Higher Education Partnership Volume 3 Issue 1 Jan.-Mar.,1999 In support of and working together with Alabama A & M Univ Alabama State Univ Univ of Alabama Univ of Ala at Bham Univ of Ala at Huntsville Auburn Univ Auburn Univ at Mtgy Jacksonville State Univ Univ.of Montevallo Univ of North Alabama Univ of South Alabama Troy State Univ Troy State Univ Dothan Troy State Univ Mtgy Univ of West Alabama  Inside this Issue CEO SouthTrust Corp. Offers Membership Challenge Focus on STARS Prosperity in 2050 Call to Action: James reflects on why he lost to Siegelman	Partnership Update CALL TO ACTION Why is Membership Important? The article below is a reprint of a January article in the Birmingham News. We share it with you to illustrate how important it is to build a strong grassroots network. The article shows how we have and will continue to "make a difference." More members means more influence. Compared to the last quadrinnium, the next four years should be much different. As a result of Partnership activity, the University voice is being heard.
	James reflects on why he lost to Siegelman Mary Orndorff News Staff Writer, Birmingham News
	Gov. Fob James, in the waning days of his term, said Wednesday that a crowded primary, racially divided voting and his efforts to cut higher education spending probably cost him his job. “It’s like losing a football game. You can think about it and replay it, but the score doesn’t change,” James said during an interview in his near-empty office at the Capitol. Though his term ends Monday, he said today would be his last to operate out of the governor’s office. James was light-hearted about his final hours as the state’s CEO and said he leaves with no regrets. He said he’s thankful voters elected him twice and declared a two-for three batting average in general elections “good enough for the major leagues.” Although the Republican governor said he hasn’t bothered with a detailed review of voting patterns last November, he offered several possible reasons voters chose Lt. Gov. Don Siegelman over him by a 16-point margin. “I had a tough primary,” James said. “I got 48 percent but Guy Hunt got 9 percent. If he hadn’t gotten in, so I’m told, we would have won without a runoff.” Though James led a five-man field in the GOP primary, he was forced into a brutal, month-long battle with Winton Blount for the nomination. That cost him money and energy - and he said running as a 64-year-old was more draining than when he ran for governor as a 44-year-old in 1978. “I may have been tired,” James said. By contrast, Siegelman easily won the Democratic primary without a runoff. He continued raising money and airing television commercials through the summer, while James’ campaign took a hiatus after the rough-and-tumble June primary runoff. Among the surprises on election day were James’ losses in DeKalb and Etowah counties. He had joined a fight to allow school-sanctioned prayer in DeKalb classrooms and a battle to permit an Etowah judge to keep the Ten Commandments hanging from his courtroom wall. James had no explanation for his failure in those two northeast Alabama counties. “I really have no idea,” he said. But while the governor was stumping on such social issues, Siegelman was selling an idea that affected voters’ wallets - college scholarships. James agreed that the difference cost him some votes.	“Maybe the education lottery was a good selling thing, I really don’t know,” James said. “To me, it was a joke.” He said he remains opposed to a lottery for Alabama but has no plans to be a high-profile anti-gambling activist if the issue goes to a vote of the people. James’ own scholarship plan foundered. Political consultant Ralph Reed, founder of the Christian Coalition and a campaign adviser to James, said on election night that polling showed voters didn’t believe James could fund scholarships without extra revenue. “You can’t make people believe something,” James said. He also noted that turnout among black voters was extremely strong, and he received almost none of their support. “Maybe liberals prefer that government give them a lot of stuff,” said James, a self-described conservative. “I thought my education program helped a lot of schools, particularly the schools that needed help.” Finally, James acknowledged that his aggressive approach to higher-education funding cost him at the ballot box. Over four years, the governor redirected millions of state dollars away from university budgets in favor of elementary and secondary schools. He also tried to reorganize university boards of trustees and even talked about closing some colleges. “That probably cost me a ton of votes,” James said. The governor had little to say about his plans. After a “sabbatical” to catch up with his grandchildren and his hunting, he’ll decide what to do about earning an income. Although he turns 65 in September, he’s not ready to declare himself retired. “I don’t have any definite plans,” he said.   © The Birmingham News. Used with permission.
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