Alabama Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter is one of the most effective House Speakers in Alabama history. He is in a league of his own when it comes to getting things done as Speaker of the House.
Ledbetter is not known for mincing words or telling you what you want to hear. He shoots straight and always stays true to his word, and his members love him for it. Ledbetter’s word and commitment are as good as gold. He is as strong as new rope. Ledbetter is so effective and entrenched as Speaker of the House that I have dubbed him, “The Man of the House.”
He gets things accomplished in a quiet yet focused way. His subdued yet authoritative demeanor yields results. In his five years as Majority Leader, and now in his third year as Speaker, he has never lost a vote.
Under his leadership, the House has picked up some huge wins, which have translated into even bigger wins for the state. Over $1 billion in taxes have been cut for Alabamians and small businesses. Transformational education reforms have been passed, leading Alabama to become one of the most improved states in the nation.
Numerous pro-business policies have paved the way for companies to invest over $60 billion to create 90,000 new jobs in our state.
Ledbetter and his members have led the way on all these issues.
In past years, special interest groups told the Speaker what to do. Ledbetter is the only Speaker I have seen that tells the special interest groups what to do. One of the best examples of his adroit, independent leadership was in 2017, when he beat back every private interest group to pass a bill mandating insurance companies to cover autism diagnosis and treatment for children.
Speaker Ledbetter remains independent of Special Interests because he has done a yeoman’s job of going into each of the Republican member’s districts and helping them get elected and reelected. He knows each of his GOP legislators’ districts like the back of his hand. He has grown the Alabama House Republican membership from 72 to 76 Seats during his tenure as Speaker.
Ledbetter is from Rainsville in Dekalb County. He was born and raised in Dekalb. He and the great iconic Alabama bandleader Randy Owen are best friends.
Nathaniel was elected to the Rainsville City Council at 23 years old, and then at the town’s Mayor a few years after that.
Nathaniel Ledbetter is poised and well positioned to preside as Speaker of the House for the next quadrennium and probably for years after that.
Alabama’s political leadership will be poised to work very cohesively with Nathaniel Ledbetter as Speaker of the House and Tommy Tuberville as Governor. They are truly the best of friends. Ledbetter and Tuberville bonded six years ago when Coach Tuberville first began his campaign for U.S. Senator. Coach stayed in Ledbetter’s home when he camped out campaigning in North Alabama. Ledbetter later became Coach’s titular campaign chairman.
Tuberville and Ledbetter will be a dynamic team. There is an old adage that the Governor proposes, and the legislature disposes. That truism will apply with the Ledbetter-Tuberville partnership.
Another truism will probably be coined in the next quadrennium. Coach Tuberville will be dialing up the plays, and Speaker Ledbetter will be executing them in the legislature. I expect the State of Alabama is going to put a lot of points on the scoreboard.
See you next week.
Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at [email protected].
