State Senate 7 Election (Huntsville, Reform, Sanford: sales, houses, sales tax)

[Reactionary]

The election of Dr. Parker Griffith to Congress leaves an open Senate Seat for District 7 (Huntsville).

The Primary Election is March 3, 2009. The Primary Runoff (if needed) is April 21, and the General Election is either April 21 (if no runoff) or June 9 (if runoff).

There are two Democrats running: Anthony Daniels and State Representative Laura Hall (D-10).

There are six Republicans running: Sam Givhan, Mary Scott Hunter, Allan Rhodes, Roger Richardson, Paul Sanford, and Peter Wright.

Local political blog Flashpoint (http://http://www.flashpointblog.com/2009/02/09/al-senate-district-7-candidates-answer-questionnaire/ - broken link) distributed a questionnaire to each of the candidates. Five of the six GOP candidates responded, neither of the Dems responded. Q&A at the link, plus links to all of the candidates' websites (http://http://www.flashpointblog.com/2009/01/21/state-senate-district-7-update/ - broken link).

Note that I am a contributor to the blog.

[Reactionary]

Here are the questions (http://www.flashpointblog.com/2009/01/24/alabama-senate-7th-district-candidate-questionnaire/ - broken link):

1. Alabama is currently coping with budget shortfalls that have led to 12.5% proration and forced the state to use half of the “rainy day fund.” What solution would you pursue as a state senator? If spending cuts or tax increases are involved please provide specifics.

2. What measures would you propose and/or support to increase transparency and accountability in our state government?

3. Would you support and vote for “Free the Hops” legislation?

4. Do you support eliminating the grocery sales tax? If so, then how do you propose to replace the lost revenue?

5. Would you support and vote for Initiative and Referendum?

6. Name or describe one bill that you would personally champion in the Alabama Senate. It can be a previously introduced bill or one you intend to introduce.

7. What is your position on Constitutional Reform? Would you support and vote for a Constitutional Convention?

8. What role should the state play in economic development?

9. What ideas do you support for conserving the natural (environmental) and cultural heritage of Alabama?

A Softball! Think of one question you wish we had asked and provide your answer.

[clamoore]

Why would a Democrat respond when Flashpoint is a Republican Blog?

[Reactionary]

Why not?

We're voters and constituents. Do you think that Democrats should only answer questions from Democrats - no GOP need apply?

BTW, we asked for input from a leading Alabama liberal blogger on the questions, to ensure that the questions were not ideologically biased and to represent a point of view we may not have considered.

[james_hsv]

Wow, that saved me a lot of time. Five of the six GOP candidates just lost my vote because of their answers to #7. Thanks, Reactionary!

BTW, your links in the first post don't work, there's an extra "http://" stuck in there.

[autobahn]

Here is the correct link:
Flashpoint » Blog Archive » AL Senate District 7 Candidates Answer Questionnaire (http://www.flashpointblog.com/2009/02/09/al-senate-district-7-candidates-answer-questionnaire/ - broken link)

[Reactionary]

autobahn - thanks for posting the correct link. Those link errors were due to me posting past my bedtime...

james_hsv - is the Constitutional Convention your number one issue? Why?

Note that the 'mock' Constitutional Convention will be held this weekend - and that Brian at Flashpoint is a delegate. I'm sure that he'll post about his experience.

BTW, GOP candidate Peter Wright sent his reply late, he is in favor of a Convention with reservations.

As for me, I'm concerned that the same kind of crooks who are currently in the legislature and steal education money from children would dominate a Convention.

[james_hsv]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

james_hsv - is the Constitutional Convention your number one issue? Why?

Note that the 'mock' Constitutional Convention will be held this weekend - and that Brian at Flashpoint is a delegate. I'm sure that he'll post about his experience.

BTW, GOP candidate Peter Wright sent his reply late, he is in favor of a Convention with reservations.

As for me, I'm concerned that the same kind of crooks who are currently in the legislature and steal education money from children would dominate a Convention.

A new state constitution is my gauge of whether or not a candidate is willing to bring reform to state government, even if if might destroy their political career b/c they went against such political powerhouses like ALFA (which benefit way too much from the current constitution). When I saw many of the candidates express support for "piece-by-piece" reform, I was surprised and depressed. That's exactly what Chinese government officials say about bringing democracy to their country! It also tells me that these candidates are satisfied with the status quo, and they're afraid of/not willing to change.

I'm also surprised at how many of our elected officials don't support a voter referendum for a constitutional convention. It's like they're afraid of what might happen. The current constitution gives the Legislature too much power, and that's the problem.... they like it that way. They like to be able to give themselves 60% pay raises and get away with it. They like to have control and waste time over (what should be) local issues like sales taxes.

And while a constitutional convention (especially in Alabama) always runs the risk of being overrun by special interests, I think anything will be better than the one we have now- a 108-year-old over sized rag originally written by rich white men in secrecy. Plus, I think any new constitution will be voted on by the people before it is put into place, but I can't be 100% sure-- haven't had the opportunity to vote on a constitution before. And, with the broad scope of the media these days, I'm sure anything "suspicious" or "crooked" will be pointed out and scrutinized to death.

I didn't know the mock constitution was coming that soon. I thought it was later this year. That should be an interesting thing to watch.

[Reactionary]

Thanks for the discussion james_hsv.

I think anything will be better than the one we have now- a 108-year-old over sized rag originally written by rich white men in secrecy.

The "evil" in the 1901 Constitution is gone, either by Amendment or US Constitutional Law, none of the racist stuff applies anymore. As to the size, a Constitutional Convention might trim it down, but unless they make major changes like 'Home Rule' (possible, but unlikely, as legislators and interests will comprise the delegates) all of the 'local' amendments have to stay in the new document.

Not that the 1901 Constitution is Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, but those who complain that "It's a Thick Book" remind me of the Emperor saying Mozart's work had "too many notes".

Plus, I think any new constitution will be voted on by the people before it is put into place, but I can't be 100% sure-- haven't had the opportunity to vote on a constitution before.

A new Constitution would go through the same process as an amendment, just like an "Article by article" incremental rewrite as suggested by the GOP candidates would undergo. In fact, the Article by article rewrite has a history of success (IIRC the Judicial article was rewritten and approved by voters).

And, with the broad scope of the media these days, I'm sure anything "suspicious" or "crooked" will be pointed out and scrutinized to death.

John Edwards. I don't think that the media will scrutinize it much, the newspapers are already in favor of it. It's a very emotional issue to those who support a new Constitution.

At least the GOP candidates think enough about the voters to make their positions public.

[james_hsv]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Thanks for the discussion james_hsv.

Anytime. Constitutional reform is one of my favorite topics of discussion. Problem is, just about everybody I know (most of them die-hard Republicans) is in favor of a convention. It gets kinda boring when everyone agrees with you.

My main problem with "piece-by-piece" constitutional reform is... it takes too long. While there might have been little victories here and there over the years, little, if any, piece-by-piece reform has come out in my lifetime. It's not going to happen, at least not as fast as it should, if we let politicians do things their way and at their leisure. Piece-by-piece allows politicians to procrastinate on reform as long as they want. A majority "yes" vote on a convention, however, gives them a mandate that the state wants change now. Like I said before, lawmakers (99% of them) and organizations (ALFA) like the power granted to them under the current constitution. They're not going to change anything if they don't have to. So, I think there are only 2 options: 1) Vote 'em all out, or 2) Write up a new constitution. And out of those two options, in my opinion, a constitutional convention is our best (and quickest) chance for true, sweeping reform in state government.

I don't think the constitutional convention will comprise of legislators and special interests as delegates; hopefully most of the delegates (who, IIRC, will be voted on in another special election) will be there for one thing: to change the state for the better, for all. However, I do agree that the convention does stand a good chance of being compromised by special interests. This is where the "broad scope of the media" I was talking about comes in. Yeah, the newspapers have been all for constitutional reform for years, but hopefully they'll do their jobs and investigate what the "good ol' boys" try to sneak in the new constitution that might hamper reform. But, hey, who reads just the newspaper anymore? We're both bloggers; you know as well as I do that many people these days read and write blogs, and I think they will be a major source of critical analysis when and if a convention happens. And what about John Edwards? I thought the media scrutinized him quite a bit... hopefully we're talking about the same, ahem, "encounter."

At least the GOP candidates think enough about the voters to make their positions public.

True, and I thank them for actually taking the time to answer the questions you guys at Flashpoint gave them. Too bad none of them have a platform that I can feel comfortable voting for, and with the Democrats only having a current state representative and someone I don't know anything about, I probably won't be voting for one of them either. Guess I'll have to close my eyes and pick one at random come election day... Ok, maybe it won't be that bad, but it's going to be a tough decision.

BTW, Reactionary, you said earlier that another candidate responded late to the Flashpoint questionnaire. Will you guys be posting their response?