Davis says the right things
Published 12:13 am Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Last week Congressman Artur Davis came out in favor of writing a new constitution for the state.
Davis is running for governor as a Democrat. He’s intimately aware of the state’s political structure and how it functions under the current constitution written in 1901.
A key argument made by this candidate for governor rests in the assertion of the statehouse in Montgomery controlling all local matters.
If a county or state wishes to change something, the issue must go through the Alabama Legislature.
In theory, if a clique in the Legislature had a grudge against a certain other member nothing that outsider could do would help his constituency if a local issue came up.
None of the other candidates have called for a constitutional convention. In fact the Democratic opposition, Agricultural Commissioner Ron Sparks, lashed out at Davis, calling the congressman “out of touch.”
Sparks said a new constitution would not create any new jobs or keep Alabama families out of foreclosure.
Sparks is either forgetting or choosing to ignore how unweildy the state’s constitution is when it comes to working out deals that could land new jobs, which could keep Alabama families out of foreclosure.
Nationally this state is known for having an inefficient and poorly organized government. That moves us in no direction to bargain with industries.