Don Siegelman
Donald Eugene Siegelman | |
|---|---|
| File:DonSpeaking1.jpg | |
| 56th Governor of Alabama | |
| In office January 18, 1999 – January 20, 2003 | |
| Lieutenant | Steve Windom |
| Preceded by | Fob James |
| Succeeded by | Bob Riley |
| 27th Lieutenant Governor of Alabama | |
| In office January 16, 1995 – January 18, 1999 | |
| Governor | Fob James |
| Preceded by | Ryan DeGraffenried |
| Succeeded by | Steve Windom |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 24, 1946 Mobile, Alabama |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Lori Allen |
| Profession | Politician |
Donald Eugene "Don" Siegelman (born February 24, 1946, in Mobile, Alabama) is an American Democratic politician. He was the governor of Alabama from 1999 to 2003. Don Siegelman is the only person in the history of Alabama to be elected to serve in all four of the top statewide offices: Secretary of State, Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor and Governor. He served in Alabama politics for 26 years, winning his first election for the governorship with 57% of the vote, including over 90% of the African-American electorate.
He was defeated for reelection in November 2002 by Representative Bob Riley by the narrowest margin in Alabama history: approximately 3000 votes. The margin was controversial, as a voting machine malfunction in a single county produced the votes needed to give Riley the election. The irregular recount of that county's votes was affirmed by the state's Attorney General, a Republican.
In 2006, a Federal jury convicted Siegelman on corruption charges, and he was sentenced to seven years in prison.[1]
Personal life
Don Siegelman was born and grew up in Mobile, Alabama. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1968, and from Georgetown University Law Center and studied international law at the University of Oxford. While at the University of Alabama, Siegelman served as the President of the Student Government Association and member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. While in law school at Georgetown, Siegelman met his expenses by working as an officer in the United States Capitol Police. Prior to becoming Governor in 1999, he had served as Lieutenant Governor from 1995 to 1999, state Attorney General from 1987 to 1991, and Secretary of State from 1979 to 1987.
Siegelman is married to Lori Allen, and they have two children, Dana and Joseph. Siegelman was raised Catholic, but his wife Lori is Jewish, and they raised their children Jewish. Joseph had a bar mitzvah, and Dana had a bat mitzvah at Montgomery's Conservative congregation, Agudath Israel. Joseph, now 18, still considers himself Jewish. Dana, now 22, has since converted to Christianity and been baptized.
Siegelman has studied martial arts for decades and holds a black belt in Kyokushin-style karate.
Governorship
Siegelman attempted to capitalize early in his administration on what had been the keystone issue of his campaign: a state lottery, with the proceeds funding free tuition at state universities for most high school graduates. Disregarding the advice of some supporters, Siegelman supported a bill that placed the lottery on a free-standing referendum ballot in 1999. The measure was defeated. Many analysts believe that the key to the lottery's defeat was the difference in turnout between supporters and opponents. [1] Some advisers had suggested that Siegelman wait until the regular 2000 elections, when anti-gambling interests would command a smaller percentage of the electorate.
After the defeat of the lottery, Siegelman struggled to deal with serious state budget problems. Alabama's tax system is historically sensitive to economic downturns, and tax revenues were down during most of his administration. Despite this, most observers felt that Siegelman did a creditable job of managing the limited revenue produced by this system during a national economic downturn.[citation needed]
Among his recognized achievements, Siegelman launched the "Alabama Reading Initiative", an early education literacy program that was praised by both Democratic and Republican officials, and emulated by several other states. Also, he was able to eliminate virtually all portable classrooms in the state's public schools [2], making good on a platform of his campaign.
Siegelman's term took place in the midst of an explosive growth in Alabama's automotive manufacturing industry. The first new major plant, for Mercedes-Benz, came to Alabama in the administration of Governor Jim Folsom, Jr. During Siegelman's administration, Mercedes agreed to double the size of that plant. Siegelman became an energetic industrial recruiter, visiting several countries and securing commitments from Toyota, Honda,[3] and Hyundai [4] [5] to build major assembly plants in Alabama.
2002 Election Controversy
On the night of the 2002 election, in which Siegelman ran as the incumbent against Republican Bob Riley, a computer error was reported by election officials in Baldwin County. A post-midnight recount was conducted which gave Riley the victory in that county and made the difference in the statewide result. The legality of the recount, which was conducted without the participation of Democratic observers, was challenged. Then-Attorney General Bill Pryor, a Republican, ruled that the recount would stand and his interpretation was upheld by state courts. Largely as a result of this controversy, the Alabama Legislature amended the election code to provide for automatic, supervised recounts in close races. [6]
2006 Election
Siegelman faced Lt. Governor Lucy Baxley and minor candidates in the Democratic primary on June 6, during his trial. Despite Baxley's relatively low-profile campaign, she easily defeated Siegelman in the primary with almost 60% of the vote compared to Siegelman's 36%. Siegelman was convicted of federal corruption charges just three weeks later.
Baxley went on to lose to incumbent Bob Riley in the general election. Riley obtained 58% of the vote; Baxley, just under 42%. The Alabama governor's chair remained in Republican control.
Federal Prosecution
Early developments
A month after Don Siegelman took office, U.S. Attorney Leura Canary, a Bush appointee, began a federal investigation of Don Siegelman that six years later resulted in a conviction in 2006 on corruption charges.[7]
On May 27, 2004, Siegelman was indicted on federal charges. The day after his trial began, prosecutors abruptly dropped all charges against all three men when the third judge threw out much of the prosecution's evidence "with prejudice," meaning that charges could not be refiled based on the disallowed evidence.[citation needed]
Conviction in 2006
Siegelman, represented by Mobile attorneys Vince Kilborn and David McDonald, along with Greenwood attorney Hiram Eastland and Notre Dame law professor, G. Robert Blakey, the author of RICO, was acquitted on 25 charges, including the indictment's allegations of a widespread RICO conspiracy.
On October 26, 2005, Siegelman was indicted on new charges of bribery and mail fraud in connection with Richard M. Scrushy. Two former Siegelman aides were charged in the indictment as well. Richard M. Scrushy is the former founder and CEO of HealthSouth.
In short, Siegelman was accused of trading government favors for campaign donations when he was governor from 1999 to 2003 and lieutenant governor from 1995 to 1999, and Scrushy was accused of arranging $500,000 in donations to Siegelman's campaign for a state lottery in exchange for a seat on a state hospital regulatory board.
On June 29, 2006, a federal jury found both Siegelman and Scrushy guilty. Siegelman was convicted on "one count of bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud, four counts of honest services mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice", according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. [1]
He was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison and a $50,000 fine.[7]
Jury controversy
Following the trial, Kilborn and McDonald raised issues regarding the jury's impartiality after receiving what purported to be emails exchanged between two jurors during the trial.[8] In court the judge said, "I do not want to deliberate too much about these e-mails."[8]
Rove controversy
In June 2007, a Republican lawyer, Dana Jill Simpson of Rainsville, Alabama, signed a sworn statement that she had heard five years ago that Karl Rove was preparing to politically neutralize Siegelman with an investigation headed by the U.S. Department of Justice.[9]
According to Simpson's statement, she was on a Republican campaign conference call in 2002 when she heard Bill Canary tell other campaign workers not to worry about Siegelman because Canary's "girls" and "Karl" would make sure the Justice Department pursued the Democrat so he was not a political threat in the future.[9] "Canary's girls" included his wife, Leura Canary, who is United States Attorney for United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.[9] Leura Canary did not submit voluntary recusal paperwork until two months after Siegelman Attorney David Cromwell Johnson's press conference in March of 2002.[citation needed]
In September 2007, Simpson gave sworn testimony to the United States House Committee on the Judiciary regarding this issue (see below under Congressional Reaction).
Public reaction
Siegelman's supporters and interested academics have established a website explaining their points of view, at DonSiegelman.Org.
Supporters of the prosecutions assert that critics effectively are opposing the U.S. jury system, as Siegelman was convicted by a jury of his peers.
Siegelman defenders point out that over 100 charges were thrown out by three different judges, and the investigating U.S. Attorney was the wife of Siegelman's political opponent's campaign manager.[9]
Siegelman defenders argue that the sentence and fine are unusual and excessive because, for example, former Alabama Governor Guy Hunt, a Republican, was found guilty in state court of personally pocketing $200,000, and state prosecutors sought probation, not jail time, in the Hunt case.[9]
References
- ^ a b Department of Justice press release about Siegelman's conviction.
- ^ Editorial, 2002, Cleburn News.
- ^ "Local News" July 10, 2002, Daily Home.
- ^ Special Reports: Hyundai June 8, 2002, Montgomery Advertiser.
- ^ Hyundai News
- ^ Code of Alabama
- ^ a b "Ex-governor of Alabama gets 7 years in corruption case", June 29, 2007, Los Angeles Times. Accessed August 29, 2007.
- ^ a b "Differing Memories of Jury Deliberations during Scrushy/Siegelman Trial" November 19, 2006, WSFA TV (Montgomery, Alabama).
- ^ a b c d e "Ex-governor says he was target of Republican plot". Los Angeles Times. June 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
External links
- DonSiegelman.org A website in support of Don Siegelman
- NY Times Sept 10, 2007, "Strange Case of An Imprisoned Alabama Governor"
- Don Siegelman at Alabama State Archives
