“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. Tuscaloosa real estate tycoon Stan Pate on Monday pledged to fund a media campaign to defeat the proposed Sept. 18 constitutional amendment. Pate has a history of putting his money where his mouth is, but his angle is a bit different from the other groups coming out against the CA. Pate is proposing the state make up for its massive budget shortfall by legalizing gambling. “We are losing gaming revenue to all the states around us. It’s real money,” Pate told the Associated Press. The idea was met with an expectedly cool response from the major players on both sides of Union St. “That’s a nonstarter,” one elected official told Yellowhammer on Tuesday.
2. In other CA news, polling suggests the effort to pass the amendment is having a significant impact, but there is still a long way to go. “I didn’t think this thing had a chance early on,” one insider told Yellowhammer. “But now it looks like it could be close.” The effort to defeat the CA has been hampered by the opposition parties’s inability to form a strong coalition with a unified front. However, recent days have seen more and more elected officials willing to come out publicly as “no” votes and the aforementioned Stan Pate has the deep pockets needed to make some noise.
3. Yellowhammer picked up on a rumor that Blaine Galliher will be adding Jonathan Barganier to his staff as legislative liaison. Barganier is currently working as a Senior Consultant at the Center for Government & Public Affairs and previously worked in the Alabama Finance Dept. during both the Riley & Bentley administrations. He has also been the AUM point person on Senate Pro Tem Del Marsh’s Initiative to Streamline Government.
4. Mike Thompson, president of Thompson Tractor, hosted a successful fundraiser this past week for Twinkle Cavanaugh, the Republican candidate for PSC President. According to campaign sources, the event raised between $10-20k. Meanwhile, a quick peek at current PSC President Lucy Baxley’s campaign finance records reveal that she has about $13k cash-on-hand consisting mostly of loans to herself and contributions from liberal activist PAC ActBlue. ActBlue has also been one of Barack Obama’s most significant fundraising sources.
