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Last Update: 11/14/2006
The election year road to the governor's office is a long one, and parts of it will be paved with money from those who build Alabama's roads and bridges.
According to annual reports filed this week with the Secretary of State, more than 40% of Governor Fob James' campaign cash came from executives with construction, engineering, and asphalt firms involved in the building or inspecting of roads and bridges, or from some of the firms themselves. Some of them also gave to James' anticipated rival in the November 3 general election, Democratic Lt. Gov. Don Siegelman.
Throughout the state, road building and engineering and asphalt firms hope to get a share of James' proposed $700 million road and bridge bond issue, which faces an uncertain future in the Legislature.
Executives with some of the firms said the proposed James bond issue was not the main reason for their contributions. The state DOT's chief engineer (Ray Bass) said that anyway, highway construction projects are subject to bid, though engineering contracts are negotiated, with the transportation director choosing among three finalists.
The department's chief engineer Ray Bass said that while the governor rarely influences the state's roadbuilding priorities, politics of some kind always plays some role in the roadbuilding process.
"I think in every election you've ever had you've had some sizable donations from the roadbuilding industry," said Bass who was the state transportation director during three of former Gov. George Wallace's past administrations. "There has never been a public road in history that wasn't a political road. . . Regardless of where it is, there's some political reason why that road was built and you're not going to take the politics out of roadbuilding."
In Alabama, one also can't take roadbuilding money- or contributions from any other major group, for that matter- out of political fund raising.
According to his campaign cash report for 1997, James raised $171,665. Of that total, more than 40% came from executives with engineering, construction, and asphalt firms, most of which are involved in road and bridge-building.
In fact, six of James' top 10 contributors were from that group, as well as all of his three $10,000 givers: S.T. and Terry Bunn of Tuscaloosa; Benton Andrews of Tuscaloosa and his wife, Ramona; and asphalt businessman Jim Whitaker of Guntersville and his wife, Mary.
Each of the three donors gave on December 5. Two of them, S.T. Bunn and the Whitakers, gave $6,000 and $5,000 respectively to Siegelman, who raised more than $2 million in 1997 and received some cash from other roadbuilders who did not give to James. Among them were David Abramson of Hanceville, who gave $20,000.
Because of the large amount of money Siegelman raised, only a small percentage of his funds came from roadbuilders.
Bass who knows many roadbuilders personally because of his many years in the Transportation Department, said it's not surprising to see some of them contributing to candidates in the same race.
"I think I'd give more to the man I'd think was going to win and then try to cover my rear end with the other man," said Bass, who said roadbuilders want to back a governor who has "a good highway program. If we've got a good highway program, then they're going to all (make money) and that would be their motivation for contributing to a governor."
Benton Andrews said he and his wife gave to James "for good government."
"I just think he's an honest person," said Andrews, who is vice-president of Racon, Inc., a Northport earth-moving firm that built the interchange to a Mercedes plant at Vance on I 59/20 and did some other, related, state-funded road work.
As for future state business, Andrews said, "We'll get our share regardless of whether the bond issue comes through or not."
James' honesty and job performance were Randy Billingsley's primary reasons for his Mobile Asphalt Company's $1,500 contribution to the governor. Billingsley said his business supported passage of James' bond issue and said Siegelman, who presides in the Senate, had had the proposal killed there last year."
"I've been giving to Don Siegelman for probably 20 years," Billingsley said. "I asked him just to let the Senate vote on the bond issue and he told me he would and then he single-handedly killed it. If somebody's going to lie to me, . . . he's not going to get any of my money anymore."
As for any money Mobile Asphalt might make if the bond issue passes this year, Billingsley said, "If I'm not the low bidder, I don't get the work."