As detailed last week by Yellowhammer News, supporters of the national left’s socialist climate agenda have waged political war on the Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC).
Previous reporting outlined the financial support Republican PSC Place 2 candidate Robin Litaker had received from prominent Alabama climate crusaders who are attempting to see that she is elected to the state’s conservative-dominated utility regulatory board and unseat Republican PSC Commissioner Chip Beeker.
Now, it appears as if the far-left climate lobby has selected its favorite in the PSC Place 1 GOP primary against sitting Republican Commissioner Jeremy Oden and two other candidates vying for the seat.
Florence attorney Brent Woodall is being boosted by money from one of Alabama’s most ardent left-wing environmentalists in Nelson Brooke of the Black Warrior Riverkeepers, who has donated $10,000 to Woodall’s bid, making him the candidate’s single-largest contributor.
As previously detailed by Yellowhammer News, Brooke’s federal political donation history includes providing financial support to far-left candidates such as former President Barack Obama, “Green New Deal” socialist U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook), among multiple other progressive individuals and causes.
The Hudson Riverkeeper, a New York-based group aligned with Brooke’s Black Warrior Riverkeeper through the Waterkeeper Alliance, has joined forces with groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America, Ecosocialist Horizons, Freedom Socialist Party and Socialist Party USA.
While it is standard for individuals who have business interests to contribute to multiple candidates across party lines, it is rather unusual for a committed left-wing donor who funds “Green New Deal” candidates to support a Republican candidate for Alabama’s chief utility regulatory commission.
Woodall joins Black Lives Matter activist and 2018 Democratic PSC candidate Cara McClure, as well as prominent Alabama Democrats Walt Maddox and Joseph Siegelman, in accepting money from Brooke.
Also supporting Woodall’s PSC candidacy are James McLane and Rita Armitage, who have contributed a combined $10,000 to his bid. Both individuals are donors of Democrat Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway.
As leftist members of Congress and Hollywood elite continue their self-righteous assault on the nation’s energy sector, the present effort to penetrate the PSC proves that Alabama is not immune from the far-left’s costly war on fossil fuels.
Republican voters will head to the polls May 24, 2022, to cast their ballots in the primary election.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been corrected to reflect that Woodall is running for PSC Place 1 and that the Conservative Party of Alabama has not withdrawn its endorsement in the race.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
