In the Weeds with Alabama Daily News

Hey, this is Todd Stacy. Welcome to “In the Weeds” with Alabama Daily News. My guest this episode is former Congressman Artur Davis, who is running for Mayor of Montgomery. The Capital City is in the midst of an intriguing race for the city’s top job, as Todd Strang, who has been mayor for more than ten years now, is set to retire. The open seat has invited interest from several serious candidates, including Davis, Probate Judge Steven Reed, County Commission Chairman Elton Dean, WCOV-TV owner David Woods, retired General Ed Crowell, local attorney JC Love, Pastor Ronald Davis, political newcomer Marcus McNeal, and local musician Bibby Simmons. That’s nine candidates, and there’s talk of even more getting into the race. Of course, as with any race, there are tiers of candidates. I’ve seen some polling that indicates Steven Reed and Artur Davis are pretty solidly in the top tier, with David Woods, Elton Dean, JC Love and Ed Crowell being the middle tier. With so many candidates, it’s unlikely any one of them win the 50 percent plus one needed to seal the election on August 27th. That means the goal of any campaign is to make it into the runoff, which would feature the top two candidates. August isn’t that far away, but this race is still very early. Not many voters are really tuned in yet. School is still in, the legislative session dominates a lot of the news, and there hasn’t been any significant campaign advertising yet. So, with candidates working to raise money and win support from local groups and factions, I think it’s fair to call it an open race. In fact, Mr. Davis goes through his polling in general terms toward the end. I first interviewed Steven Reed a few weeks ago, and that interview is online at aldailynews.com. We didn’t make a podcast out of it because it was more or less impromptu and I didn’t have my microphone, but the text is all there and I encourage you to read it. In fact, Congressman Davis references that interview a handful of times during our discussion. Davis and Reed are clearly rivals. That goes a long way back in Montgomery and really state politics, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more sparring going forward. As with Judge Reed, I enjoyed my conversation with Mr. Davis. I’ve followed his political career for a long time, and what a career that has been. He spent four terms in Congress representing Alabama’s 7th district, and worked his way up to a position in his party’s leadership. He was close enough with former President Barack Obama that he famously introduced him at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. It’s hard to overstate that significance. Obama was about to give his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination, and Davis was the one introducing him. After that, he ran for governor of Alabama and came up short in the primary. There were many reasons for that, but the biggest could have been his opposition to the Affordable Care Act and how his opponents used that vote to undermine his support in the black community. Then, amazingly, two years later Davis switched parties, flirted with the idea of running for Congress as a Republican in Virginia, and was a featured speaker at the 2012 Republican National Convention. By 2015, Davis was back in Montgomery engaging in local affairs and ran unsuccessfully against Mayor Todd Strange. He told the Washington Post he was back in the Democratic Party but kept a respectful relationship with Republicans. I asked Mr. Davis about the big questions in the race: how to fix education, what to do about crime and gun violence. We talked about his interesting political history and how the last mayor’s race ended a little chippy. He found that choice of words interesting, and you’ll hear that toward the end. He also made a point to specifically call out Steven Reed. By that I mean, I didn’t ask about it,

By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News This week we’re talking with Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn head football coach who has thrown his name in the hat for the U.S. Senate. I find his entrance into the race interesting for a few reasons. For one, he seems to be taking it seriously and he is being taken seriously as a candidate. He’s done a slew of media over the last ten days and done a pretty good job. Second, he’s fitting into the “outsider” lane more naturally that I thought he could. For the crowd that just doesn’t want anyone who is part of the current political establishment, a former coach who communicates well could be an attractive choice. I really enjoyed interviewing Coach Tuberville. We talked about why he decided to get in the race, what issues he really wants to press, how he plans on catching up to more experienced candidates on policy, and a little football. He spent this past week making the rounds in Montgomery meeting many of the state’s most influential official. On Thursday, he was in the State House and met with Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth, House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, and several other lawmakers. It just so happened to be the day the Auburn Basketball team was being honored at the Governor’s Mansion, so that’s why you see so many orange and blue ties. Tuberville strikes me as sincere and interested. Who knows where his candidacy will go, but for now he has brought some intrigue to the race. Here’s our interview. Todd C. Stacy: Hey, coach. Tommy Tuberville: Good morning. TCS: It is early. Thanks for allowing me a couple minutes to interview you. I saw you on TV this morning, looks like you’v been doing some media appearances. TT: Yes, been a bit of an early morning. Got up at three o’clock, put a coat and tie on. I’ve been on Fox and Friends before, but not this early in the morning, but it went good. Now we’re making rounds in Montgomery. TCS: Is that kind of like recruiting season hours or something? TT: Yeah. Really, it’s a little early for anything getting up at three in the morning. But it’s, you know, it’s a lot of fun. I’ve always kind of, you know, looked forward to working with the media, I was media friendly, you know, and all my coaching years, even when I was an assistant. I learned most of that from Jimmie Johnson, you know, the coach I work for at Miami for a few years, and then he went on to have  success and NFL to Dallas Cowboys. So, you know, always learning, treat everybody the same, but always get the most out of what you do. And explain your situation, how you want to be portrayed. And with most people, just carrying on a conversation you can find out a lot about you. TCS: Well, how has the reception been? It has been, what, 10 days? TT: Yeah, it’s been about a week and a half. Now, there’s a timeline to this whole thing. I’ve always liked politics.  I get up in the morning, you know, even when I was coaching and watching the news and was one of the few coaches who would watch C-SPAN over the years. You know, just involved. I’m a patriot, I love this country. I’ve always thought that politics was a lot like coaching. There’s always usually two teams, or maybe sometimes politics has more than two teams. And I like competing. I like to try to win. I like to build things. And so when I looked at the governor’s race, and Kay Ivey moved in, I said, you know, I think she’ll do a good job. Then I put my eye on the senate race. Of course, I had thought about  running for Senate in the [special] election that came in the emergency situation. And I didn’t have time to prepare my plan for that in the short period of time. And we lost that. Being a conservative Republican, we lost that race to a Democrat. And ever since he won,

Today’s episode features Congressman Robert Aderholt of Haleyville. Mr. Aderholt represents Alabama’s 4th Congressional District and was first elected in 1996. That makes him the Dean of Alabama’s House delegation, and he has used those 22 years in office to build valuable seniority, particularly on the Appropriations Committee. In Congress, members kind of specialize in different roles. Some are Hill Climbers, who take each step trying to be in leadership, whether it’s to be Whip, Majority Leader or the Speaker of the House. Some are bomb throwers, the kind that you see on TV all the time taking shots at the other side and trying to win the political game day to day. There are also lawmakers, who grind it out amid the various authorizing committees like Judiciary, Labor, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means attempting to actually make and amend law piece by piece. And then there are the appropriators, who spend each year crafting the twelve different spending bills that fund our government. Congressman Aderholt is an appropriator, and he’s been one since day one in Congress. That’s rare because usually it takes someone several terms to earn a spot on Appropriations. Those can be sought after positions. After all, Congress’ main responsibility is to fund the government. If you’re one of the select few that draws up those spending proposals, that can win you a lot of friends and influence. I asked Mr. Aderholt about his time on Appropriations and how he goes about the process of determining priorities. You’ll hear him talk about earmarks and how that process has changed. Just to explain, earmarks are the term used to describe budget line items set aside by an individual lawmaker for an individual purpose. So, if I’m the Congressman from Montgomery and I want $20 million for a bridge, I could put it in the Appropriations bill and that would be called an earmark for me. Only, that’s not how it works anymore. Over the years the system got abused and led to instances of serious corruption. So when John Boehner became Speaker in 2011, he banned the use of earmarking. But as you’ll hear Mr. Aderholt say, there is a lot of talk about bringing a reformed process back because, otherwise, Congress is really just ceding control of the pursestrings to the Executive Branch. Other than appropriations, we talked about trade and tariffs, and his relationship with President Trump. Mr. Aderholt has also long been involved with the Congressional Prayer Caucus, and he discussed his work with this bi-partisan group in a lot of detail. Here’s our conversation. I hope you enjoy it. Listen on iTunes HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-weeds-with-alabama-daily-news/id1452719810

There’s no question that Alabama’s Mo Brooks is one of the most outspoken Members of Congress, particularly on the issue immigration. He is relentless in his rhetoric, whether he is speaking from the House floor or appearing on Meet the Press or interviewing with your humble narrator. For this “In the Weeds” podcast, I talked to Mr. Brooks about how and why he decides to “go full bore” on a particular issue at a particular time. Mr. Brooks also talked about the rise of Democratic Socialism and warned about the country’s growing debt and deficits – something you don’t hear from Republicans that much anymore. We also talked about the prospects of Brooks getting in the U.S. Senate race in 2020. A recent poll from The Club for Growth  showed Brooks leading the field in a three way race with Byrne and Roy Moore: -Brooks 31% -Moore 25% -Byrne 25% Of course, the field likely won’t be that small. When adding in additional candidates like Marsh, Secretary of State John Merrill, and Auditor Jim Zeigler,  Brooks’ lead gets much smaller and the differences between those three squeeze between the +/-4.4 percent the margin of error. Is it enough to coax Brooks into running? He was non-committal, but he certainly talked about the Senate as being much more attractive than the House in terms of being able to get things done. One of the more interesting exchanges came when I asked about what goals he had to still accomplish in the House (committee chairmanships, leadership, etc). His response about the role of campaign fundraising on Capitol Hill was, well, on-brand. Enjoy.

By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News On this episode of “In the Weeds” with Alabama Daily News, ADN’s Caroline Beck and I… * Unpack the swift and smooth passage of Gov. Kay Ivey’s gas tax and infrastructure legislation; * Explore the different factors that played a big role in the plan’s success, namely the Port of Mobile allocations going from a liability to an asset and unity among cities and counties for local allocations; * And discuss what’s next for the Alabama Legislature as the Regular Session resumes on March 19, including the budgets and a proposed state lottery. Today’s episode features my interview with Congresswoman Terri Sewell of Alabama’s 7th District. We talked about her increased responsibilities in Congress with Democrats assuming the House majority, her new role as Chief Deputy Whip within the caucus, and her spot as Chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence’s Defense and Warfighter Support Subcommittee. She also shared with me some of what makes her tic as a leader, so to speak. So much news focuses on what drives the day, and this podcast allows us to dig into what drives the person. I asked Rep. Sewell what was different about being in the majority now versus being in the minority all those years, particular when it comes to working with her Alabama Delegation colleagues. “Yeah, it was kind of fun to have my former law school classmate as President and my ‘big sister’ as First Lady… but I think the bigger point is that the Alabama Delegation, when it comes to working on behalf of our whole state on that which we all agree – like economic development and job creation – we put party aside and do that. And I just wish we as a nation could do that more.” A special thank you to Rep. Sewell and her staff for graciously offering me the time during a very busy day. Listen by clicking below or subscribe via iTunes HERE.

By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News U.S. Senator Richard Shelby is now the longest-serving senator from the state of Alabama in history. Today (Sunday), Shelby has now served 11,748 days in the U.S. Senate, surpassing former Senator John Sparkman’s record of 11,747 days. That’s 32 years and 59 days in the Senate as of Sunday. While setting the length of service record is certainly an accomplishment unto itself, it’s the substance of those 32 years that has defined Shelby’s legacy as a prolific appropriator of funds back to his home state. Leveraging his influence on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Shelby has been responsible for dozens of major federal spending project throughout the state. Just to name a few recent ones: the build up of missile defense engineering in Huntsville; a next-generation comprehensive cancer research center at UAB; a new USDA soil laboratory at Auburn; funds to dredge the shipping channel at the Port of Mobile. Last April, Shelby reached the pinnacle of his long career by ascending to the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee. For eager constituents back home, the move signaled perhaps even more goodies could be delivered back home, and that’s probably true. But for Shelby, taking the reins of the committee meant an opportunity to reform the long-broken appropriations process. I wrote about Shelby’s plan to fix appropriations last year, and I have to say the senator called his shot. By September, the Senate had cleared spending bills making up 75 percent of the discretionary budget – a feat not seen for 20 years. But as the debate over border security got more and more heated, other appropriations measures got caught up in the fray. When I sat down with Shelby for this “In the Weeds” podcast, he was in the midst of negotiating a budget deal that would keep the federal government open and find a balance on the question of border wall funding. Days later, Shelby and fellow appropriators reached that deal, and eventually Congress passed the rest of the spending measures for the Fiscal Year. Though our interview is a bit dated with talk of the State of the Union, it’s also fascinating. Shelby talked about how and why he went on the Appropriations Committee in the first place, how he went about his mission to fix the federal spending process, his vast network of former staffers (some of whom have come back to the Shelby office), and lots more in our 20-min talk. Thank you to Sen. Shelby and his staff for graciously allowing me some time during a terribly busy week. Enjoy. Listen to the podcast below or find it on iTunes HERE.

In the latest episode of “In the Weeds” with Alabama Daily News, I unpack the infrastructure issue in three areas: the policy, the politics and the process. All three are different, but very much intertwined. What will the actual policy proposal look like? How will opposition from the ALGOP impact the chances of the legislation? What has to happen for a gas tax to actually get passed, and how will the process dictate the outcome? Go into the weeds on all of that. Plus, you’ll hear my interview with U.S. Sen. Doug Jones.We talked Medicaid, the political environment he finds himself in, and other issues. All pretty interesting, in my opinion. Listen to that latest episode on here the ADN website or on iTunes HERE.

By Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News With the news that Congressman Bradley Byrne is announcing his candidacy for U.S. Senate today, I didn’t want to wait any longer to publish a podcast of my interview with him.   I sat down with Byrne to talk about a range of issues, but we got into the Senate race and his thought process on considering a run. He also talked in depth about his unsuccessful run for governor in 2010 and the lessons he learned from that race. Also of interest to Alabama politics nerds is our recollection of the two-year college scandal and his time as chancellor cleaning up the system. It’s a long interview, some parts of which are a bit dated, so you won’t offend me if you skip ahead to the good parts.

We’re finally podcasting! In this first episode of “In the Weeds” with Alabama Daily News, Todd Stacy and Caroline Beck discuss the upcoming legislative session and some of the bills that are already getting attention. Gov. Kay Ivey joins the show as the first ever guest on “In the Weeds” to talk about a range of topics, including her leadership style, Jo Bonner coming on as Chief of Staff, the push to get more gas tax revenue to improve infrastructure, and Alabama’s new “first dog.” You can listen and subscribe on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify or right here on the ADN website.   TRANSCRIPT: Alabama Governor Kay Ivey goes “In the Weeds” with Alabama Daily News   Todd C. Stacy: Well hey, Governor Governor Kay Ivey: Hey Todd. Thank you for coming for a visit. TCS: Well, thank you for making the time you are the very first guest on this Alabama Daily News podcast. You know, that’s a really big deal for, for me and for the listeners. So thank you for for doing that. GKI:  Thank you so much. Today is also a big day for the department of revenue. They’re celebrating their 80th years of existence. It’s also the birthday of Commissioner Barnett. So I just finished up over there helping them celebrate their 80 years of being in service to the people of Alabama. TCS:  That’s great. Well, when you welcome me into this office, I realized it has been a long time since I’ve been in here and I’ve never failed to be impressed. This is just a, you know, august rom. I’ve never seen any other governor’s offices but this one it really is impressive in terms of if you’re a guest you’re coming into the Executive Office. You know, it’s just really impressive. GKI: Well, if these walls could talk we’d all be smarter wouldn’t we? TCS:  That’s right.  Well, I just wanted to have a little conversation with you about what’s going on what has been going on and what you look to to do in this term and really as the session gets going. But I heard a rumor that I wanted to confirm first. I heard that you may be a new adoptive parent… GKI: Her name is Missy. She’s a Collie dog. Got her from the Humane Society. My dog, Bear, Alabama’s first dog, died November 16 and it broke my heart. Nothing will ever replace Bear but I bought him a pretty headstone and planted him up at the cabin that he loved up on Lake Jordan. And then I started looking for another dog, and we went to the Humane Society and found her. And she’s four years old and Collie mix, and very friendly and lovable and she’s just she’s even jumping on the elevator by herself now. TCS: There was such an outpouring of you know, support… GKI: People sent cards and so many people made a contribution. Daniel even donated umpteen big sacks of dog food to the humane society and other people made contributions to different charities in honor of Bear. That was very touching. I saved all those cards and notes that came from people who made contributions. TCS: I watched the inauguration, stood right there. I mean, wonderful speech, I thought there were a lot of good speeches that day in terms of setting the agenda. Now the election is over, you know, big election the inaugural festivities are over. What happens after all the pomp and circumstance is over? GKI: Then you go to work – and I mean serious work. When I was trying to wrestle with the idea of even making a race for governor I had to face the fact that our state is facing some very difficul...

By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News Just a year into this new start up platform, we are blessed to have so many loyal readers every day. I can’t thank you enough for reading and engaging with me and the whole team at Alabama Daily News. I get asked a lot, “when are you going to start a podcast?” The answer is, now! I’ve actually been interested in doing it for a while, so I’m excited to have it finally off the ground. It’s called In the Weeds, with Alabama Daily News. That’s a common saying among politicos and wonks, most times used to say we should avoid getting too carried away with detail. So much of what we do on a daily basis is ADN is top level: we tell you what happened, why it matters, and what’s next. But every once in a while, it’s good to go deeper into the issues. In the Weeds will be a weekly podcast where we can spend a little more time on the details and take you into the heart of an issue.  We’ll also have guests! What podcast would be complete without guests? Part of my goal is pull back the curtain on Alabama politics to bring listeners in to get to know how our top public officials go about their jobs. I sat down with Governor Kay Ivey on Friday and I’ll be traveling up to Washington DC to visit with the Congressional Delegation this next week, so those are a few of the guests you can expect in the near future. So, tune in, and more importantly, subscribe! We are available on iTunes, Google Play, and most other places you get your podcasts. And, as always, you can subscribe to the Daily News for free at ALDailyNews.com. Thanks for listening! And stay tuned.