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Alabama Scene To paraphrase an old line, you bait the hook with a pay raise and you will catch Alabama legislators every time. Hence no one should have been surprised when the whopping 62 percent expense allowance hike sailed through the House and Senate comfortably. In fact, when the motion was made in the House to override Gov. Riley's veto you knew it was a done deal- supporters of the raise would never have brought the issue up had they not been certain they had the votes to override. The big winners in this vote were the lawmakers who live within driving distance of Montgomery. They sleep in their own beds at night, more often than not eat most of their meals at home. Their expenses are minimal. All of a sudden, to represent Montgomery, Autauga, Elmore, Lowndes and Macon County…all within a few minutes drive of the Capitol… has become an exceptionally good job. Will the voters remember this huge raise and get revenge in the 2010 election? Don't bet on it. It will be long forgotten. **** It was a case of "Mama calling and the son coming home." When Dr. Jay Gogue's alma mater called him to come home to be president of Auburn University he heeded the call. Dr. Gogue…and his last name rhymes with "rouge"…was the only candidate and the unanimous choice to become Auburn University's 18th president. Dr. Gogue earned his bachelors degree from Auburn in 1959, his masters degree a couple of years later. He currently is serving as president and chancellor of the University of Houston. He is expected to begin work at Auburn in mid-July. **** Gov. Bob Riley doesn't look too kindly on anyone working for the state who doesn't earn his pay. That being so he is not at all supportive of a bill now pending in the Legislature which would pay former Gov. Guy Hunt $36,000 a year as a "Governor's Councilor." In fact, Riley could have named Hunt to an already existing position similar to that which pays $18,000 a year but has not done so. Riley said he had talked with Hunt some years ago about the $18,000 position but Hunt at the time was not in position to do any work. "I have some reservations about whether or not you should put someone on the state payroll where you didn't receive any benefit," Riley said. Hunt, the first Republican governor since the Reconstruction, was removed from office during his second term after being convicted of a felony. He is now seriously ill with cancer and has admitted he is having a hard time paying his medical bills. **** Ray Bass, surely the most familiar face in the State Department of Transportation for decades, has died at age 73. Bass worked for the department for more than four decades, including 12 years as director and another ten as chief engineer. He served at a time when it was commonplace for the governor to use roads as a political tool. In fact in a recent interview he said "every public road is a political road." He was a 1959 engineering graduate of Auburn. **** State Rep. Barry Mask, R-Elmore, is remembered as the first "Aubie"….the Auburn University mascot. It is obvious he is still a sports fan. Mask has introduced in the House a bill to allow students who are home schooled to participate in extra-curricular activities at the nearest public school….including athletics. Presently this is not allowed in Alabama. Football fans call the proposition the "Tim Tebow Bill"…he being a superstar high school quarterback in Florida who under the law in that state played for a local public high school even though he was homeschooled. Tebow as a freshman played a key role in the University of Florida winning the national football championship in January. **** If you detect U. S. Sen. Jeff Sessions strutting proudly in early July there will be a reason. He and his wife Mary are scheduled to become a grandparents for the first time. The mother: Their daughter, Mary Abigail Reinhardt. She lives in Honolulu where her husband is an officer aboard a nuclear submarine.
Bob Ingram has been covering Alabama politics for over 50 years.
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