Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Friends and lawyers

  We’re continuing with our series of stories about Alabama’s most colorful governor, the legendary Big Jim Folsom. 

  Big Jim was a true politician, and he was not above straddling the fence, but at least he was honest about it. When asked a tough question about a complex or difficult issue, Ole Big Jim would simply look at the inquisitive reporter with a pensive, thoughtful, and serious look and say with a straight face: “Well you know some of my friends are for it and some of my friends are against it, and I’m always on the side of my friends.”

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - We lost some good ones in 2021

  As has been my custom for 18 years, I like for my yearend column to be a remembrance of Alabama political figures who have passed away during the year.

  We lost some good ones this year. We lost our oldest past governor, John Patterson in June.  Governor Patterson passed away at age 99 at his ancestral home in rural Tallapoosa County surrounded by his family.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Prison issue unresolved

  There were two major issues not resolved during the just-completed regular legislative session. Gambling and prisons were left on the table.

  It is foolish to not garner some revenues for the state from gambling. However, it is not imperative that the problem be solved.

  The prison problem is another question. It has to be addressed. The federal courts will take over Alabama’s prisons and tell the governor and legislature what to do to resolve the crisis. The federal courts will win that fight every day of the week. They will act and give the legislature the bill for the expenses.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: We have six living former governors. How are they doing?

  Gov. John Patterson is our oldest living chief executive. Patterson is 99 years old and living on his ancestral family farm in rural Tallapoosa County in an obscure area named Goldville. Patterson is a legend in Alabama politics. He was governor from 1958-1962. He has the distinction of being the only person to beat George Wallace in a governor’s race in the Heart of Dixie. When he was elected in 1958, he was 37-years-old and was dubbed the “Boy Governor”. Patterson was Attorney General of Alabama for a term prior to being governor and served several decades on the Court of Criminal Appeals after his governorship.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - The story of Floyd Mann

  One of the legendary figures in Alabama political lore is Floyd Mann.

  Colonel Mann was Alabama Public Safety Director for two governors. His lifetime friend, John Patterson, made him his director while he was governor (1958-1962), and Gov. Albert Brewer chose Colonel Mann to be his director while he was governor (1968-1970). 

  The public safety director in those days was referred to as the Head of the State Troopers. It was during the Patterson administration that Mann made his mark in Alabama history.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - The Phenix City story

  There are very few Alabamians left who remember the 1950s story of Phenix City, Alabama. After World War II, a good many of the military soldiers, enlisted men, stayed on for a while.  A host of them was stationed at Ft. Benning in Columbus, Georgia. As many of you know, Columbus, Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama are essentially the same city. They are only separated by a bridge and the Chattahoochee River.

  Phenix City figured that these soldiers needed some entertainment, so our border city became the poor man’s Las Vegas and Guadalajara, Mexico rolled into one. Phenix City became known as the most sinful place in America. It was openly run by a tough redneck mafia that made the New York mafia look like choir boys.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Tales from the Elite

  Alabama’s most famous political restaurant and watering hole for 50 years was Montgomery’s Elite Restaurant. Until it closed around 1995, the Elite (pronounced “E-light”) was the place to eat and be seen. Many a political deal was struck at its back tables.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Where are they now?

  A good friend and loyal reader suggested to me that he would like to see a column titled, “Where Are They Now?” Then I ran into former Gov. Albert Brewer at a Birmingham restaurant and it prompted me to do that column.

  Governor Brewer has always been admired by Alabamians as one of the finest people to have ever served in state government. I got to know him when I was a young page in the Alabama House of Representatives and Brewer was a youthful Speaker of the House. In fact, he has the distinction of being the youngest Speaker in state history. He was elected to the House from Morgan County at 28 and became Speaker during only his second term at age 33.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: The rise of George C. Wallace

  The 1962 Alabama governor’s race really began in 1958. The governor’s office and the race for it was the big show in Alabama politics in that era. Being a U.S. Senator was secondary in Alabama politics. Governor is still probably the most important and glamorous political position today, but it certainly was at that time.

  Television had not come into its own. Most Alabamians did not own a television. There were no southern major league baseball teams to follow, such as the Atlanta Braves who were still in Milwaukee at that time. The closest team was the St. Louis Cardinals and they were miles away and not really in the south. The Grand Ole Opry was only on the radio on Saturday night. Therefore, southerners had to include politics as a prime source of their entertainment.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: How segregation ruled the ’58 governor’s race

  As the 1958 Alabama governor’s race dawned, the shadow of Big Jim Folsom loomed over the scene. Even though Big Jim could not be on the ballot, because the Alabama Constitution prohibited a governor from succeeding himself, his larger than life presence was pervasive.

  Although Big Jim was prohibited from seeking a record third term in 1958, the aspirants could not decide if they wanted his support or not. On one hand he was popular with rural Alabamians, but on the other hand, his second term had been as tumultuous and chaotic as his first and probably more scandalous and corrupt.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: The Rural advantage

  Writers and historians have done extensive research over the years seeking to ascertain how our nation’s leaders reached their pinnacle of power. These exhaustive studies have delved into the personas from every angle imaginable. Most of these analyses begin with someone’s childhood.

  Being a student of Alabama politics, allow me to share with you my study of the backgrounds of our governors. My assessment is that in the past six decades small town boys succeed. It may be because Alabama was made up of small towns in the past generations that almost all of our governors have hailed from small towns. My assumption is that growing up in a small town allows someone to develop confidence and leadership abilities that give them an advantage.