In recognition of tonight’s annual Power of Service event and the release of the final Power & Influence Top 50, Yellowhammer News is proud to award our most distinguished lifetime honor to Jabo Waggoner.
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When historians, political observers, and public officials across Alabama think of “service,” two words quickly come to mind:
Jabo Waggoner.
Elected to the Alabama House in 1966, when Lurleen Wallace became governor and an Auburn University coed named Kay Ivey was still a year away from college graduation, he launched a public service career that would span a half-century and continues today.
Not yet 30-years-old at the time of his election, Waggoner would serve in the House until 1983, when he announced his switch to the Republican Party and launched an unsuccessful congressional campaign against Democrat Ben Erdreich.
Winning election to the Alabama State Senate in 1990, Waggoner was in the body’s decided minority as a Republican, but his friendly nature and easy-going style hid a competitive streak honed during his years as high school and college athlete, and he soon became known as one of the most effective lawmakers in Montgomery.
When the GOP won a legislative supermajority in the 2010 election cycle following 136 consecutive years of Democrat Party rule, the stature, respect, and relationships Waggoner had banked during decades of public service resulted in his election as Alabama’s first Republican majority leader, a post that did not exist during the Reconstruction era.
He also assumed the chairmanship of the powerful, influential, agenda-setting Senate Rules Committee, a position he has continued to hold throughout the past 15 years.
A list of the significant bills he has passed, the committees he has chaired and sat upon, the honors he has been awarded, and the lives he has positively impacted is much too long to fit in the space provided here and would fill a book. By coincidence, that very book — “Jabo Waggoner: An Alabama Political Legend” — was recently published and released in his honor.
While the names of countless past political leaders who once commanded great respect and prestige have long been forgotten with the passage of time and the transfer of power, Waggoner’s will always be celebrated and remembered, especially since he holds the record for longest-serving legislator in Alabama history with no contender even close on his heels.
Waggoner’s impact and lasting legacy was perhaps summed up best when one of his colleagues, Sen. April Weaver (R-Brierfield) wrote these words about him:
“Imagine being taught the principles of team building by Coach Bear Bryant and Coach Shug Jordan.
Consider being schooled in dedication, tenacity, and perseverance by Lou Gehrig and Cal Ripken.
Envision Ronald Reagan providing you a personal education in public service, patriotism, and bedrock conservative principles.
For those of us in the Alabama Legislature, we have essentially experienced all of these things simply by serving alongside Sen. Jabo Waggoner.”
