The Alabama Forestry Association (AFA) on Monday announced that it had endorsed Judge Kelli Wise and Greg Cook in their candidacies for Alabama Supreme Court associate justice.
Wise in 2000 became the youngest woman to ever hold an Alabama Appellate Court judgeship when she was elected to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. In 2010, she was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court where she will soon complete her third term.
The Montgomery County resident is a graduate of Auburn University and the Jones School of Law. She also holds a masters of public administration from Auburn University at Montgomery.
Wise currently serves on the Alabama Law Institute Criminal Code Committee and has assumed the task of rewriting the Alabama Criminal Code.
In announcing the endorsement, AFA president and CEO Chris Isaacson praised Wise for her years of service to the Alabama legal system.
“We are pleased to support Kelli in her election to another term on the Alabama Supreme Court,” declared Isaacson. “She has had a distinguished career and is dedicated to supporting the Rule of Law, where judges follow the law rather than create it.”
Wise expressed gratitude for the endorsement and hailed the role that AFA plays in advocating for the state’s forestry community.
“As a justice on Alabama’s highest court, I have defended our Constitution, adhered to the rule of law and remained faithful to my oath of office,” asserted Wise. “I do so because I understand that my legal decisions affect real people and working families. I am thankful that the Alabama Forestry Association has recognized my proven record of fair and impartial justice and is giving me their endorsement.”
She added, “Alabama’s forests supply the raw materials for our state’s $28 billion industry and create jobs for over 100,000 Alabama workers. I am privileged to live, work and serve in a beautiful timber-filled state and I am humbled to receive the support of those individuals who are committed to the protection and conservation of Alabama’s greatest natural resource. I look forward to the opportunity to continue serving the people of Alabama on the Supreme Court.”
Cook, a Florence native and resident of Jefferson County, has served as general counsel for the Alabama Republican Party for the past four years.
Upon obtaining his undergraduate degree from Duke University, Cook went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force. He is also a graduate of the Ivy League’s Harvard Law School.
Isaacson suggested that Cook’s record of providing legal representation to the business community “will bring great value to the Court.” He added, “His core principles are consistent with ours and I am confident his background and experience will be a great addition to the Supreme Court.”
Cook heaped praise upon AFA for its support of “the rule of law” and pledged to adhere to a conservative interpretation of the law should his candidacy for the state’s high court prove victorious.
“I’m very proud to receive the endorsement of the Alabama Forestry Association,” proclaimed Cook. “Like me, they are conservatives who believe in the rule of law, freedom, and a level playing field for everyone. As a judge, my job is like an umpire, to simply call the balls and strikes. I believe that my conservative judicial philosophy is a big reason why I am receiving this endorsement and I could not be more excited to receive their support.”
The primary election will occur on May 24, 2022.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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