#24 – Henry Mabry

Executive Secretary of the Alabama Education Association has been one of the most powerful positions in the state for decades. It is not hyperbole to say that the head of the AEA was the single most powerful person in Alabama at various points over the last 40 years.

Mabry inherited an organization rocked by Democrats finally being ousted from power. Because his union has such dismal relationships with Republicans — both elected officials and the GOP electorate — Mabry will have a hard time getting any higher than this on future top 40 lists.

That said, the AEA is bringing unmatched financial resources to the table during the 2014 election cycle. Rather than trying to work with Republican legislators now in power as other traditionally Democratic groups have done, Mabry has doubled-down on funneling millions of dollars into taking a bite out of the GOP’s current majority.

However, Mabry also realizes Democrats can no longer win in most places in Alabama, so he has recruited a slate of candidates to run in Republican primaries in 2014. He’s already given as much as $150,000 to a single candidate.

Mabry is on this list entirely because of the resources at his disposal. His achilles heel is that he is prone to using teachers’ dues to advance his own personal political agenda. That has sometimes threatened to erode his support among teachers.

Mabry’s victories have been few and far between over the last few years, but with the the state Democratic Party in shambles, the AEA is the state’s de facto minority party.