My weekly column ran in the Wednesday and Saturday editions of the Prattville Progress:

I must give kudos to Governor Bob Riley for his opinion piece that ran in a number of newspapers across the state this past Sunday. Those who follow Alabama politics know one of the major issues we face is the concentration of power in Montgomery. This wouldn’t be such a disservice if it wasn’t for the authority that has been assembled over the years under just a few un-elected individuals.

The Governor threw a strong first punch against one of these few individuals, Paul Hubbert, head of the Alabama Education Association. No one says that Paul Hubbert should not do his job and do it well, but what the Governor said in his piece and what I want to echo today is that what is in the interests of Paul Hubbert and the AEA is not necessarily what is in the interests of the state at large.

Let me preface my remarks with the fact that I value teachers and administrators a great deal, my wife puts her heart into educating children everyday and some of my closest friends and associates are teachers. They deserve the highest honor and the best pay and benefits we can offer, but that should not come at the expense of everything and everyone else in the state.

Too often in Montgomery what Paul Hubbert says goes. He is persuasive, has many friends and holds in his back pocket the threat of electoral defeat for anyone who tries to challenge him. The fact that Governor Riley is willing to take him on publicly tells me that he doesn’t care if he wins or loses the next election, and that is the only way for Alabama to win in the end. It will take more leaders to say, Paul, I don’t care if I get re-elected, what else you got? If you allow yourself to be blackmailed, you don’t deserve to be in office.

Governor Riley pointed out in his piece that Paul Hubbert re-stated his priorities in a letter to legislators. It said, “school employees hope they will be your first concern.” It is time for all of us to put the children of Alabama ahead of the interests of one powerful union. The AEA only has its power as long as the citizens of Alabama allow it.

I start by asking our representatives, Sen. Wendell Mitchell, Sen. Hank Sanders, Sen. Larry Dixon, Rep. Mac Gipson, Rep. Jack Venable, and Rep. Dick Brewbaker, will you stand with Paul Hubbert and the AEA or with the people of Alabama? Yes, we have serious issues that are bigger than this year’s budget, but one of the best places to start the process of reform is to take back the legislature by not allowing threats of electoral repercussions to sway elected officials from sound decision-making.

I sometimes use the term special interests as a catch-all too often myself. I applaud the Governor for calling one of those interests by name and spelling out to the people what his power means for the citizens of this great state. I hope he is willing to face the firestorm that will surely follow.