“Rumors and Rumblings” is a weekly feature that runs each Wednesday. It includes short nuggets of information that we glean from conversations throughout the week. Have a tip? Send it here.
1. The rumor mill went into overdrive early this week with word that a well-known GOP consultant had a criminal complaint filed against him accusing him of embezzling money from a former business partner. This is a developing story.
2. Senator Vivian Figures will be taking over for Sen. Roger Bedford as Minority Leader in the Senate for the coming session. Insiders say that Bedford had to cut a deal to get the post in the first place and part of the deal was that Figures would takeover as Minority Leader for the second half of the quadrennium. Sen. Marc Keahey will also take over for Sen. Rodger Smitherman as the number two man in the Democrat caucus.
3. There are rumblings within the Tea Party, some trade associations, and non-profits concerned about the Sept. 18th Constitutional Amendment. “Groups are trying to figure out how to make sure the public is aware of and informed about the upcoming amendment,” said one insider. “A more public effort to put out information about the amendment is likely in the coming weeks.”
4. There has been a flurry of activity in Montgomery surrounding the news that a Huntsville area woman filed complaints against nine statewide judicial candidates seeking to diqualify them before the November elections for failing to comply with campaign disclosure laws. “This is a ploy to remove [Democrat Chief Justic candidate] Harry Lyon from the ballot,” said a source with knowledge of the situation. “[Democrat Party Chairman] Kennedy is serious about trying to take the Republican judges out as well. But this began as a shot at Lyon.”
5. UPDATE: Will Independent Sen. Harri Anne Smith get a challenge from Dothan Mayor Mike Schmidtz in 2014? That just may be the case according to sources on the ground in the wiregrass.
6. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell today informed Sen. Cam Ward that he will be Vice-Chair for the Sub-Committee on Constitutional Governance and Judicial Activism as part of his role on the platform committee at the Republican National Convention.
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