The Anniston Star from Anniston, Alabama • Page 14

She Annision Star Pt 12 Thursday, November 2. 2005 27 state district attorneys endorse Democrat attorney general hopeful Height and size matters in race for lieutenant governor BY JAY REEVES Ow ens said he hoped he asn't "burning bridg es" ith King because he considers him a friend. "I like him as a person," Owens said, "but, if you're going to be the head prosecution person for the state, you need to be a prosecutor." Associated Press HOOVER The chief prosecutor from a staunchly Republican county joined the president falladega County District Attorney Steve Gid- LUTHER STRANGE Political party: Republican. Data of birth: March 1, 1953(53). Hometown: Born in JIM FOLSOM Political party: Democrat Date of birth: May 14, 1949(57).

Hometown: Bom in a Democrat ho heads the As' association. said King angered many prosecutors when he of the Alabama District Attorneys Association and more than two dozen other local prosecutors Wednesday to endorse Democrat John Tyson Jr. for attorney general. The Republican incumbent, Troy King, dismissed the endorsements as unimportant. Robby Owens, the longtime GOP district attorney in Shelby gomery; grew up in and Cullman; lives in Cullman.

Birmingham; grew in Sylacauga and then in Homewood; lives in Mountain Brook. Education: Bache criticized Tyson for disposing of criminal cases through plea bargains, a common practice in courts nationwide. "(Tyson is) not about politics; he 'sabout victims, getting their day in court," Giddens said. The association itself hasn't backed anyone in the race. While a handful of local prosecutors attended a news conference with Tyson, the campaign released a list of 27 district attorneys it said had endorsed Tyson.

King said the endorsements didn't mean anything. "You'd expect district attorneys toendorse each other," he said. TYSON JUL County, said he backed Tyson, 54, over Republican Troy King because of his 12 years experience as the district attorney in Mobile County. The 38-year-old King, appointed by Gov. Bob Riley, has been attorney general for years.

Fite: Says he voted for increase in taxes because it did not affect Calhoun County Continued from Page IB BY PHILLIP RA WIS Associated Press MONTGOMERY The race for lieutenant governor is a contest here size matters. Republican Luther Strange is a first-time candidate who became a household name with his "Big Luther" TV advertisements that poked fun at his 6-foot-9 frame. Democrat Jim Folsom is shorter at 6-foot-3'4. but he emphasizes his size with his campaign slogan: "the little guy 's big friend." Both are seeking a tiny office, in terms of duties: presiding over the state Senate for about one-third of the year. But if Gov.

Bob Riley is reelected on Nov. 7, he will be unable to run for another term in ,2010, and the lieutenant governor automatically will become a contender for state government's biggest job. Folsom sometimes is called "Little Jim" because hes the son of two-term Gov. James E. "Big Jim" Folsom, who stood 6-foot-8.

Folsom knows a lot about the job of lieutenant governor because he was elected to the post in 1 986 and 1990. In 1993. he moved lip to the governor office following the ethics conviction of Gov. Guy Hunt. During, his short term." he stopped the flying of the Confederate battle flag atop the state Capitol pleasing industrial recruiters who saw it as negative but angering some conservatives who accused him of stepping on Alabama's history.

Then he lured Alabama's first auto manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz, to Tuscaloosa County with a $253 million package of tax breaks and financial incentives. RepublicanFobJameswhipped Folsom in the 1994 governor's race partly by criticizing Folsom 's package for being too big. Folsom quickly left politics for the bond business. Alabama, meanwhile, recruited Toyota, Honda and Hyundai to follow Mercedes-Benz, and by the time Folsom re-entered politics this year. Mercedes-Benz widely had become viewed as a major positive rather than a negative.

Election blog As Election Day approaches, fans of politics and lovers of the plain curiosities of Alabama democracy can offer their input for The Star's online election coverage on Nov. 7. Staff writers Andy Johns and Steve Ivey will blanket the five-county area with tales from the polling front. They'll have photographs, trivia and news, with updated reporting throughout Election Day. Naturally, they'll be looking for fellow Web wanderers to talk about how the day goes and share stories for the ether of the Internet, Contact Johns at 235-3545 or ajohnsannistonstar.com qr Bachelor's degree from Jacksonville State University in 1974.

Professional background: Worked for the state Department of Industrial Relations and for Reynolds Alumi-, num after college; works for the Raymond James invest- mentfirm. Political background: Elected to the Public Service Commission in 1 978; lost a race for U.S. Senate in 1980; re-elected to the PSC in 1982; elected lieutenant governor in re-elected in 1990; moved up to governor office on April 22, 1993, following conviction of Guy Hunt; lost race for governor in 1994. Married to Marsha Folsom, who served on the Cullman Board of Education from 1995-2000 and ran unsuccessfully for the 4th Congressional Dis- trict in 2000. On the Net httpVwww.

jimfolsomjr.com In speeches, Folsom describes how Mercedes-Benz started an economic trend that transformed Alabama's economy and image. Then he talks about the automotive industry like a proud father describing the measurements of a growing child: 50,000 employees ho draw $2.2 billion annually in salaries. "And people told me it was impossible," he says. Strange, likewise, had what seemed like an impossible task lor's degree from Tulane University in 1975 and law degree from Tulane in 1979. Professional background: Worked in the Merchant Marine on an oil field supply boat in the North Sea between undergraduate school and law school; ran the Washington office of Sonat energy company from 1985to 1994; opened law practice in Birmingham in 1995; merged into Bradley, Arant, Rose and White in 1998, where he chairs the governmental affairs and economic development practice.

Political background: Making first race for public office but has been active in party politics, including founding the Red Mountain Republican Club in 1997 and chairing Bill Pryor's campaigns for attorney general in 1998and2002. On the Net httpywww. Iutherstrange.com when he entered the Republican race for lieutenant governor against a member of Alabama's most famous political family, George Wallace Jr. Strange, a lawyer and lobbyist from Mountain Brook, had worked in several Republican campaigns but never had been a candidate. Alabamians had known Wallace since he was a child making speeches for his parents, Govs.

George and Lurleen Wallace. Shelton said he was not sure if the charge mistaken but said he trusts his party has done additional research. "I don't think the party would quote something they can't back up," he said. The accusation that Fite voted for an $18 million property-tax increase is tied to the 2005 House Bill 136, Howe said. According to Clay Redden, public information officer at the House of Representatives, Fite supported that bill, which was approved 7 1 to 1 9 in the house.

But Fite said the GOP charge is inaccurate because the bill saved Calhoun County taxpayers money. It required other school districts to meet the requirement of a minimum of 10 mills of ad valorem taxes. Prior to passage of the bill, he said, Calhoun County taxpayers were compelled to help subsidize other school districts. "I voted for that (tax increase) because it does not affect Calhoun County," Fite said! "We voted to say that if you don't raise taxes, we're going to cut your funding." Redden said roll-call records indicate Fite voted to approve one income-tax-cut amendment sponsored by Rep. Spencer Collier," R-Mobile.

Fite said he did not want to comment on the vote because he did not remember it. Shelton said the vote to table the amendments wasaclear rejection of lowering taxes: "When you have a vote up and you vote to table it. it's a vote against it." Contact Matt Kasper at mkasperannistonstar.com or 235-3546. Shelton, however, said the GOP charge is accurate because Fite signed a pledge "that he wouldn't vote for any tax increases." Fite said he also takes issue with the charge that he voted to "oppose income-tax cuts for Alabama's hard-working, mid-" families." Howe cites House Bill 292 to support the charge. Fite said he voted to table six amendments because he was considering another bill to-cut "income taxes." but he said he could not remember the bill.

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