This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 71.198.183.184 (talk) at 17:58, 29 June 2008 (Also struggling for NPOV. This now strikes a fair balance and does not include defamatory comments.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 17:58, 29 June 2008 by 71.198.183.184 (talk) (Also struggling for NPOV. This now strikes a fair balance and does not include defamatory comments.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Steve Windom | |
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| File:Steve-Windom.jpg | |
| 28 Lieutenant Governor of Alabama | |
| In office January 1999 – January 2003 | |
| Governor | Don Siegelman (D) |
| Preceded by | Don Siegelman (D) |
| Succeeded by | Lucy Baxley (D) |
| Alabama State Senator | |
| In office 1989–1999 | |
| Succeeded by | George Callahan (R) |
| Constituency | 35th District |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1949-11-06) November 6, 1949 (age 75) Florence, South Carolina |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Mary Windom |
| Children | 2 |
Stephen Ralph Windom (born November 6 1949) is an American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Alabama from 1999 to 2003. Windom was born in Florence, South Carolina, and received his B.S. and J.D. degrees from the University of Alabama.
Biography
Windom was the first Republican Lieutenant Governor to serve in Alabama since Reconstruction, though he served under Democrat Don Siegelman (Alabama's Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected separately). Windom served several terms in the Alabama Legislature as a Democrat, before switching to the Republican Party in 1997 in his last term as a legislator. He was a delegate for Bill Clinton at the 1992 Democratic National Convention. He was also a delegate for George Bush at the 2000 Republican National Convention, and served as the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign in Alabama. While in office, Windom was selected Conservation Legislator of the Year by the Alabama Wildlife Federation in 1995, Legislator of the Year by the National Federation of Independent Business in 1996, and Legislator of the Year in 1997 by the Independent Insurance Agents.
Windom made tort reform the centerpiece of his 1998 campaign. When Windom's Republican primary opponent accused him of hypocrisy for doing so, after taking thousands of dollars in trial lawyer contributions as a Democratic legislator, a Windom spokesman replied, "...he understands now that the trial lawyers have not been good to Alabama and he's not going to associate with them..." In the general election, Windom was endorsed by the Mobile Press-Register, The Birmingham News, and his opponent's hometown newspaper, The Huntsville Times. His opponent, State Sen. Dewayne Freeman, was endorsed by The Anniston Star. Windom defeated Freeman by a narrow margin of 50.3%-49.7%.
Windom's campaign for Lieutenant Governor was marked by accusations that he had hired, and later assaulted, a prostitute. Garve Ivey, an Alabama plaintiffs' attorney who supported Windom's opponent, was eventually convicted of witness tampering and criminal defamation in connection with his efforts in originating those accusations. In that trial, the prostitute recanted her earlier accusations of Windom.
Windom gained notoriety in 1999 for discreetly urinating into a jug behind his desk while presiding over the Senate, purportedly to avoid being stripped of most of his powers as presiding officer by the Democratic majority while going to the bathroom.
In the 2002 Republican gubernatorial primary, Windom was defeated by then-Congressman Bob Riley by a 73-18% margin.
Since his departure from elective office, Windom has opened a legal and lobbying practice, Steve Windom, LLC. In the Republican primary on June 3, 2008, Windom's wife, Mary Windom, won the Republican nomination for a seat on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.
References
- Alabama Department of Archives and History: Steve Windom
- Alabama Department of Archives and History: Lieutenant Governors
- "Mobile's Sen. Windom Ready to Leave Deomcrats, Join GOP," The Birmingham News, June 25, 1997, p. 1B
- "Windom Campaigning as Little-d Democrat," The Birmingham News, October 4, 1998, p. 27A
- Steve Windom LLC: Home
- Steve Windom LLC: Home
- "Windom's Officially Running," Mobile Press-Register, February 3, 1998, p. A1
- "Windom Boasts He's Lawyers' Foe," The Birmingham News, May 30, 1998, p. 1B
- "Windom Camp Justifies Attacks," Mobile Press-Register, May 28, 1998, p. A2
- "Editorial: Windom the Clear Choice," Mobile Press-Register, October 21, 1998, p. A14
- "Editorial: Our Endorsements," The Birmingham News, November 2, 1998, p. 7A
- "Editorial: For Lieutenant Goveror," The Huntsville Times, October 25, 1998, p. B2
- "Freeman for Lieutenant Governor," The Anniston Star, October 29, 1998, p. A7
- Alabama Secretary of State: 1998 General Election Results - County Level
- "Ivey Guilty on Two Counts, Cleared of Bribery," The Birmingham News, June 23, 2000, p. 1A
- Associated Press (2007-06-09). "Senate floor fight viewed as giving US state Alabama's image a black eye". Retrieved 2008-03-19.
- "Alabama Democrats Renominate Gov. Siegelman," The Washington Post, June 5, 2002, p. A16
- Steve Windom LLC: Home
- "Place 1 GOP Race Going to Runoff," The Birmingham News, June 4, 2008, p. 1B
