a Republican candidate in Iowa.

The Strange-Cuccinelli tandem started the day on FOX6 News Good Day Alabama.

Strange says he supports Cuccinelli’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal law overhauling health care.

In September, Cuccinelli told Tea Partiers “the state’s attorneys general are the last line of defense to protect the Constitution from the federal government.”

Strange says there’s “a huge contrast” between him and Democratic nominee James Anderson on the health care overhaul and on gambling in Alabama.

Strange tried to tie Anderson to one of the 11 arrested Monday in that federal corruption probe.

“The person I’m running against is right in the middle of that debate,” Strange says, “he (Anderson) represents one of the gambling interest that’s associated with Milton McGregor.”

A spokesman for Anderson says not so.

Communications Manager Dean Argo says “James represents Macon County Sheriff David Warren, not Victoryland or Milton McGregor. James has represented Sheriff Warren for more than three years.”

Anderson appears Thursday morning on Good Day Alabama.

Read more of Rick Journey’s blog here.

You’ll hear their interaction with voters. You’ll also hear their answers about important issues in interviews I conducted while we were riding in the car and when we sat down for lunch. Sure, I asked about important issues such as jobs and gambling. But, also some personal things. For example, I wanted to hear whether Commissioner Sparks decided to change his hair style and shave his moustache as a public relations move. I wanted to know whether Dr. Bentley’s decision to change his actual name to “Doctor Robert Bentley” was a marketing move.

Plus, Bentley talks about his calluses. Sparks talks about his dog.

But, these descriptions I’m giving you don’t do the candidates – or our stories – justice. Even if I typed out everything they said, you wouldn’t get it. You have to see it and hear it to get the same feel for it. Only by doing that, do you get some sense of the candidates as real human beings. I really hope you’ll make a special effort to watch Tuesday and Wednesday at 9:30 PM. October 5th & 6th. If you don’t know who you’re voting for yet, you might learn something from these stories that helps you make up your mind. And if you do know who you’re voting for, tune in to see if I treat your candidate fairly. You might also learn something about your guy you didn’t already know.

October 5th & 6th at 9:30 PM exclusively on FOX6 News.

Thanks,

Scott Richards

News Anchor