It really was a hot time in the Rocket City Wednesday evening when gubernatorial candidates Artur Davis and Ron Sparks appeared at a forum sponsored by the Rocket City Democrats. June 1st is just a couple of weeks away and over 100 people showed up to see what these candidates are all about. Davis was in his element, cool as always and seeming to get some kind of combat high from political debate. Sparks tends to be more at home glad-handing in a crowd, and looked like he'd rather be anywhere except where he was, in yet another debate with Davis. Exhaustive details are below the fold, so I'll just hit the high points here. My gut feeling is that Artur Davis has a coherent vision for moving Alabama into this century and Ron Sparks has a laundry list of ideas that might hold things together a little longer.
The state's economy is understandably a major concern for both candidates, but they approach the problem in very different ways. Sparks is essentially going for increased revenues (how much is anyone's guess) via gambling taxes to try to keep our heads above water and perhaps catch up to neighboring states like Georgia and Tennessee. It's a hope for the best approach. We might get to where they are in a few years, but they'll have left us behind again by then. Sparks said he plans to travel the world creating jobs as governor, the way he has as Ag Commissioner. His education lottery idea is borrowed from Siegelman '98 (who was inspired by the state of Georgia) and is something of a gamble itself since it requires a vote of the people -- thank the 1901 Constitution for that. The vote didn't work out in 1999 and it hasn't worked so far for bingo, either. Unfortunately, Sparks still has no Plan B in case history repeats.
Davis, on the other hand, is looking to change the game, taking a longer and wider view. He believes we should go after the structural problems that have held Alabama back while our neighbors prospered, like our outdated, regressive constitution and the sense of insider entitlement that sometimes manifests itself in outright graft and corruption. Eliminate the things that make us non-competitive and Alabama will be poised for a leap forward, instead of a holding pattern or incremental changes.
Davis is running on a nothing less than a new way of doing government in Alabama. It has the potential to upset not just the status quo in Montgomery, but the entire dynamic of state politics, should he manage to forge a new state constitution, restore the public trust and allow all levels of government to function. That would really be changing Alabama for good -- and it would pay off in economic terms, too. Right now the state can't fund mass transit, no matter how much our cities need it, because the money is required to go to roads and bridges. While our schools are falling down, big timber companies enjoy sweetheart deals that deprive rural communities of a tax base. Sparks opposes a constitutional convention, property tax reform and in fact pledges no increased taxes on anyone, even big out of state corporations. He also maintains the constitution will be in better shape when he leaves office than when he arrives, details left to the imagination of the reader. Those positions aren't compatible with real change, even if he is borrowing Davis' "change Alabama for good" slogan.
I was puzzled when Sparks cited the fact that he is a father, grandfather, veteran and businessman as apparent qualifications for office. Those are admirable conditions, but not in and of themselves compelling reasons to vote for someone to lead the state. Davis' qualifications are obvious once you've met him. He's smart, thoughtful, forward-thinking, well informed on the subject of Alabama -- and extremely persuasive. That last is an important quality for a governor, because he or she doesn't have the power to dictate to the Legislature, persuasion is everything.
Both men are obviously thinking about November, but for different reasons. Davis cautioned against overheated rhetoric in the final weeks lest a divided base cost Democrats the general election in November. Unfortunately, Sparks can't afford to worry about November yet, even as he constantly references "November", perhaps to invoke concerns that Alabama is not ready for a black governor? Sparks apparently has no lingering concerns about President Obama, though, since he invoked his name five times in a short debate. He also managed to work in a reference to Harvard and pivot off a question on Constitutional Reform to trot out a list of contributors to Davis' congressional campaigns. I'm not sure it's a good idea to remind folks that Davis is a pretty successful fundraiser at the same time you're arguing he won't be a viable candidate.
Sparks seemed rankled when Davis talked about capping campaign contributions so special interests will no longer tempt candidates with $100,000. He is the candidate most dependent on PAC contributions for his campaign finance so he may be a little sensitive on that issue. There was a sharp exchange about whether casinos should be located in low income, minority neighborhoods or not -- I let you guess who was on which side of that argument. Sparks also complained that Davis has criticized his gambling proposals in the past. After all this time in Montgomery, it seems like he would have developed a thicker skin by now.
What they will fight for: Davis will fight for a new Constitution and stronger ethics laws, Sparks will fight to legalize gambling.
On the Environment: Davis would appoint an ADEM commissioner who is not bought and sold by big business. Sparks said he made inquiries about environmental problems as Ag Commissioner and he would take care of Alabama.
On Constitutional Reform: Davis will push for a convention, with elected delegates. Sparks opposes a convention.
On Immigration: Both men would veto an Arizona-style bill. Sparks actually gave a one word answer to this question, apparently not wishing to make any substantive statement on immigration. Davis said a bit more, that we need to be inclusive.
On Gambling: Both candidates support letting the people vote on gambling and a lottery. Sparks would use the revenue for pre-k, a scholarship program and Medicare. Davis would put the gambling revenue toward the Education Trust Fund and shoring up the General Fund and transportation.
Primary season is drawing to a close, and the choices are becoming clear. Below is the complete rundown, with video and transcript, of the RCD Forum. I've included fact checking where it seemed needed, denoted by [FC#]. You'll find the corresponding note at the end of each section.
This is home. I worked in Huntsville many years ago. I grew up across the mountain here in Ft. Payne ... in North Alabama.
You've been good to me, you've elected me 2 times as Commissioner of Agriculture and I want to say thank you. I'm here to look each and every one of you in the eye and say I want your vote. And that's what I've been doing all over the state of Alabama. I want your vote. There's nobody in Alabama that I don't want their vote. When I become the governor of Alabama I'll represent everybody. I've said time and time again, if you've got something positive to say, if you've got something good for Alabama then
open my door and have a seat at my table.
Let's move Alabama forward the way it ought to go. Ladies and gentlemen, we're at a crossroads.
Alabama is economically in trouble. You know, a couple of years ago our Governor got on a fancy plane and flew to Washington, DC and he sat down with President Barack Obama. He told President Barack Obama the situation Alabama was in and President Barack Obama sent 2 billion dollars back to the state of Alabama. I haven't heard the governor say thank you, Mr. President, but I can tell you, had it not been for President Barack Obama our Legislature wouldn't have balanced their budget for the last two years.
The bottom line is, that money is gone. That money is no longer there and our governor is going to go back to Clay county and the children of Alabama won't be an issue with him any longer The senior citizens won't be an issue any longer. It's going to be an issue for the next governor of Alabama.
... If you'll elect me governor, there's on thing I'll promise you: we're going to allow you to vote whether you want gambling in this state or whether you don't. We're going to tax it and we're going use it for the special education trust fund and Medicaid . The state of Alabama is broke.
And all I've heard since I'm standing on the stage is growth. How many children are we going to drop through the cracks waiting on growth. How many senior citizens is not going to get the care that they deserve waiting on growth Ladies and gentlemen, I understand growth, that's what I've been doing for the last 7 years. I've created jobs all across Alabama. Farmers. Continue to fight for farmers so they can farm the land
... I believe that every child in Alabama deserves voluntary pre-k. There's something wrong when Georgia can educate their millionth child in pre-k and in Alabama we educate 3800 a year. [FC1] It would take us 240 years to catch Georgia and as governor that is unacceptable to me. We're going to change Alabama, and we're going to change Alabama for good.
And give every child an opportunity. Ladies and gentlemen, spending a dollar on a child in pre-k is like spending $100 on a child that's 12 years old. Every child in Alabama deserves an education. No matter whether you live in Wilcox County or Mountain Brook, Alabama. That's why I stood up against charter schools. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not prepared to spend one dime of public education money on charter schools that are only 15% successful. [FC2] The people of Alabama deserve innovative schools all over the state of Alabama. That's what I'm going to fight for.
We're going to get the education department and AEA are going to get their heads together we're going to fill out that application, we're going to get part of that Race to the Top money. We're going to make all of our schools innovative schools. That's what the people of Alabama deserve.
Not every child in Alabama will have the same opportunity. And I am a firm believer that every child that stays in school and walks across that graduation stage and receives a diploma in one hand, we ought to be giving them a scholarship in the other hand. Every child in Alabama deserves that. [FC3] That's why I am willing to fight for an education lottery so that we can pay for pre-k, so that we can pay for scholarships and give every child that opportunity. Ladies and gentlemen, the price of a college education is out of reach of an average family and we're burdening out students every day with debt. When they get out of school they've got a big debt they've got to pay. That's unacceptable.
While I sit here in Alabama and I watch Georgia give 1.2 million scholarships. There's something wrong. When I watch Florida give $20 billion to education. The state of Tennessee, 85,000 children got pre-k in Tennessee last year. 3800 got pre-k in Alabama. [FC4] Folks, that's not how you change Alabama.
You change Alabama by educating Alabama. And that has been my plan from the very beginning.
We are going to educate our children. We are no longer going to sit back and say that it's ok for children to quit school at 16 and 17 years old. Ladies and gentlemen, you know what happens, they go from the schoolhouse to the courthouse to the jailhouse. Then we go from spending $4000 a year to educate our children to spending $14000 a year to keep a man in prison. My plan is to change that because there is a stimulus package under the nose of every child in Alabama, that's a high school diploma. We need to do everything in our power to make that happen.
We need to change Alabama and the only way you change Alabama is educate our children. I'm the guy that stepped up and said we need an infrastructure program, the $100 million a year to start building roads and bridges in Alabama. But not only that, we need to put $400 million dollars on top of that so that we can replace some of these bridges thate were built 50 years ago across Alabama.
And we've got to create jobs. In Alabama today we pump 2.5 billion gallons of gasoline. If only 10% of that was alternative fuel, that means we'd need 250 million gallons of alternative fuel. That's 5 alternative fuel plants that we need to open today in Alabama today so that we can meet the needs of 10% of our gasoline. That creates jobs. That takes care of some of our wood products in Alabama.
Folks, it has been a pleasure to get up every day and fight for the farmers of Alabama.
It was a pleasure to stand on the docks of Mobile, Alabama and tell Vietnam and China , you're not going to bring your food into Alabama until it's produced at the same standard that my farmers produce it. It has been a pleasure to take a Department of Agriculture that was basically dormant and make it one of the best departments of agriculture in the United States.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you want to change Alabama, and you want to change Alabama for good, and you want to win in November, then I ask, I humbly ask for your vote and I humbly ask for your support and we'll go through November like you've never seen before.
May I begin ... with one very straightforward assertion tonight? The next governor of Alabama is on this stage right now. I'm confident of that. I look at what goes on on the Republican side right now and, they're having an interesting debate aren't they? You have Bradley Byrne who says, "I'm going to be Bob Rileys' third term." You have Tim James who says, "I'm going to be Fob James' third term." And you have Roy Moore who says -- I know where you think I'm going and I won't. But you have the debate between now, yesterday and further yesterday. I happen to think we can do better, but I want to tell you the one way we can mess it up.
If this party is as divided on the morning of June 2nd as some people want to make it divided right now, I guarantee you we will lose in November. If we have 3 weeks of tactics that would shame us as Democrats, if the final two and a half weeks of this campaign is not an appeal to our better angels but to our worst instincts, if the final two and a half weeks of this campaign is too high on what's false and too low on what's true ... Any of those things could take away the victory to which we are entitled.
Mr. Sparks, I hope you will join me tonight in pledging a campaign that doesn't have any more flyers sent out to households in Mobile or any other community, invoking race as a disqualifier. I hope that you'll join me in pledging a campaign that doesn't spend its time arguing for preserving special interest tax breaks. I hope you will join me in pledging a campaign about what is true and what is right. And if we do that, this Democratic party will take the reins of this state and will give us the state and the government that we deserve.
Now having said all that, let me talk about why I want your vote for governor. ... If you like things the way they are now. If you are content with a few powerful groups dominating Alabama as if politics were their own individual playground, if you like the fact that we have a 109 year old constitution and you want to keep it, if you believe that we are doing all we can to grow and expand this economy, if you believe we are putting our best foot forward, I'll make it real simple: I am not your candidate.
But if you want to pick up this state and move it. If you want to pick up this state and you want to build something we've never had then I ask you to walk with me this last two and a half weeks. Because ladies and gentlemen, I came back to this state 17 years ago not because I wanted to make money, I came back to this state because I believe to my core with every vestige of my being that this is the most unique and most special place in the United States of America. I love this state. I love the state of Alabama.
But, we can do better. We can take this 1901 constitution and change it and reform it and put the power in your hands to elect delegates to a constitutional convention because don't you deserve a document for now and not for 1901?
I'm amazed at what's in it. A tax code that says to mothers in Greene County that you have to pay sales taxes on baby formula.
I'm amazed at what's in it. A tax code that says to powerful out of state timber companies, you get a special break. Come to Alabama and we'll charge you virtually nothing in property taxes, while by the way we require annual appraisals for hard working families who are here.
I'm amazed at what's in it. Right now, Huntsville's economy, Birmingham's economy, Mobile's economy, would benefit from light rail mass transit. Do you know why Alabama can't put a dime on the table? Because of a constitution that was written when horses and buggies ruled the road.
I'm amazed at what's in it.
But you know the thing amazes me most? It is built on the notion of distrust. It is built on the idea that local communities cannot be trusted to do what is right and all power has to reside in Montgomery and -- Commissioner Sparks, mark this because this is a difference between us.
You like to say you don't want a new Constitution because you're afraid special interests will dominate the process -- have you been to Montgomery and talked to the Legislature recently? Walk the halls. Look and see who's outside and who makes you run a gauntlet to get in. It's the lobbyists. I want a new constitution to break their dominance down. And I give you two other things before I take my seat ...
We need a governor who is 100% committed to make our schools number one. Because you know the standard, ladies and gentlemen, you know the standard. If you coach football at Alabama and Auburn you better win a national championship, at a minimum you better be top 20, but yet we pat ourselves on the back when we move to 47th from 46th in education. Wrong priorities, wrong standards. I think we can win not just on the football field, I think we can win in the classroom, I think we can win in the University hall and those wins won't just give us a Heisman or a number one ranking, those wins will give us a future.
Last but not least, it offends me when Democrats say, oh, you know we don't want to talk about ethics reform, that's just Republicans coming to get us and stick us in front of a grand jury. Ladies and gentlemen, we ought to own ethics as a party. We ought to own the concept of ethics. Governor Riley has put an ethics reform plan on the table that is short in so many ways. Riley says we ought to disclose all gifts that lobbyists make. I want to ban lobbyists from making gifts. Riley says we ought to ban PAC to PAC transfers. I want to cap campaign contributions and stop people from being able to offer $100,000 to legislators. Riley wants to apply conflict of interest rules to the Legislature. I want to apply it to the executive branch. When they've got a record like that we ought to own ethics as Democrats, and we ought not be afraid of it. So let me bring it on home to you.
I believe this state is ready to advance. I believe this state is ready to enter the future, not at some distant point called someday, but right now. If your notion of this state is built on someday, I'm not your guy. But if you're ready for this state to move right now, come join us, come stand with us. Let us be the governor who changes Alabama for good. Ron thank you for taking my slogan, I'm glad you like it. [FC5] Let you stand with me to be the governor who changes this state for good and the governor who gives us a state we've never had.
[FC2] A 2009 Stanford University/CREDO study found that only 17% of charter students were outperforming their traditional public school counterparts. This is a rather controversial finding and I don't find any report of "15%" success rate. There is a direct correlation between strong laws and successful charter schools. Of those states with strong laws, 65 percent show positive achievement gains; of the weak states, only two demonstrate the same level of progress.
[FC3] As we have shown before, if every high school graduate in Alabama receives a scholarship, it will likely be a very small one.
[FC4] Since 1993, the Georgia HOPE program has funded approx. 1.2 million scholarship recipients.
The Florida lottery contributed $20 billion to education in that state between 1988 and 2009.
In Tennessee, the most recent figures I can find show that 18,000 (not 85,000 as Commissioner Sparks claimed) children attended state funded pre-k in the 2008-09 year. Approx. 30% of the funding for that program comes from lottery proceeds.
[FC5] True. Artur Davis was saying "I want to change Alabama for good" as early as Oct. 23, 2009 and I have heard him use it a number of times since then. This was the first time I have heard Ron Sparks say anything like that.
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Question 1: What will you do as governor to make it more difficult for companies to establish landfills for out of state garbage, to do surface coal mining, or to dump toxic coal ash from out of state in small rural communities that do not want it but are unable to effectively fight what is essentially injustice?
Ron Sparks
Artur Davis
This is our Alabama, it's our environment. As Commissioner of Agriculture, I've proven that by some of the stances I've taken. When companies came to Alabama bringing New York sludge, I was the first guy to step up and say, folks this is not going to stay in Alabama any longer than it has to. We don't mind taking our own but we don't need it from New York. When they started dumping coal ash in Perry county, I'm the first candidate that wrote letter to ADEM and said we need to check and make sure that what's coming there, that the people of Alabama have been heard and what's there is safe. Folks, it's our responsibility to take care of Alabama and as governor, we will take care of Alabama
The first and most important thing I will do in this area, I will give you an ADEM Commissioner who's not bought and sold by big business in this state. Let me tell you why we have to have it. Our state has willfully, proudly and defiantly lagged behind the rest of the country when it comes to just common sense regulations
Several years ago I went to Montgomery as a U.S. Congressman - this was outside my job description - but I went to Montgomery as a U.S. Congressman to make an argument that the Alabama Environmental Management Commission needed to appoint someone who would be an ombudsman to monitor environmental justice. I went down there just as a Congressman. As a Congressman I wrote letter to ADEM saying why don't we change the rules so that we protect our water? We used to have the 49th weakest set of water pollution laws in the United States of America. We were actually tied with Tennessee at the very bottom and our standard was 1/10th as protective as state number 45. We were allowing things to be put in our water that had 10 times a greater cancer risk than state number 45 or above. I wrote a letter asking to change that.
And last point, last year as a Congressman I wrote the EPA and joined my good colleague and my good friend John Lewis, Congressman from Atlanta ... and urged the EPA to stop running from it, to finally answer the question, is coal ash dangerous to human health? We need to answer that question. ...
Aren't we tired of Alabama selling itself on how little we protect our people? The governor needs to change that mindset.
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Question 2: Any serious modern business would have solved the issue of our embarrassing constitution years ago. What will you do to get our Constitution rewritten?
Ron Sparks
Artur Davis
Ladies and gentlemen, I can assure you one thing, that the constitution will be in better shape when I leave than when I get there. It's amazing to me that a candidate can stand up here and talk about special interests, talk about gifts to legislators, talk about hundreds of millions of dollars, and this is a candidate right here that took $400K from the health care industry. [FC6] This is a candidate right here that took $250K from the big banking industry and took mine and your consumer protections away from us. [FC7] This is a candidate right here that took $35K from big oil companies and give them a $25 billion tax break at a time that everyone of you were paying $4 a gallon. [FC8] This is a candidate that voted against everybody in this room.
Folks, the constitution is important, but ... the children of Alabama is important, too. That's what I'm hearing. I'm hearing about jobs, I'm hearing about mental health care.
I'm hearing about schools. That's what I'm hearing.
Our plate is going to be loaded for the next four years to try to pull Alabama out of the ditch because we're broke. And I can assure you you'll find the constitution in better shape in four years than you'll find it today.
We will not get a new constitution without a governor who fights for a new constitution.
And anybody running for governor who says let's do it article by article is giving you the talking points that the Republicans and ALFA cite every year. Anybody running for governor who says constitutional reform is a code word for tax increases is giving you the talking points the Republicans have used year after year. You cannot defend this document and the only argument I hear against it is ... you can't trust the people, you can't trust the election process because of special interests.
I trust the people or I wouldn't be running for governor.
Ron, I find it interesting, you trust the people to vote on gambling and I do too - I think everybody in this room ought to have a right to vote on whether gambling is legal or not -- but you don't trust them on a new constitution.
I trust you and I will give you a governor who makes a commitment to push the legislature so in 2012 you're electing delegates to a convention and in 2014 when I'm running for reelection, on the ballot with me that November will be a new constitution for a new century.
Question 2, Fact Check:
[FC6]Opensecrets lists Artur Davis' career contributions, by sector. It appears Sparks is lumping Health Professionals, Hospitals/Nursing Homes, and Pharmaceuticals/Health Products which comes to about $329K. It isn't obvious where the other $70K would come from, but even within the obvious categories, not all those donors opposed health care reform. You need to peer inside those industry categories because some of the donors within them are actually pushing reform, not opposing it. For instance, Pfizer and the American Hospital Association gave to Davis, but both actually supported the HCR bill. You can't use these aggregate contributions as evidence of a sellout without doing a lot of work to collect the time of the contribution and the position of the actual donor, not just the business sector.
[FC7]Opensecrets lists Artur Davis' career contributions, by sector. It appears Sparks is lumping Commercial Banks with Finance/Credit Companies which comes to about $259K. The vote Sparks is complaining about was the Bankruptcy Bill back in 2005. For the 2005-06 cycle, Davis received about $68K from those sectors, and was not listed as an "industry favorite."
[FC8]We have dealt with the $35,000 from Big Oil (Sparks used to say $37,000) a while back. Those contributions represent .725% of Davis' career contributions as a Congressman and ...
It appears that the $37,000 that Sparks is railing about is a combination of $14,300 in contributions in the 2002 cycle and $24,000 in the 2008 cycle.
Frankly, I'm missing the correlation between a 2003 vote and a 2008 campaign contribution. What exactly is Sparks' beef here?
Plus, the offending vote seems to have been in 2003 -- were we paying $4 a gallon then?
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Question 3: Immigration. If Alabama's Legislature passed a bill similar to that as Arizona, would you veto it?
Ron Sparks
Artur Davis
Absolutely.
I would veto it too and I wish the commissioner had taken more time to talk about why. Let me tell you why. We want to be an inclusive state, and we don't want to be a state where you can pull somebody over because they look like they might be illegal, what is that going to mean?
But since the commissioner was brief, he's left me time to answer his comments.
Look at my record ladies and gentlemen. I voted to go to the oil companies and take back their tax breaks. I voted to renegotiate their leases because they got too good a sweetheart deal in the 1990's. I voted to make the banks have to pay back their TARP money and adopt stricter executive compensation limits and I voted last year for the strongest regulatory reform bill we've ever had and the banks did not like it. And I have voted time after time against the very insurance industry that you just described, Commissioner. [FC9] Because truth be told, ... a lot of the big insurance companies wanted the health care bill that just passed because it gave them some special breaks. The big drug companies sent out an email the day before the vote saying, vote for the bill, there's good stuff in here for pharma. Now I know that you bragged that you have not read it so you may not know that.
But I want to make another point, judge us by the course of the 8 year record. I have had a record that has gotten an A rating from the NAACP, I've had a record that has been consistently the most progressive one in the delegation. I voted voted for S-CHIP, I voted for the Stimulus, I voted for the Budget, I voted for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act when these other guys just didn't get it. Talk to me about many things, but don't talk to me about standing up for the working folks in Alabama. I've been doing that for 8 years.
Question 3, Fact Check:
[FC9] Davis has a generally good voting record on consumer issues, including a vote in favor of regulation and oversight of the financial system last fall. The glaring exception is his vote for the Bankruptcy Bill back in 2005.
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Question 4: Would you let the people vote on casinos in Alabama, what is your plan for getting the lottery passed and what are your plans for the money generated?
Ron Sparks
Artur Davis
He was referring to me when he talked about the Edmund Pettus bridge
You know why I stood on the Edmund Pettus bridge? Because if I bring one job to Selma, Alabama that's more than any job that he's brought since he's been congressman. Ladies and gentlemen, I've traveled the 7th congressional district and that ... Congressman Davis has not created any jobs. There are people in Alabama that need work, Congressman.
I don't particularly want to send them to Tunica, like you told me to do the other day.
I'm tired of our children not getting the education they deserve. I've got the courage to step up to the plate and tell you that we are going to tax gambling in Alabama, and we're going to expand it if that's what people want, but you're going to have an opportunity to vote on it.
I never heard the word gambling out of his mouth until I started talking about it. [FC10] Never heard the word lottery. I can go back and show you article after article where he's criticized me. But folks, we're broke. You know, he's talking about raising the taxes of out of state timber companies.
Being a Harvard graduate, Congressman, you ought to know that you can't raise taxes on somebody out of state without raising taxes on somebody in state.
I'm not prepared to raise taxes on anybody in Alabama. And you can rest assured of that. We are going to create jobs, we are going to educate our children. We are going to pass a lottery and use that money for pre-k and scholarships. And not only do I want it, I'll fight for it.
I will absolutely let you vote on gambling because Bob Riley shouldn't decide this issue, Troy King shouldn't decide it. John Tyson shouldn't decide it. The Alabama Supreme Court shouldn't decide it. You're smarter than everybody I just mentioned, you ought to decide it. ... And you ought to be able to vote on a lottery too.
... If I become governor of this state, I am going to take those proceeds and I'm going to use them to shore up our Education Trust Fund. I'm going to use them to shore up our General Fund, I am going to shore up transportation and we'll make the hard decisions about how to spend that money. But, let me tell you something else. I am not going to stand here and tell you that the key to Alabama's economic future is putting a casino in every low income, black neighborhood in this state. I'm always interested in this, folks. A lot of people who talk about aggressive expansion of casinos, I do not see them on Research Park Drive saying lets put a casino next to that new mall where I love to go to P.F. Chang's. I don't see a lot of the most aggressive advocates of casinos saying, why don't we go to The Summit in Jefferson County and let's put a casino there. I don't see them next to the Galleria in Birmingham saying, let's put a casino there. I always see them on the banks of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, on the black side of Mobile, if I can be blunt. I see them in the Black Belt. What about casinos that they think just some people want?
So yes, we ought to allow these casinos that exist to open because they do provide jobs for folks in those communities, but I'm not going to tell you that Alabama's future is a casino in every low income black neighborhood. I want to see a steel factory. I want to see places that provide a modern economy.
Question 4, Fact Check:
[FC10]Artur Davis was asked about the Sweet Home Alabama bill in April, 2009 and said he favored letting each county decide if gambling should be allowed.
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Question 5: What are your top two priorities and what differentiates you from the other candidate?
Ron Sparks
Artur Davis
There's no doubt about it, it's pretty clear that educating our children is one of my top priorities. I'm tired of being at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to educating our children.
We're broke, we don't have any money and we've got to have revenue. If you want somebody that's going to tell you the truth, that's the truth.
Jobs. Ladies and gentlemen, we've got counties in the state that have 27% unemployment. We've got counties that have 24% unemployment. I'm going to do as governor just as I have since I've been the commissioner of agriculture.
I'm going to travel the world and create jobs. Just like I did by going to Cuba .... We are going to fight for jobs and educate our children in Alabama when I become the governor of this state.
One difference between us is consistency. Commissioner, since you've raised the question of your consistency on gambling, the very first time a reporter asked you your position on Sweet Home Alabama, a year ago, your answer was, quote, "I have moral doubts about the expansion of gambling." [FC11] Oh, a year and a half can make a difference in a campaign
Consistency. It's saying the same thing to audiences whether they're black or white, liberal or conservative, Democratic or Republican. I want to lead this whole state. And consistency means if somebody who is a $1000 supporter of yours, sends out a flyer [FC12] saying that Davis can't get but 20% of the white vote, Ron Sparks can do better --- consistency, if you're a person of fairness, consistency, if you're a person who believes in a new Alabama, would mean saying to that supporter, "You don't represent me or my values. Here's your $1000 back. Yeah, I think I'd be better than the other guy, I think I'd be a better candidate, but I denounce the garbage you sent out in the mail."
Both of us would be better than the Republicans. Both of us are at least having a debate about Alabama 's future. I love to hear Byrne and James arguing about whether we stand still or go backwards. .... Sparks and I ... we are going to keep arguing about how we build a future in this state. And isn't that the difference between Democrats and Republicans, ladies and gentlemen? We believe in building a future that is more inclusive, is better for all of us. They always, on the other side, find a way to justify going backward or standing still. I'm a Democrat because I believe in the future.
Question 5, Fact Check:
[FC11]The same article cited above, dated April, 2009, says Ron Sparks "expressed concern about the expansion of gambling." I will update if I can find a more definitive reference. However, Sparks did not mention gambling or the lottery when he kicked off his gubernatorial campaign, and did not roll out his lottery plan until July 2, 2009.
[FC12]See letter here.
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Closing Statements:
Ron Sparks
Artur Davis
Thank you to each and every one of you .... It's been an honor. ... Look forward to being on the ticket with you.
Let me tell you the difference between the two candidates.
One, I'm a father, I'm a grandfather, I'm a veteran, I got my education with the GI bill. I'm a businessman. And I love Alabama.
I've been elected 2 times statewide. There was ... only one candidate ...one Democrat in the top ten vote getters in the state of Alabama, that was Ron Sparks. That wasn't because of me, it was because of you. I know who elects me.
I'm not going to divide this state. I'm not going to stand up and tell various groups I don't want your vote. I'm going to go to every corner of this state and say I do want your vote. Let me be honest with you ladies and gentlemen, when I represent you, you're not going to have to worry about me turning my back on you.
When Artur had the opportunity to stand up with President Barack Obama, he chose not to. With a district where 20% of those people needed health care, the poorest district in the United States and the safest Democrat district. [FC13] There is no way that nobody will ever influence me to turn my back on the working men and women of Alabama. I will fight for you, I will stand strong for you, and if you stand with me we will win in November
We know how to win and we will win with your help.
Madison County has been good to me before. I've won Madison County and I plan on winning it again. I humbly ask for your support, I humbly ask for your prayers. God bless each and every one of you.
The wonderful thing about this country. You can start in a neighborhood where there is no such thing as the wrong side of the track because both sides of track are wrong
You can rise, you can advance because of the power of my God and the power of public education and the love of my mother and grandmother, and you can have a chance to make it to the governorship of this state.
God has blessed me. The people of the seventh district have blessed me with their votes and I want to give back to this state. I walked across a bridge made out of books and learning. I want to make sure that bridge is intact for young people over Alabama. I came back to this state because I saw opportunity. I want children all over this state to see what I saw.
I'm in this race because I trust the people of this state and I believe that politics can be made to work again. I want other people to look at Alabama politics and see what I see. And if anybody comes to you in this final two and a half weeks and tells you not to vote for somebody because you think somebody else is not going to vote for them, I want you to understand two things.
I didn't lose 5 of the last 6 elections in this state, but you know what, our party has. [FC14] It's a blunt fact. We will not break that streak by running one more candidate who represents a defense of the past and the status quo and invokes Republican talking points on the constitution and on tax reform. We will not break that streak. ...
If anybody tells you, well this is Alabama after all. I want you to look at them and say, yes, this is Alabama, but this is also America.
The world is watching. They're always watching Alabama. Our children are watching. Let us give them a state pointed toward the 21st century. Let us give them the state that we deserve.
God bless you, I need your help on Nov 2 and June 1st.
Closing Statements, Fact Check:
[FC13] AL-07 is neither the poorest (CA-20, as of 2008) nor the most Democratic district (at D+18, AL-07 isn't even in the top 20) in the United States.
[FC14] Democrats lost the Alabama gubernatorial race in 1986, 1990, 1994, 2002 and 2006, winning only 1998 out of the last 6 elections.
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