In the Weeds with Alabama Daily News

Intro by TODD STACY, interview by CAROLINE BECK, Alabama Daily News

This week we dove into the CARES Act and specifically how much federal money the state is receiving, where it is going and how it is being spent.

To catch you up, in March Congress passed and the president signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. It provided $2 trillion dollars in payments from the treasury aimed toward propping up the nation as we headed into the breach of the pandemic. About $560 billion went to individuals and families in the form of stimulus checks, about $500 billion went to stabilize corporations and institutions to keep the economy from crumbling, about $377 billion went to small businesses as part of the popular Paycheck Protection Program. About $153 billion went to public health efforts, about $70 billion went to prop up government programs and services, and about $340 billion went to state and local governments. 

Alabama’s share of that money is $3.7 billion. That’s a lot of money when you consider our General Fund budget in 2021 is about $2.4 billion. 

As taxpayers, it is important to ask where all that money is going and how it is being spent. This past week, Alabama Daily News reporters Caroline Beck and Mary Sell did just that. Caroline filed through all the numbers to report exactly where funds are going and then went to the very top to interview Finance Director Kelly Butler about it. More on that in a minute. Mary dug specifically into Alabama’s colleges and universities, which are getting $275 million in all. I encourage you to go read both stories if you haven’t already. 

Now, CARES Act money has gotten a lot of attention recently because of the high profile fight between Gov. Kay Ivey and the Legislature over the Coronavirus Relief Fund. If you’re listening to this, I’m confident you know what happened, so I won’t rehash. But in the end, that $1.9 billion fund was appropriated to various state agencies with the Legislature holding back some in reserve. 

The other half, or roughly $1.8 billion, was allocated directly to state agencies, institutions or health care providers. According to Mr. Butler, there were already existing grant programs in place so there was no need to go through the Legislature. 

About $449 million went to health care providers, which include hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and other facilities. Hospitals are quick to point out that they only got about a third of those funds and their revenue losses totaled more than $740 million for March and April. $217 million went to K-12 education; $191 million went to Rural Health Care providers; $115 million went to laboratories for CDC-led disease prevention and enhanced detection; $132 million went to transportation grants; $64 million for child care grants; $54 million for airport; $48 million for the Governor’s emergency education relief fund, $37 million for Community Development and Service Grants through ADECA, $20 million to public housing; $16 million to low-income energy assistance; and $13 million to Head Start. 

And don’t forget the $1.9 billion the state has to dole out through the Coronavirus Relief Fund. 

All this money passing through from the federal government keeps state accountants busy, particularly at the Department of Finance. That’s the agency most responsible for processing applications, measuring the need versus the federal guidelines and being accountable for how the money is spent. 

Leading that agency is  Butler. One lobbyist recently told me Butler just became the most popular person in town and the guy to know for all those who are seeking out coronavirus. So when Caroline said she was going to interview him, I said why not do it In the Weeds?

For those that don’t know, the Finance Director is one of the most powerful positions in state government. It certainly is the highest ranking Cabinet member beyond Chief of Staff,

It has been a while since our last podcast, two months in fact. I sincerely apologize for that and I appreciate so many folks saying they missed the program. As always, the point of this podcast is to talk about politics at an in-depth level, including from interviews with various politicians and officials.

This week we are talking education, and I was pleased to sit down with State Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey. Now, the coronavirus outbreak has impacted just about every aspect of life, including on public policy. But I would argue that education has been one area most profoundly impacted, both in terms of its effect on student achievement and the long term policy implications it will bring. Most schools in Alabama took spring break either the first or second week of March and then never returned to school. The Governor’s order to close schools statewide came on March 26 with a full two months of school left. Systems scrambled to come up with learning from home options and suddenly parents became part time teachers.

Specifically in Alabama, the outbreak came at a time when the state was attempting to move forward with some policy initiatives that are aimed to improve student performance. A lot of that has been put on hold, which Dr. Mackey talks about in detail. One policy Alabama is trying to move forward with is implementation of the new Alabama Literacy Act. A lot of people are familiar with Alabama’s top rated First Class Pre-K program and the incredible difference it is making as it expands to more students throughout the state.  The same studies that show quality pre-K can improve education outcomes also show that those gains can be quickly lost if students don’t continue to grow in their learning. There’s no question that the biggest obstacle for that in Alabama is children falling behind on their ability to read and comprehend. Children who do not read at grade level by fourth grade are unlikely to graduate, which is why Alabama passed a literacy law last year with a renewed focus on early reading, identification of reading problems in students, and stronger preparation for teachers. And, yes, students are required to read on grade level before being promoted to fourth grade, an approach other states have taken with success to show for it. However, this program will not work without proper funding, and the Legislature delivered with a full $27 million appropriation that will fund summer reading camps, regional literary specialists and special support to the lowest performing schools. We have the law, we have the money, and now it’s time to implement it, and that’s no small feat. I asked Dr. Mackey about how that’s going so far and what to expect over the next year.

Perhaps the newsiest item we discussed is the department of education’s plan to build a statewide online learning portal. This would be for K-12 students whose parents may not want them to return to traditional classrooms this fall. The online platform will also be an option should school systems have to close their physical doors again. This is a big deal for a few reasons. Obviously, if done right it could be a game changer for giving parents a needed option and making sure students don’t fall further behind. But more broadly, it represents maybe the biggest single step toward school choice the state has ever seen. My understanding is that it is meant to me temporary, and in fact if could be paid for with federal coronavirus relief  money. But, if parents like this option and it works quality wise, you could see a larger proliferation of online learning in the future. We already have virtual academies like the once run by K-12, but this is much broader in scope. Anyway, that was breaking news this week and you’ll get to hear Dr. Mackey’s full discussion of that.

So here it is, my interview In the Weeds with state superintendent Dr.

Super Tuesday is upon us, and Republicans and Democrats in Alabama will be voting on races and initiatives up and down the ballot. At stake are the nominations for U.S. Senate, two open Congressional seats, a Supreme Court seat, a few appellate court seats, and President of the United States.

Despite all the anticipation it brings, sometimes Election Day is boring with little actually happening during the daylight hours. Alabama Daily News Publisher Todd Stacy and award-winning political consultant David Mowery have you covered with a new “In the Weeds” podcast full of commentary about all the races on the ballot, plus the constitutional amendment on education governance.

Presidential, Senate races on Alabama’s Super Tuesday ballot

 

 

By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Bradley Byrne is a fighter.

That’s what Alabama’s 1st District Congressman says differentiates him from the field of other candidates in the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, and there’s plenty of evidence that his previous experience backs that up. Over a political career that has taken him from the state school board and the State Senate to the Alabama Community College System chancellor’s office and the U.S. House of Representatives, Byrne’s fights have been famous.

Perhaps the most successful was Byrne’s bout with the state’s two-year college system, which had been mired in a patronage scandal until he, a reform-minded governor and federal prosecutors came in to clean it up.

Perhaps the least successful was his run for governor in 2010 that saw him on a quixotic quest to take on the then-all-powerful state teachers’ association, only for that group to marshal untold resources to defeat him in the end.

Now Byrne finds himself in the middle of another high-profile fight as he seeks to win a U.S. Senate seat by first outmatching two better-known Republican rivals in former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville. The winner of the Republican primary — or runoff, if needed — will face incumbent Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in November.

Most every campaign with this much at stake can turn negative, and sure enough, the final weeks of this race have seen those top three candidates concentrate their fire on each other.

Tuberville, Sessions and some outside political groups are hammering Byrne for the oldest political sin in the book: telling the truth. In 2016, after audio surfaced of then-candidate Donald Trump bragging about being powerful enough to grab women’s private parts, Byrne condemned the comments and called on Trump to step aside as the Republican nominee, saying he was “unfit” to be president.

Weeks later, Byrne affirmed his support for Trump and by all accounts has been a loyal defender of the president ever since. Still, for a party dominated by Trump in which one’s loyalty to him can be the only litmus test voters care about, the episode has had a residual impact.

For his part, Byrne calls his decision at the time “a mistake” and responds to questions by pointing to the president’s embrace of him on different occasions, including a post-impeachment White House event when Trump called Byrne by name and thanked him for his support.

As we meet in his campaign office in downtown Montgomery on a Friday afternoon ahead of the Alabama Republican Party’s winter dinner, Byrne is coming off a full day of campaigning. He’s traversed the state multiple times this week, including a trip across north Alabama earlier in the day. No one would blame him for being worn out, but as we begin the interview he is relaxed and determined to make his case for why he’s the best choice for Republicans to take on Jones in November.

As ably as he answers the political questions with all the requisite poll-tested talking points, Byrne’s real strength is policy. He’s eager to talk about policy, legislation, budgets – anything other than the sometimes silly issues that can dominate campaigns. How do we fix the debt? I have a bill that redefines mandatory spending, actually, he says. What issue isn’t being discussed enough? How about health care, so let’s talk about the Medicare Wage Index, he says.

Such acumen is what has endeared Byrne to the wonks of state and federal government for more than a decade, though it is less endearing to the increasing number of voters who prefer style over substance. Which is why Byrne again finds himself in a fight.

Read and listen to our full interview below.

By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Tommy Tuberville does not care about your need for nuance.

In a political landscape where tricky issues can sometimes cause politicians to split hairs on policy, the former football coach and current U.S. Senate candidate has found a winning formula: be blunt, keep it simple and always pivot back to President Donald Trump.

Though seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Alabama is Tuberville’s first foray into elected government, politics was always part of his job in the 20 years he spent as a head coach at big-time college football programs. During his ten-year stint at Auburn, Tuberville was known for deftly handling the media, sometimes by answering the question he wanted to answer, rather than what had been asked.

Staying on message and avoiding the weeds of an issue is a valuable skill for politicians, and having advanced practice at it has made Tuberville a dangerous competitor in this GOP Senate race.

And yet it is the pesky particulars on which Tuberville’s opponents are honing in to attack him, specifically on the issue of immigration. In a speech to the Shoals Republican Club in August 2019, Tuberville discussed the need to build a wall on the southern border and tighten up immigration enforcement so that the U.S. can “know who’s here.”

As far as Republican speeches in Alabama go, that’s pretty much par for the course. However, it was Tuberville’s discussing what comes next that seemed to get him into trouble.

“There are people coming across the border that need jobs, okay, and we want them to come over here. We just need to know who’s here, okay?” he said. “Put the wall up, then we let them come in and become citizens like we all became citizens.”

Partial audio of that quote has been running on repeat over the Alabama airwaves, courtesy of Tuberville’s top opponents, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and 1st District Congressman Bradley Byrne, as well as at least one super PAC. They accuse Tuberville of supporting “amnesty” for illegal immigrants.

Undeterred, Tuberville quickly called the attack “fake news” and his campaign shot right back in ads attacking Byrne and Sessions.

Sound familiar? Ever the clever coach, Tuberville has co-opted the Trump playbook.

When we sat down for an interview recently inside the Kress Building in downtown Montgomery, I wanted to ask Tuberville about the topic of illegal immigration, both to give him an opportunity to respond to his critics and discover what his actual views are given the back-and-forth. And while he talked about the issue at length, being sure, of course, to denounce amnesty, there wasn’t much actual policy. Rather, what Tuberville has on immigration is what he has on most policy issues: a general, visceral feeling that the way the country has been doing things is wrong and that the current crop of politicians is to blame. And guess who has all the answers?

Be blunt, keep it simple and always pivot back to Donald Trump.

And while such a non-nuanced way of answering might frustrate the devil out of seasoned politicians, it’s exactly what has made him an effective candidate in this race. Why? Because he talks about issues the way normal people do. Voters once greatly valued expertise and experience in their elected leaders, but many now find those qualities to be a vice and their absence a virtue.

As the race enters its final week, Tuberville is well-positioned to make a potential runoff. Should no candidate finish with more than 50% of the vote in the March 3 primary election, the top two voter earners would go to a runoff scheduled for March 31. Most polls, including a recent Alabama Daily News / Mason-Dixon poll...

By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News

PRATTVILLE, Ala. – Jeff Sessions hasn’t changed.

That’s his message to voters as he campaigns to be elected back to the Senate seat he held for 20 years before leaving it to become Attorney General of the United States. He wants Republicans in Alabama to remember the rock-ribbed conservative who often irritated his party’s leadership by pushing his unique brand of conservatism that heavily influenced today’s Trump agenda.

But as he exits the passenger door of a black SUV and strides by himself into the Courtyard Marriott hotel, it’s clear a lot has changed for Sessions.

Gone is the accompaniment of a large staff and security detail. The last time I interviewed Sessions, he arrived at our family’s 2018 Auburn tailgate in a flurry of lights and sirens with about a dozen federal security agents, at least as many local and state law enforcement and several staff members alongside him. That comes with the territory when you are the nation’s top law enforcement official.

More than a year later, on a Friday in Prattville, a suburb fifteen miles up Interstate 65 from the State Capital of Montgomery, Sessions had no entourage, but for a handful of campaign workers waiting to meet him in the lobby.  He’s back on the campaign trail, slogging around to small towns and shaking every voter’s hand. It’s a conspicuous change of scenery from the highest levels of government, but one Sessions’ seems entirely comfortable with as we find a small conference room to begin our interview.

A lot has happened in the last five years for Sessions. He became among then-candidate Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters and delivered an early endorsement in August of 2015 that gave the brash, unconventional Trump needed credibility in the GOP primary. President Trump rewarded him by appointing him attorney general, the pinnacle of Sessions’ career and a major opportunity for someone who has worked as a both a U.S. attorney and Alabama’s attorney general before spending years championing law and order issues in the Senate.

After 20 months as AG, Sessions resigned in November 2018 at the request of the president, who had grown increasingly frustrated by the ongoing Mueller investigation into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 campaign and blamed Sessions for recusing himself from overseeing it. Though Sessions repeatedly justified his recusal as following longstanding Department of Justice policy – he was part of the 2016 Trump campaign and thus a subject of the investigation – Trump never seemed to get over it, and the issue continues to drag Sessions as the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate enters the homestretch.

Just days before the qualifying deadline in November 2019, Sessions shocked Alabama’s political world by announcing he would run for his former seat. With his general popularity among the GOP electorate still high, many political experts predicted Sessions would runaway with the race and win the more than 50% needed to avoid a runoff. That hasn’t happened, as most polls, including a recent Alabama Daily News / Mason-Dixon poll, show Sessions still in a tight race with two other top contenders: former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville and 1st District Congressman Bradley Byrne. The ultimate winner will go on to face incumbent Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in November’s general election.

Just more than a week out of the primary, Sessions is criss-crossing the state to remind Republican voters why they liked him in the first place and kept sending him to the Senate. During a 20 minute sit-down interview for Alabama Daily News and its news partners,

By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – U.S. Rep. Martha Roby has served as the congressman for Alabama’s 2nd District since 2011. First elected as a part of the Republican wave of 2010, Roby recently decided that this, her fifth term in Congress, will be her last.

Before the House let out for its August recess, Roby announced that she will not seek another term. That decision surprised a lot of people because virtually no one had predicted Roby would be stepping away next year. She was also somewhat coy on the factors that contributed to her decision, only saying that she and her family had prayed about it and decided it was time to “close those this chapter.”

For the latest episode of “In the Weeds” with Alabama Daily News, I sat down with my former boss for a more in depth conversation about her decision, how Congress has changed over the years, what accomplishments she’s proudest of, and what’s next for her career. She also had some advice for any candidates seeking her seat that is really worth a listen, whether you are a candidate or an observer.

Speaking of potential candidates, Caroline Beck and I reviewed the latest list of announced candidates and those still thought to be considering a run. I predict there will be as many as six serious candidates by the time qualifying ends, and that makes for a crowded race.

Here’s an excerpt of our interview with Rep. Roby (full transcript to come):

Todd Stacy: Well, the frustrating thing about TV and print and a lot of media is you get that eight second sound bite, or you get 50 words, maybe, in a story where you talked for five minutes. So, in this format you get as much time as you want. So, let me just ask you, in your own words, why did you decide not to run?

Rep. Martha Roby: Really, it was just after a lot of prayer and a lot of consideration that Riley and I made the decision that it was it was time to close this chapter. I mean, I have no plans. I know that’s the next question. Right?

TS: No, that question is way down the list. I was taught to lead with the “Why.”

MR: Ha ha, who taught you that? No, it’s always a good question to ask. I think it’s important when you’re you’re trying to make the point to say why are we doing this. So, sure. I mean, I’ve really I just think it’s time. You know, my name has been on a ballot for the last 16 years of my life. I love public service. I love this job. I think there’s a lot of speculation out there right now about, you know, why why would do this? And if that’s fair, that’s fair. But truly, it is just, it’s just time.

TS: When when exactly did you make the call? You must have been thinking about it for a while. But was there a point at which it was…

MR: Yeah, no, we have been thinking about it for a while. And I really wanted to run for reelection [last] time. And, look, that was a tough battle. And I’m so grateful that I was able to win my last election, because I just felt like there was some unfinished business. And there still is. And so, again, I have an extremely grateful heart that I have gotten this opportunity to have these two years in Congress to continue the work that I’ve started. But I know at the end of this term, it is time to walk away and have a tremendous amount of peace about it.

Frank W. Abagnale, Jr. was one of the world’s greatest con men. As a teenager in the 1960s, he papered New York with fake checks, travelled the world as an airline pilot, ran a medical ward as a pediatrician, and practiced law in the Louisiana Attorney General’s office – all without the training or degrees that are required of those jobs.

Now, Abagnale is one of the world’s foremost security experts, parlaying that cunning and guile he learned on the street to help the FBI stay one step ahead of swindlers and identity thieves. His life was famously portrayed on the Silver Screen in Steven Spielberg’s “Catch Me If You Can,” in which Abagnale was played by Leonardo Decaprio.

Here’s the film trailer:

Abagnale has spent the last 43 years working with the FBI consulting on security and fraud. On Thursday, he was in Huntsville as part of a special AARP Alabama and AARP Fraud Network event offered to help citizens avoid getting scammed. More than 1,000 people registered to take part in the free event.

According to the Consumer Sentinel Network, Alabama ranks 11th nationally for fraud committed per capita. In 2018 alone there were 33,539 fraud and related cases amounting to $9.9 million in total losses. 

Thirteen percent of all fraud crimes are identity theft, which can can be credit card fraud, loan or lease fraud, tax related fraud, or other kinds. The 50-69 age group is the most likely to be susceptible to fraud, as it makes up a full 36 percent of all cases.

Abagnale sat down with the “In the Weeds” podcast to talk about his work with the FBI, his message to those coming to the Huntsville event, and his extraordinary life.

Incidentally, Mr. Abagnale himself is a podcaster. He co-hosts a podcast sponsored by AARP called “The Perfect Scam,” which I recommend listening to both for good advice about avoiding fraud but also the entertaining stories. The podcast is available at AARP.org/ThePerfectScam.

Here’s an excerpt of the interview:

Todd Stacy: Bring me into the criminal mind. You have committed crimes. Now, you have spent a career fighting crimes. You’ve been undercover, which I found really fascinating… What is one fundamental thing about a thief… about that mindset, that would help me and help others if we knew it?

Frank Abagnale: This is the real scary part. Years ago, there was the con man… he was well dressed, well spoken, very made a great presentation. And he conned people, but there was a human element, there was the emotion. So that person felt compassion, no matter what they thought, there was some compassion in that individual. So he might have said, “I’m going to steal this guy’s money, but I’m not going to steal all of his money, because he’s an old man, I want to leave them broke.”

Today, there is no compassion because you’re dealing with someone in Jamaica and India and Russia and China, thousands of miles away. They don’t see you and you don’t see them. It’s anonymous. So, there’s no emotion, I don’t really care about the 80-year old women that I’m stealing money from because she’s just a voice on the telephone and I’m trying to get her money. As I tell people today… they say, “how do you deal with crime today, after 40 years, because when you did it, it was so much different?” I’ve had to learn the different ways they used to commit the crime, but the criminal mind is stayed the same. The only differences today is the method of committing the crime.

As I explain to people all the time, there is no technology, there never will be any technology, including AI, that can defeat social engineering. You only defeat it through education,

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – For this week’s episode of “In the Weeds” with Alabama Daily News, I sat down with Attorney General Steve Marshall.

Though not planned this way, the timing ended up being fortuitous because it came the same week as the first shake-ups at the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. On Friday, Gov. Kay Ivey announced the appointment of Charlie Graddick as Executive Director of that agency (though Inside Alabama Politics subscribers got this scoop on Wednesday) and now Caroline Beck and Mary Sell are reporting that Board Chairman Lynn Head could also now be replaced as her term recently expired.

During this episode, I unpack the Pardons and Paroles saga going back at least two years into the Jimmy O’Neal Spencer case to the recently-passed legislation to overhaul the system. Marshall talked about the situation in depth, and it’s clear this is one of his biggest frustrations and highest priorities.

Here are a few other items to listen for in our interview:

We talked about his background as a lawyer and why he got into prosecution after starting out in private practice (a good story);

I asked about his college days and I did not know he was a UNC tarheel during the Michael Jordan era;

We talked about his work on the Census / immigration situation, and he actually corrected me for conflating the issue (If you’ve ever confused the Census question with the immigration reapportionment question, his explanation will be helpful); 

I asked him about Ethics reform, what the end game is going to be, and how the Supreme Court might influence the Legislature’s actions;

* He discussed at length the new dual track appeals process policy he successfully championed, which essentially amounts to quicker appeals decisions, especially in death penalty cases;

And of course, Pardons and Paroles;

Also, it has been a little over a year since the death of Marshall’s wife, Bridgette. That’s obviously not a fun topic, but I thought it was important to at least ask about in terms of his willingness to help other families deal with addiction and suicide issues. And for all that was said back a year ago, I wanted to give him the opportunity to say as much as he wanted in an un-redacted form. I hope you’ll find his candid comments as illuminating and meaningful as I did.

Here’s a transcript excerpt on the Pardons and Paroles discussion:

Todd Stacy: You mentioned pardons and paroles, and that certainly seems to have been a frustration. You passed a bill, right?

Attorney General Steve Marshall: Right.

TS: The Legislature passed a bill that I think y’all helped write and we’re very involved in. It’s a reform bill, but you’re going to have new leadership, both at the executive level and the board leadership level at some point, probably soon. What needs to happen there? Are you confident that the bill the Legislature passed and the reforms have been put in place… is that the ticket to success? How do we get there and who needs to be leading the Board of Pardons and Paroles? 

SM: So, a couple things about the bill: what we were able to do is, number one, generate accountability within that organization that didn’t exist before. And the reason why is that the Board was self contained in both making decisions on pardons and paroles and running the agency, and they were accountable to no one. Now, we’ve changed that. At this point, the governor is going to have the opportunity to name a new head of that agency. And then we’ve taken away the responsibility of the Board to run the agency and instead to be singularly focused on the decisions they have before...

In this week’s episode of “In the Weeds,” we talk to Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh. He certainly had an interesting legislative session, both as the leader of the Senate and personally.

We discussed how the gas tax and infrastructure plan sailed through the Senate, the details of his education governance overhaul, and how he went from throwing out red meat at the beginning of the session back to managing the Senate toward the end.

One of our most interesting exchanges was about why he ultimately decided not to pursue the U.S. Senate seat. For about a year, he’s been on everybody’s short list for candidates for U.S. Senate, but in the middle of the legislative session, he announced that he wouldn’t be running. I asked him to walk me through the whole thing, and he had a little fun with it, while also being pretty candid.

The pre-interview discussion is about the U.S. Senate race and specifically what has changed between this race and the 2017 special election that favored Roy Moore. (More on that in the column).