AL-05: Who is Taze Shepard?

by: mooncat

Thu Feb 04, 2010 at 23:11:16 PM CST

Taze (pronounced taz, like in Tasmanian) Shepard is a guy with a funny name, but he's dead serious about public service and sounds serious as a heart attack about getting into the AL-05 race. This bio information on Shepard was included in a previous post:

He's an attorney with Sparkman, Shepard and Morris in Huntsville. He has a J.D. from the University of Alabama Law School, a B.A. in history from Dartmouth and an A.A. from Eton. Before y'all start in about being educated on the East Coast and even Across the Pond, let me remind you that this is North Alabama where we know the value a good education. And, much as I dislike dynastic politics, I am compelled to mention that Taze Shepard is the grandson of the late Sen. John Sparkman, the man who put the "rocket" in Rocket City.

Taze Shepard's father, Tazewell Shepard, Jr., was Naval Aide to President John F. Kennedy and Taze himself clerked for the Director of the FDIC, was a U.S. Senate staffer in the 1970's, was elected to the Alabama State Board of Education in 1990. Dr. Mary Jane Caylor primaried him out of that post in 1994, possibly because he advocated teacher performance evaluations. That last bit deserves further checking, but I remember teacher testing was an extremely controversial issue back then. Taze Shepard returned to Huntsville about 30 years ago, established a law career, and he and his wife Pam have raised their children here. They live in the house Sen. Sparkman purchased in 1962.

While we had the opportunity today, LiA recorded a short interview with Taze Shepard, prospective candidate for AL-05, intending to post it when he formally kicked off his campaign. Since Ken Bonner of The Daily Sentinel posted Shepard's intentions this afternoon, and it was picked up by CQ Politics, The Hotline (subscription), WAAY, and probably others, we'll share a short clip tonight, by way of introducing you to a man who may become the next Congressman from North Alabama.

I first had some friends come to me and say, "You know how badly things are going for us in Congress right now. We think you are the person who needs to do something about it" ... Then I went out to see friends in Jackson County, I've been to Lawrence County, I've been in Limestone County and Morgan County as well as here, and the response has been so positive.
People who feel that no one is listening to them on the federal level, who feel that nothing is getting done on the federal level and how much we need strong representation, but also representation that can work with people, rather than insulting them in public, to get things done. And that's what I intend to do to help everyone in the district.

To borrow an analogy from Jess Brown, Taze Shepard would be a submarine instead of a battleship. If our local space and technology industry survives the Parker Griffith debacle, that's just the kind of persuasive, consensus building representative we'll need. Not a bomb thrower, but a quiet negotiator.

mooncat :: AL-05: Who is Taze Shepard?

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AL-05: Who is Taze Shepard? | 4 comments

A submarine instead of a battleship - I like that (0.00 / 0)

Submarines may be awfully quiet - but they're always there...

"The War in Iraq is not the disease. The War in Iraq is a symptom. Arrogance is the disease" - Bill Richardson

by: herding old cats @ Thu Feb 04, 2010 at 23:15:50 PM CST

I want him (0.00 / 0)

"To borrow an analogy from Jess Brown, Taze Shepard would be a submarine instead of a battleship. If our local space and technology industry survives the Parker Griffith debacle, that's just the kind of persuasive, consensus building representative we'll need. Not a bomb thrower, but a quiet negotiator."

That's exactly the kind of representative we need.

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by: Osborne Ink @ Fri Feb 05, 2010 at 05:35:03 AM CST

Taz says"We in N Alabama know the value a good education." (0.00 / 0)

But we are not investing enough into good educations for our kids. No money for the proper security needed in our schools. No money to make the schools they way they need to be so that children can enjoy their learning experience enough to not want to shoot one another.

I understand that "throwing money at a problem" is not always the best solution, but in the case of education, it is. I would rather all the teachers commit their full attention to teaching, rather than have "any day can be pink slip day" in the back of their mind.

July 2010 was the 14th consecutive July with sea ice extent below average. July 1996 was the last year that had above-average sea ice extent. N.S.I.D.C.

by: Dragontide @ Fri Feb 05, 2010 at 17:44:35 PM CST

A few stray thoughts (4.00 / 1)

I done made myself hongry fer some biscuits and redeye. Those of us with long enough political memories - and we all know I remember the funny way General Andy Jackson pronounced "PEE-pul" - will remember that Taze's 1994 defeat was suffered in the wake of a nasty divorce, and suffice it to say that Huntsville is (or was) enough of a small town, that every possible thing that could be whispered about him over the grits at Aunt Eunice's, was.¹ He was also dealing about that time with issues within his late grandfather's law firm, which later split. I'm not saying this to drag up dirt - most of those whispers were plain crazy - but to put potential oppo into perspective. It's been a long time since that divorce, and I don't think those whispers would get a lot of traction now, even if dug up.

Never under 60% in a general election. Taze would be an articulate and effective member of Congress. And it may even be to his advantage that he was born to John Sparkman's daughter, not his son. It gives him some distance from the sort of name-trading of which "Juniors" (Wallace, Gore, Folsom, deGraffenried, W) always seem to be accused. You also have to remember, the Senator has now been dead for 25 years, and out of office for 31. Add in 10 or 20 years for political awareness to form, and a majority of voters under 50 will only know "Sparkman" as a Drive and a high school. The family ties will still add some gravitas where it may be most needed - on the hallowed pages of such self-ordained arbiters of credibility as Roll Call and The Hill.

I do hear that Steve Raby has made a pilgrimage to retain the services of some high-powered consultants for a presumed run. One has to wonder if he hesitated too long to jump in, and let some desperate Democrats get one letter deeper in their Rolodexes looking for someone to run. Reticence aside, Raby probably brings better political instincts to a primary contest with Shepard. In either case, a Raby-Shepard primary contest promises to be more civil, and less costly to the winner, than the impending Griffith-Brooks-Philip(-Peanut?) circular firing squad. If Raby somehow again fades from the scene, look for the name of Huntsville lawyer Dan Aldridge to emerge.

¹ Just to be clear, I am not saying Dr. Caylor was the driving force behind those rumors. She didn't have to be. That kind of thing moves on its own steam in the South.

by: PubliusIX @ Sat Feb 06, 2010 at 21:56:48 PM CST