Senate Hopefuls Face off at Forum

Published by the Mobile Press Register

Senate hopefuls face off at forum
But with five Republicans squaring off in one race, how will voters choose?

Thursday, July 26, 2007

By DAVID FERRARA
Staff Reporter

FAIRHOPE -- For 1½ hours, six candidates debated what they considered Baldwin County's most vital topics: managing growth, keeping the environment clean, revising the state constitution and clamping down on illegal immigration.
But leaving the Civic Center Tuesday night, Fairhope resident Flo Schneider couldn't decide who would best replace Bradley Byrne in State Senate District 32.
"There was no one statement that would make me vote for one person," she said.

Many of the candidates -- five of them Republican -- seemed to have taken the same sides on the issues, she said. She thought the comments from A.J. Cooper stood out.
But he's a Democrat, raising the question of whether he can win in a district that is weighted so heavily Republican. Throughout the forum, Cooper appeared poised to stir up his potential GOP opponents.
In opening remarks, responding to a general question about the county's most pressing issues, Cooper -- Prichard's former mayor -- told the crowd of about 200 that despite his Democratic affiliation, "I believe in God, guns, grits and gumption."
The South Baldwin County Republican Club is sponsoring another forum at 6 tonight, featuring the five GOP candidates, in the Orange Beach Community Center on Canal Road.
The Republican primary includes four longtime politicians -- Ed Bishop, Albert Lipscomb, Don McGriff and Randy McKinney -- and newcomer Lee "Trip" Pittman.
They'll face off Aug. 7, and if no one candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two will move on to a runoff Sept. 11.
Cooper enters the primary unopposed, though he said he's preparing himself for the Oct. 16 general election.

Tuesday's forum was moderated by Harvey Joanning, president of the Fairhope group Citizens for Responsible Government. Each of the candidates was first asked about the county's most significant challenges.
Pittman pointed to "responsible leadership." Bishop said he would propose an insurance tax credit for homeowners on the Gulf Coast. Lipscomb stressed the need for better infrastructure.
McGriff said he wanted to control the potential "unbridled growth." McKinney called illegal immigration a "serious problem." And Cooper said he'd be a senator who could "bring home the bacon."

Lipscomb, who held the seat before Byrne was elected in 2002 and later served on the Baldwin County Commission, encouraged voters to check his record.
McGriff, like many of the other candidates, said he didn't want to raise taxes and pointed to his effective work with other local officials, including his job as the county's GOP chairman.
McKinney, who serves on the Alabama state school board, said he wanted to "make a positive difference in the lives of others."
Pittman called for "effective leadership," and highlighted his business background and work on the county's Planning and Zoning Commission. He wanted to "to preserve and foster our quality of life in Baldwin County," he said.
Bishop reminded the audience of his deep roots in Baldwin County and his 30 years as an elected official. "Everything we've got has been right here in this community," he said. "I have a passion for this county."
Cooper, a Fairhope lawyer who has worked in various government jobs, called upon the voters to elect, "not a politician but a real person for real people."
In sequential response to questions submitted by residents before the forum, the candidates touched on each of those topics as they sought to distinguish themselves from the group.

The forum bubbled up somewhat when the candidates were asked about water quality, and strayed from the question.
"You need one Democrat in the Democratic-controlled Senate and the Democratic controlled House and bring home some bacon for Baldwin County," Cooper said.
Lipscomb responded: "I'm sure Mr. Cooper knows but he must not remember that Sen. Pat Lindsey is on the Baldwin County delegation and Sen. Pat Lindsey is a Democrat." Lindsey, D-Butler, is the senator for State District 22, which covers northern and some central portions of the county. Next to speak, McGriff jumped on Cooper's comment. "I don't have to go to Montgomery and prove my Republicanism," he said. "I'm going up there to work with everybody -- and not for bacon -- I'm going up there to work for the good of this county." He then turned left and took a jab at McKinney, who works in the real estate business, saying he didn't want realtors "deciding how we grow."
McKinney countered: "Realtors are participating in the process. They're not trying to tell you how to do it. They're very interested in trying to find solutions."
The candidates were also asked about an ongoing debate over rewriting the Alabama constitution, which was penned in 1901.
While Lipscomb agreed with the other candidates that "article-by-article" reform could work, he appeared less resolute about potential changes.
"If you're not careful, the door can be opened even for additional taxation," he said. "There were questions -- even when the racist language was segregated, if I can say it that way, and separated to stand alone -- that there was not support to move it forward. There should be unanimous consent."