The Montgomery Advertiser from Montgomery, Alabama • 4

Montgomery Advertiser 4A Thursday, November 4, 2010 Gambling expected to be a dead issue in Ala. in 2010 them of buying and selling votes. They are scheduled for trial April 4. Bedford said he handled the bill in the spring because the governor and attorney general were at odds over what gambling was legal, and he thought the voters deserved a chance to settle the issue. Black said the issue is also not on his agenda for 2011.

Only three electronic bingo casinos run by the Poarch Creek Indians remain open in Alabama because they are under federal regulation rather than state supervision. All privately operated casinos have closed because of adverse court rulings gambling under strict regulation and taxation. But he said he doesn't expect that to come up in 2011either. Republicans' longtime minority leader in the Senate, Jabo Waggoner of Vestavia Hills, said the political climate for gambling legislation changed Tuesday when Republicans were elected to a majority in the House and Senate. "The more Republicans we have in the House and Senate, the lesser chance we have of passing any type of gambling legislation.

Republicans have historically fought gambling legislation," he said. Legislation to expand gam bling or permit new types of gambling has been introduced almost every year in the Legislature for more than a decade. In the spring 2010 session, Bedford and Black sponsored a bill to tax, expand and regulate electronic bingo casinos. The bill passed the Senate but died in the House after the FBI disclosed it was investigating allegations of vote buying. If it had passed both houses, it would not have taken effect unless approved by Alabama voters in statewide referendum.

Then on Oct. 4, federal agents arrested 11 people, including four senators and two casino owners, on charges accusing i IP' i By Phillip Rawls The Associated Press Gambling may be a dead issue for the Alabama Legislature in 2011 after dominating the state's political landscape in 2010. Two Democratic legislators who sponsored the gambling legislation in 2010, Sen. Roger Bedford of Russellville and Rep. Marcel Black of Tuscumbia, won't retain their leadership positions in the new Republican-controlled Legislature in 2011, and they said Wednesday they have no plans to try again with a gambling bill.

Republican Robert BRIEFLY Bentley names members for his transition team Robert Bentley has named 18 members to a team to help in the transition as Bentley prepares to take the governor's office on Jan. 18 from outgoing Gov. Bob Riley. Named to head the transition team was Charles McCrary, president and CEO of Alabama Power Co. Bentley said the team will help him identify ways to accomplish the goals of his administration.

He said additional members would be named later. Team members include David Bronner, CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama; outgoing House Speaker Seth Hammett and Lynn Beshear, executive director of Envision 2020 in Montgomery. The Associated Press Bentley said Wednesday he doesn't expect anyone to try to pass a pro-gambling bill because the legislative session next year will coincide with the trial of 11 people accused of buying and selling votes on a pro-gambling bill. "I doubt very seriously you'll have a senator or House member who wants to talk about bingo or gambling or anything else," he said at a news conference. Bentley, who opposes gambling, said he personally favors letting Alabama citizens have a straight up-or-down vote on whether to ban all gambling, including paper bingo, or have Loolc From Page 1A last-minute effort." Bill Stewart, a longtime political observer in the state and retired professor at the University of Alabama, said that the Republican sweep was "impressive," but it also was a protest vote against a Legislature that was perceived as corrupt.

"I think the indictments hurt," he said, "They gave the impression the Legislature was corrupt, even though that is not necessarily true because you're not guilty until you've been proven guilty." Stewart said the indictments tainted the Legislature, and because the Democrats controlled the Legislature when the indictments came down they suffered a lot of the repercussions. D'Linell Finely, a retired Auburn Montgomery political science professor, said Alabama David Bundy Advertiser Brooks Seale and other Martha Roby supporters celebrate her win Tuesday at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel Spa at the Convention Center. Alabama Dance Theatre presents "Messiah" with live accompaniment by lie Montgomery Chorale "The Little Match Girl" premiere Saturday, November 13, A shortened children's matinee. Meet Santa Clans on stage. Saturday, November 13, 7:30 pm Sunday, November 14, Reduced ticket prices! th threat of raids bv Gov.

Bob Riley's Task Force on Illegal Gambling, which maintains that the electronic bingo machines are illegal slots. Bentley said Wednesday he won't continue the task force because it's not his approach to have 100 officers stage a raid like Riley did. Instead, he said he will work with Alabama's newly elected Republican attorney general, Luther Strange, on the gambling issue. Ronnie Gilley, the indicted developer of the closed Country Crossing casino at Dothan, has vowed to reopen his electronic bingo machines after Alabama's new governor takes office in January. enough to keep him in office.

He too was swept away in the Republican tide. Stewart said McLaughlin was probably one of the more admirable members of the Alabama Legislature Democrat or Republican. "He regularly championed reform and logically shouldn't be held responsible for the misdeeds of others," he said. "But that's how voters reacted. They put them all together in one bag so to speak." Kay Ivey: The state treasurer had initially set her sights on the governor's office, but instead she will pick up a gavel to preside over the Alabama Ivey helped complete the state GOP's sweep of state wide offices by unseating Jim Folsom Jr.

At one time it was thought that Ivey's involvement with the state's Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program, which lost a significant amount of money because of a down economy, would sink her chances. But in the end it didn't seem to matter. Stewart said although voters know Ivey as treasurer, she would be a fresh face in the legislative arena. Instead of Folsom being able to pin the problems with the PACT program on Ivey, she ended up being successful in pining a reputation of partisan behavior on him because of his role in the legislative pay raise. Stewart said Ivey's win also proved that a candidate could get all kinds of endorsements as Folsom did, but in the end voters make their own decisions.

"Endorsements won't save you," he said. "The people will not be dictated to by interest groups." "Government will have to have an attitude adjustment," he said. Bentley's optimism about making big changes sterns from his party taking control of the Legislature from Democrats for the first time in 136 years and electing a Republican lieutenant governor, Kay Ivey, to preside over the Senate. It will be the first time since the lieutenant governor's office was reinstated in 1901 that a Republican governor has served with a Republican lieutenant governor. The Senate went from having 20 Democrats, 14 Republicans and one independent to having 22 Republicans, 12 Democrats and one independent.

The House went from having 60 Democrats, 33 Republicans and two vacancies to having 62 Republicans and 43 Democrats. That gives the Republicans a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and leaves them one vote short of a filibuster-proof majority in the House. going to vote for him in the first place as long as he had a 'D' beside his name." Jackson said Bright also didn't do enough to shore up support. "He did not solidify his base nor did he give his base a reason to come out and vote for him," she said. Willie Jones, director of the Cleveland Avenue YMCA, said turnout among African-Americans at the polling site there was low by midday.

"The people just haven't really gotten fired up," he said. Voters, particularly minorities, tend to show up in fewer numbers for midterm elections, political experts say. Still, said Jones, "Bobby has worked his tail off to court voters. In several African-American precincts, Bright soundly defeated Roby. Despite the loss, Bositis said Bright would make a serious competitor in a future contest.

"Given the nature of the political environment, I think that Bright ran a very good race and did quite well," said Bositis. "If he's interested in running again. I think he would win in 2012. The odds would be very much in his favor." It didn't help this election that some like Ernestine Mul-lins planned to vote for Democrats, but not for Bright or Roby. "I don't think she's right for the country," Mullins, 76, of Glenwood, said of Roby.

"And I don't want him. He backfired." Davis Theatre for the Performing Arts Tickets: 334.241.2800 Info: www.alabamadancetheatre.com Sponsors: (SKS 8 of mtiC9f''MFt 1 Republicans also were able to capitalize on the national backlash against a Democratic president and a Congress controlled by Democrats. "If you look at the Republican agenda in Alabama, they were able to tap into what people didn't like about Washington, what they didn't like about the Obama administration, and what they didn't lilve about Nancy Pelosi. "That became a big part of the state campaign, while Democrats had to try to run on purely local issues," Finley said. "They had to separate from the national party and they couldn't do it successfully because they never developed a coherent message at the state level." Number of established legislators who lost: Because the Republican sweep was so decisive, a number of top-tier Democrats also were swept out of office, most notably state Sen.

Lowell Barron, D-Fyffe, and state Rep. Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill. Both men were in charge of the committees that set the daily legislative agendas of the respective bodies in which they served. Republicans often held them personally responsible for a number of bills that never made it to the floor for debate. Finely said that he too thought that the Republicans would do well in legislative races, but he also thought that a number of long-serving Democrats would survive.

"They knocked off prominent Democrats, some who were very conservative," he said. "That was unexpected." Larkin said she believes that a number of Democratic lawmakers underestimated how Ethics From Page 1A "That's so important we need to get that out of the way," he said Wednesday. Riley's press secretary, Todd Stacy, said several legislators called the governor Wednesday to make the same suggestion, and he is considering it. "The obstacles to reform have been removed from office, and Alabama has its best opportunity now to pass reforms," Stacy said. Veteran Democratic Rep.

Marcel Black of Tuscumbia said he expects Democrats to join Republicans in focusing on Bent-ley's priorities and support 10 13 Two 8 10s 7s 32 Wallets aerbjea Im or additional dnigea. Only one $9 9 valid for muinm purpon, individual adult nibjecta Mudio location. Some ttudioa doaed on Mondaya. IS. JRonhjomrrg Advertiser moftfgtxnrvodvriiMK.com Vl v-' representative of House District 73.

Larkin said Hubbard's newcomer status likely worked in his favor because he was "untainted from the image portrayed by incumbent legislators." Larkin said that Hubbard got his name out early and campaigned on cleaning up Montgomery. Former state Rep. Jeff McLaughlin, D-Guntersville: Democratic lawmaker Jeff McLaughlin was known for not taking campaign contributions and for his ongoing crusade to end the practice of transferring money between political action committees. But his reputation as one of the Legislature's preeminent reformers wasn't Now Republicans will be the ones setting the agenda in the Legislature instead of reacting to it. They will determine the makeup of House and Senate committees and will have enough votes to pass any bill if they unite.

With that legislative authority behind him, Bentley has laid out an agenda that includes banning PAC-to-PAC transfers, giving subpoena power to the State Ethics Commission, and limiting how much lobbyists can spend and the amount of time they can have with elected officials. Recounting his own experiences with lobbyists during two terms in the Alabama House, Bntley said, "I would like to see some lobbyist-free days." Bentley is also calling for changes at the Legislature that would end the ability of a committee chairman to kill a bill without ever bringing it before the committee and that would prohibit Senate committees from acting on a bill without having a public meeting. Political observers said Bright faced challenges with his base, including defending his votes and getting Democrats to the polls. Bright voted against some of Obama's signature issues, including health care reform and the stimulus package. "He consistently voted against their interest then advertised as an independent, who voted 80 percent with the Republican leadership," said Letetia Jackson, a political consultant and grass-roots organizer based in Dothan.

Jackson called those ads a "death knell" for Bright. Bright said he voted against many of those measures because they were costly and would increase the federal debt. He said he knows the votes disappointed some constituents, but said he had to represent the majority of his conservative district. "Sometimes that hurt me with my base' he said. Edward Nettles, pastor of the Freewill Missionary Baptist Church, said that may have cost him some support.

"Many African-Americans were upset with him and some still are," said Nettles. "Some of his decisions were not in line with the Bobby Bright that we thought we knew." From the start, said Jackson, Bright played heavily to the conservative electorate in his district, "voters who were never MISTLEK much damage the legislative pay raise, which was passed in the early part of their legislative term, would inflict on their chances in 2010. "It played in to this whole notion that the Legislature is self-serving," she said. "And since there were more Democrats in the Legislature, they suffered the most." State Rep. Joe Hubbard, D-Montgomery: Though Tuesday was a night of Republican victories, there were a number of Democratic victories including one here in Montgomery County.

Political newcomer Joe Hubbard, a Democrat, defeated two-term Republican lawmaker David Grimes. Hubbard picked up 51 percent of the vote to become the next state those where they are in agreement. "We owe him that courtesy," he said Wednesday. Jim Sumner, the nonpartisan executive director of the Alabama Ethics Commission, said the emphasis by the governor-elect builds on momentum from Alabama's junior college scandal that brought down three legislators, the Jefferson County sewer scandal that resulted in 21 convictions or guilty pleas, and the recent arrest of 11 people on charges of buying or selling votes on pro-gambling legislation. "We now have all the catalysts we need to have true ethics reform in Alabama," he said.

Alabama's outgoing governor has proposed ethics and campaign finance bills for several years only to see them die in Democrat-controlled, committees. The House has passed bills to bring more disclosure to campaign finances by banning the transfer of money between political action committees, but the ban has always died in the Democratic Senate. Bright From Page 1A anti-incumbent mood. "People are awfully disenchanted with what's going on in Washington on both sides," he said. Roby's campaign harped on voter unrest with the Democratic-controlled Congress and the Obama administration.

"The voters of the second district very clearly sent the message that we're tired of Nancy Pelosi," said Roby, a Montgomery councilwoman, soon after giving her victory speech. "We're tired of the Obama agenda that is sending us down an unsustainable path, that is mortgaging away our children's future and our grandchildren's future." Roby also attributes her success to her grass-roots approach, which included a 16-county tour during the final days of the campaign. "Nothing replaces the opportunity to look a voter in the eye and shake their hand and say, 'Will you vote for she said. "Ultimately, that is probably what put us over the top." But Bright also logged thousands of miles traveling across the district. He has hit all 16 counties and regularly visited when he returned from PLUS 9 FREE Holiday Greeting Cards (Vertical or Horizontal) Choose From SO Card Designs.

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