Candidates deserve your vote on Tuesday
By Editorial Board
The Daily Sentinel
Published May 29,2010

What follows are The Daily Sentinel’s recommendations for races of local interest being contested on June 1.

These recommendations are not meant to influence the outcome of the election. They are simply part of our ongoing effort to improve the quality of life in our county and state.

Our editorial board has evaluated candidate responses to issues we feel help achieve that goal.

We have spoken personally with all candidates that responded to our request. Almost all responded.

You may be interested in the criteria for picking candidates.

Honestly, it’s quite simple.

We want candidates who are intelligent and hardworking. We consider experience, but not more so than any other qualification. We look for candidates who favor business and growth. In general we want candidates who favor less government. We want candidates who not only recognize the issues, but also have a plan to deal with those issues. Finally, we look for candidates who are willing to work with others toward constructive compromise.

For those reasons, we recommend the following candidates for office:

• For Governor in the Republican Primary – Bradley Byrne. Byrne has a proven track record of dealing with very difficult situations. After taking over as Chancellor of the two-year college system, Byrne turned around what was arguably the most corrupt entity in our state. He did so with a no nonsense, common sense approach.

• For Governor in tlle Democratic Primary – Artur Davis. Davis has the experience and track record ideal for leading our state. He’s proven he’s doesn’t blindly identify with any party with his voting record. In voting against the healthcare bill, Davis showed he’s willing to listen to his constituents, even if it’s unpopular among his own party.

• For 5th District Congressman in the Republican Primary – Mo Brooks. Brooks is a successful businessman who believes less governmental involvement is the key to making business and our economy thrive. As the only Republican on the Madison County Commission he’s proven he can put aside politics for the greater good of his community.

• For 5th District Congressman in the Democratic Primary – Taze Shepard. Shepard’s success in private business and his “centrist democratic” philosophy will allow him to work both sides of the aisle to be successful.

• For 22nd District State Representative – Butch Taylor. Representative Taylor has been extremely effective during his tenure with our delegation. His passion for our community and ability to work vvith the current delegation set him apart.

• For School Board At- Large – John Lyda. Lyda brings a different mentality to a school board currently comprised entirely of retired educators. Lyda’s experience in private business and the military give him the leadership qualities and skill set necessary to improve our school system.

• For School Board Place 2 in the Democratic primary – Steven Rouse. Rouse is the only candidate with a child in the school system. A strong work ethic and a unique ability to relate to the issues in our schools make him the best choice.

Our Voice is the opinion of The Daily Sentinel editorial board.

Copyright © 2010 The Daily Sentinel

Source: Google Docs

by: mooncat
Wed May 26, 2010 at 15:33:34 PM CDT

5th District Congressional candidate Taze Shepard held a press conference this morning to “set the record straight concerning politically motivated allegations” about his work with the US Space and Rocket Center over 10 years ago. In response to a question on the state of the Democratic primary, Shepard said polling indicates, “we are in the lead and intend to win.”

More, including video, below the fold.

mooncat :: AL-05: Shepard says allegations are politically motivated, “we’re in the lead & intend to win”
This ad from fellow Democrat Steve Raby says Shepard was “asked to leave” the Space and Rocket Center after they “lost $7.5 million.”

Shepard reiterated that he was one of the board members who voted to fire former CEO Mike Wing after Wing attempted to sell the Center to out of state investors and that he stayed on the board and put in hundreds of volunteer hours to help get the center back on track. He said he was never asked to resign from the board, that he eventually resigned because he needed to devote more time to his business and suggested that other board members do the same so the Governor could appoint an all new board for a clean start moving forward.

Shepard took Raby to task for dragging the Space Center and Space Camp into this political fight and said Raby owed the Space Center an apology. He also indicated that while Steve Raby’s background as a lobbyist and his facilitation of PAC to PAC money transfers should not disqualify him from office, that is the kind of information the public needs to take into account when deciding what kind of Congressman Raby would be.

Shepard said polling indicates his campaign is “in the lead” and they intend to win the Democratic primary on June 1. Voter turnout for the primary is a complete wild card because the election is the day after Memorial Day. Adding to the confusion, many voters in Madison County will be voting at new polling places for the first time. Every campaign I’ve spoken with has expressed concern that many voters will have trouble finding the correct polling place next Tuesday.

original article: http://www.leftinalabama.com/diary/6391/al05-shepard-says-allegations-are-politically-motivated-were-in-the-lead-intend-to-win

An inattentive listener might think Taze Shepard is campaigning to be a tightrope walker rather than a 5th District congressman.

The word “balance” comes up a lot.

The Huntsville Democrat, a lawyer and bankruptcy trustee, said former Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, had balance. He said incumbent Parker Griffith, who switched to the Republican Party in December, does not.

As with the other three Democrats in the race for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Griffith’s switch was central to Shepard’s decision to run.

“It was the party switch, but it was the party switch combined with the results of the party switch, that mattered to me,” Shepard, 56, said Wednesday in an interview. “His loss of important committee assignments, his inability to get the kind of funds and programs for the district that he should be able to get, were also part of it.

“If he had switched parties but been incredibly productive, I would have no reason to run. The fact that the district is suffering under the current congressman was a big factor.”

Those are harsh words from someone who contributed to Griffith’s campaign in 2008.

“I thought he would be a good congressman,” Shepard said. “I’ve known Parker for a long time. I thought he would carry on the same kind of work that Bud Cramer had done. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out that way.”

Name recognition

Much of Shepard’s name recognition comes from the fact he is the grandson of former U.S. Sen. John Sparkman, D-Huntsville. The son of a Navy admiral, Shepard spent much of his youth, including his high school years, in Washington, D.C.

After a year in England as an exchange student, he obtained a bachelor’s in history at Dartmouth University and a law degree from The University of Alabama. He has practiced law in Huntsville for 31 years, beginning in Sparkman’s law firm.

“He probably did most of the thinking, and I did most of the legwork,” Shepard laughed.

For the last eight years, Shepard has been a partner in the Huntsville law firm of Sparkman, Shepard & Morris.

Shepard decries the histrionics of the far left and far right. Balance is what the 5th District needs from its congressman, he said.

“We need to elect someone who cares more about public service than personal advancement or publicity. Public service does not mean you have to get on the evening news all the time. You certainly don’t need to create controversy,” Shepard said.

Shepard said polling paid for by his campaign showed him as the frontrunner as of Tuesday, but he mentions Democrat opponent Steve Raby with some frequency. A recent rainstorm left his law office and campaign headquarters flooded.

“We came in Monday and asked, ‘How did Raby do this?’ It was awfully suspicious timing,” Shepard joked.

Shepard is far behind Raby in fundraising. Most of the funds he has come from family members. He loaned his campaign $100,000 in personal funds.

While Shepard said President Obama has done a good job in dealing with the issues he inherited, he disagrees with the president’s decision to reduce NASA’s role in human space flight.

“The Ares-Constellation cut is important, but there’s an even bigger issue,” Shepard said. “The Obama administration has shifted a lot of the funding for the future into earth sciences and other areas that are not so strong in this region. That helps states like Maryland more than it helps Alabama. Also, they’ve declined to set specific milestones for five years.

“The bright young people we have working at Marshall, and even some of the subcontractors in Morgan and Madison counties, don’t have specific goals to excite them and keep them going. I fear we may lose some of that talent.”

BRAC

Shepard said he also fears incursions into Redstone Arsenal’s successes in Base Realignment and Closure.

“There are other states that would love to have what we’ve been accomplishing here for years. If we don’t have a strong congressman to at least protect that, those other states will find a way to pull off a piece here and a piece there.”

After an unsuccessful run for the state Legislature in 1990, Shepard won a seat on the State Board of Education in the early 1990s. He has stepchildren who graduated from Austin and Decatur high schools, and his own children graduated from a magnet school in Huntsville.

“The federal government should do more funding and less managing from the top down in education,” Shepard said. “We have a history of the federal government imposing mandates but not funding them. That’s a bad way to run the education system if you’re looking for quality. We trust our children to our local school system. I think we can trust them to use the federal dollars in the right way.”

He said changes in federal funding of the No Child Left Behind Act make him worry that the poorer parts of the 5th District will suffer.

“It has in the past been on a per capita basis. They’re moving over to a grant-writing basis,” Shepard said. “That’s a real issue for the less affluent school systems. Huntsville and Decatur may have grant writers on staff, but I’m not sure that Lawrence County or Colbert County and others that really need the money have the same grant-writing expertise. It could result in a situation where the rich get richer and the ones that need it go without.”

When it comes to higher education, Shepard said he is worried about the predicament of graduates with bachelor’s degrees, student loans and — because of the recession — no jobs. He thinks a delay in loan repayment obligations would be appropriate.

Drilling

He believes the federal government needs to re-evaluate drilling safeguards because of the ongoing BP oil spill, and he is adamant that the $75 million cap on oil company liability should be repealed.

“I don’t think you can totally abandon offshore drilling, because then we’d be that much more dependent on foreign oil,” Shepard said. “We need more safeguards to make sure this kind of disaster does not happen again.”

Shepard’s interest in the Internet comes out both in his campaign strategy and in his platform. Type “Steve Raby” into Google, and the first entry you will see is Shepard’s Web site. His son, a law student, is coordinating his Google and Facebook ads.

Internet, economy

The Internet, he said, is an important vehicle for economic development in the 5th District.

“We really need to get some of the money that’s been set aside for Internet in the federal budget to make broadband Internet available in every corner of the 5th District,” he said.

Shepard said he also is looking for ways to reduce burdens on small business. In addition to his law practice, he has ownership interests in a climate-controlled storage facility, a house-rental company and a Huntsville radio station, WQSB.

His wife, Pamela Lang Shepard, owned Pam’s Gift Tree in Decatur. His wife’s family owns Lang’s Sporting Goods.

Shepard said whether or not he is elected, the 5th District would be better off with a Democrat. A recent pledge by Republican congressmen to stop inserting earmarks into bills would be a disaster for the 5th District, he said.

“If you now need $40 million to fix Gate 9 at Redstone Arsenal, where a lot of people from Morgan as well as Madison County go to work, Republicans can’t allocate it. They can try to give some money to the general transportation fund of the state, but then you’re at the mercy of the governor and the highway director as to whether he’d rather send that money to Mobile,” Shepard said.

“That is a reason it’s important for the 5th District to elect a Democrat who isn’t tied by that pledge. If I’m doing a bad job with my earmarking, the people can turn me out. I have no hesitation in saying that obtaining earmarks is one of the functions of a congressman.”

Article source – Eric Fleischauer at http://www.decaturdaily.com/detail/59815.html?content_source=&category_id=&search_filter=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=&sub_type=stories&town_id=

“This is the first poll I’ve seen on the Democratic side in the 5th district. Looks like a competitive primary, advantage Shepard right now, which is not surprising. The primary is exactly 4 weeks away and, as the memo notes, the undecideds are huge. From the memo:

With less than a month until the election, a recent survey of likely Democratic primary voters in Alabama’s 5th Congressional District shows Taze Shepard leading the pack and well positioned to take on Republican Parker Griffith in November.[1]Not only does Shepard start out with more ballot support, he also enjoys a more robust public image than his closest competitor, is better liked, and perhaps most important, his message of change and reform has real resonance in this historically Democratic district. In fact, after simulating an engaged race, with each of the major candidates introducing himself to the voters, Shepard expands his base of support and retains his lead. Still, with over half of the electorate undecided, this race is up for grabs and having the resources to communicate effectively will make the difference.

[1] Lake Research Partners designed and administered this survey, which reached 500 likely Democratic Primary voters in Alabama’s 5th Congressional District. The survey was conducted April 27-29, 2010. The margin of error for the survey is 4.38%.

Original Source: http://www.leftinalabama.com/diary/6224/al05-new-poll-from-lake-associates

Green has an extensive list of honors and accomplishments.   After achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, he was selected to present the State of Scouting address to President Obama and Congress.  He met the President in the Oval Office of the White House and addressed a joint session of Congress.

Green has also met with Governor Bob Riley and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, who declared “Tory Green Day” in the City of Huntsville.  Green also delivers sermons at local churches including his home church, Bethany Primitive Baptist in New Market.

Congressional Candidate Taze Shepard said “I am delighted that Tory has joined our campaign staff.  He will help us deliver the message that Congress should serve the public interest, not the special interests in Washington.”

“I am joining this campaign because I believe in Mr. Shepard.  He is the only candidate who can defeat the Republicans in the fall, and he will be an excellent congressman for District 5″, says Green.

Green joins the staff led by Howell Lee, campaign manager for Shepard for Congress.  Lee served as District Director for former Congressman Bud Cramer and as Finance Director for Friends of Cramer.

While at Lee High School, Green was recognized as Outstanding Student of the Year and received the “Senator John Sparkman Award” for outstanding achievement in student government.  ”I know my grandfather, Senator Sparkman, would be proud of this young man who has achieved so much since winning this award,” Shepard said.

He served on the state school board back in the 1990s, and he enjoyed it, but when it was done, it was done.

But when the Democratic Party was left without a 5th Congressional District candidate because incumbent U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith switched parties, Shepard reconsidered. He said he and wife, Pam, visited a Democratic Party meeting in Scottsboro earlier this year, and he announced his interest in running.

“There was a very strong show of support,” said Shepard, 56. “We went to another meeting and another meeting and another meeting, and each time, we were met with excitement.”

And that’s how Shepard – whose grandfather served in Congress and the Senate for a total of 32 years and whose father is a retired Navy admiral – came to get his name on another ballot.

“It was like a door opening, and you’ve got to weigh the advantages and sacrifices of going through it,” he said. “I have plenty to keep me busy for the rest of my life, but my family and I decided to walk through that door.”

Shepard was born in Washington, D.C., while his father was assigned to the Pentagon. His mother’s parents, the Sparkmans, spent a good deal of their time in D.C. when the Senate was in session, so he got to see his grandfather in action.

He said Sparkman’s legacy includes backing legislation for the GI Bill “that sent millions of people to college,” the Tennessee Valley Authority “that allowed for rural electrification,” the Small Business Administration and “all major housing legislation of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.”

Sparkman died in 1985.

Shepard completed his bachelor’s degree at Dartmouth College, but when it was time to go to law school, he wanted to head back south, where he attended the University of Alabama.

“I built my law practice on my own, and I’ve been doing this for 31 years,” the Huntsville attorney said. “I’ve always considered North Alabama home.”

Shepard called himself the “most centrist candidate” and the only Democrat who has held public office.

“I’ll have the best chance of beating whoever comes out of the Republican primary,” he said. “I’m a centrist like Bud Cramer (who retired from Congress in 2008), and he appealed to Democrats, independents and Republicans.”

He said he also understands the concerns of small business owners. He currently owns several rental properties as well as a self-storage company. He’s also part-owner in a radio station, and his wife owned a gift shop in Decatur for 25 years.

Shepard said a major role of the congressman from the 5th District is to make sure that NASA and Redstone Arsenal have proper funding.

“Over 42 percent of the jobs on the arsenal are occupied by people living outside Madison County,” he said. “They live in Morgan County and Limestone County and all over the district.”

He’s concerned that the public school population has increased 12 percent since it was announced in 2005 that thousands of new Department of Defense and contracting jobs would relocate to Huntsville by 2011.

Original article at Huntsville Times

Photo courtesy of Glenn Baeske / The Huntsville Times

My family has lived in north Alabama for over 100 years. The values of this district and its importance to our nation’s security and future are at my core. With your help and support, I will work tirelessly to provide the same leadership for north Alabama in Washington that it had with Bud Cramer, Ronnie Flippo, Bob Jones and John Sparkman. And like these great men from north Alabama, I will work with Democrats and Republican for the interests of this district.

Recently, I spent about five minutes explaining to one of my sons the role of a congressman and the importance of putting north Alabama’s interests ahead of your personal agenda. Finally, he stopped me and said, “I understand, Dad. It’s not about being the Big Cheese. It’s about bringing home the cheese.”

And that is exactly what I will do. I will be accessible to the citizens of this district, I will work with local leaders and I will provide a strong voice in Washington to protect and promote federal funding and jobs in north Alabama.

Lee will oversee campaign activities throughout the District. He previously served as District Staff Director for Congressman Bud Cramer, and as campaign Finance Director for Friends of Bud Cramer.

The Shepard campaign also announced the appointment of Alex Hardy of Huntsville as finance chairman. Hardy is a former Director of Cummings Research Park, and a former member of the staffs of Congressman Terry Everett and Senator Richard Shelby. Hardy will oversee the volunteer activities of the campaign finance committee.

The campaign has opened an office at Suite 1311, 303 Williams Avenue, in Huntsville. The telephone number is 256-536-9192.

Democratic candidate Taze Shepard is a Huntsville businessman and attorney, and is a former elected member of the State Board of Education. Shepard is also the grandson of the late U.S. Senator John Sparkman, who held the congressional seat from 1936 to 1946. Shepard is married to the former Pamela Lang of Decatur.