AU trustee confirmation mired in state politics

[DKW 86 7,882]

June 5, 2008

AU trustee confirmation mired in state politics

By Jacque Kochak

Villager Editor

The nomination of Birmingham billionaire Raymond Harbert to an at-large seat on the Auburn University Board of Trustees is mired in politics, casting doubt over whether the nomination will ever be confirmed. The delay in Harbert's confirmation came about despite a procedure passed by voters in 2000 to take the politics out of AU trustee selection.

Nominations to university and state boards must be forwarded to the Senate floor by the Senate Confirmations Committee, chaired by Sen. Myron Penn. Penn is a Democrat from Union Springs.

Penn failed to bring Harbert's name up for consideration, although the committee forwarded several dozen other nominations to the Senate floor during the Legislature's regular session and the special session that ended Saturday.

"The chairman decides what will come up, although individuals on the committee have the right to make a request, as does any individual," said Sen. Ted Little, D-Auburn, who sits on the committee.

"The committee did meet during the special session, and I think we considered more names than we did in the regular session," Little said.

Speculation is rife about Penn's reasons for failing to bring up the AU trustee nomination, but the senator failed to return phone calls on Tuesday.

Ralph Jordan, president of the Auburn Alumni Association, sits on the five-person nominating committee that forwarded Harbert's name to the Senate committee. The committee consists of two members from the alumni association, two members from the AU Board of Trustees and Gov. Bob Riley or his representative.

Jordan said Penn might not have been able to bring up the name during last week's special session.

"I got a call last Thursday saying we would need to convene a teleconference on Friday for the purpose of reconfirming our vote on Mr. Harbert," he said from his home in Tennessee.

He said Grant Davis, secretary to the board of trustees, told him the governor's legal counsel believed that since Harbert was not confirmed during the regular session, the nominating entity had to vote on him again. Davis called back later in the day to say the meeting would not take place.

"I said, 'What does that mean?'" Jordan said. "Grant said, 'I think it means they have decided not to submit his name for confirmation during the special session."

One source who asked not to be identified said Gov. Riley himself was among those who had contacted Penn, asking him to bring up Harbert's name.

In a split vote, the nominating committee's two trustee members and the governor's representative, state finance director Jim Main, voted for Harbert after interviewing some 30 nominees.

Jordan and the other alumni association committee member, Dr. Neil Christopher of Guntersville, voted against Harbert's nomination.

"My vote would be exactly as it was before," Jordan said. "It's not a vote against Harbert, it's a vote for someone else."

Many alumni association members favored the nomination of Sally Jones Hill, national co-chair of the recently concluded "It Begins at Auburn" capital campaign. Hill was also a member of the AU presidential search committee, was a member of the AU Foundation board from 1986 to 2006, and is president of the AU Women's Philanthropy Board.

"Mr. Harbert would meet most people's criteria for being a trustee, but there were other people I thought were better qualified, using the criteria I used," Jordan said.

Harbert is an Auburn alumnus and chairman and CEO of Harbert Management Corp. in Birmingham. His surname is well-known on campus; Raymond Harbert's father, John, donated $5 million for the Harbert Engineering Center, and his uncle, Bill Harbert, donated a $2 million collection of European art to the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. Raymond Harbert and his wife Kathryn last year donated $5 million to the AU College of Business.

Jordan said he had no idea what was going on in the Alabama statehouse or why Harbert's name hadn't been brought up for a vote.

"Good, bad or indifferent, I live six-and-a-half hours from there," he said. "I haven't heard anything about who chairs the committee or the leanings of the Senate."

Joe Turnham of Auburn, who chairs the Alabama Democratic Party, wrote in a column Sunday that Harbert had contributed $10,000 to Gov. Riley's new ALGOP 2010 campaign, designed to raise money to unseat Democratic legislators like Penn.

ALGOP 2010 has signed up over a hundred high-ticket donors such as Harbert, all of whom are part of the "Governor's Circle" and pledge $10,000 a year for four years.

Turnham said he doubts, however, that's the reason Penn is holding up Harbert's nomination.

"A guy that wealthy probably gives a lot of money to a lot of people," Turnham said. "It's probably trustee politics. It doesn't take many senators to block a nomination, and it could be they didn't want to deal with anything that controversial in a special session."

State Rep. Mike Hubbard of Auburn is the governor's floor leader in the House and is chairing Riley's ALGOP 2010 fundraising effort. He said he's never met Harbert.

"He signed without me even meeting with him," Hubbard said. "Everything I've heard about him is positive, and I don't think that had anything to do with his being named to the board of trustees."

Hubbard did note that the Harberts were long-time Republican stalwarts in the state.

Earlon McWhorter of Anniston has held the at-large seat that is now open since 2000. The constitutional amendment passed that year, which created the trustee nominating committee, also provides that trustees can retain their seat for no more than one year if the Senate fails to confirm a replacement.

McWhorter, who has been ill, has said he does not want to remain in the seat. His one-year grace period will end next Feb. 20, during the Senate's 2009 regular session.

That raises the question of whether Penn will still be committee chair at that time.

Little said that could depend on whether Sen. Hinton Mitchum, a Democrat from north Alabama who replaced former AU trustee Lowell Barron as president pro tem of the Senate this year, stays at his post.

"If Sen. Mitchum gives up his position, the next person in line is Sen. Rodger Smitherman, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee," Little said. "If Smitherman becomes pro tem, speculation is that Penn would take over the judiciary committee and Mitchum would chair the nominating committee."

Ironically, Alabama voters ratified an amendment to the state constitution changing the way AU trustees are appointed after alleged shenanigans in the Senate Confirmations Committee eventually led to the re-appointment of trustee Bobby Lowder of Montgomery to a disputed seat. Lowder served on this year's trustee nominating committee along with Jordan, Christopher, Main and trustee Paul Spina.

The amendment removed the sole authority of the governor to appoint trustees as well as increasing the board from 12 to 14 members, reducing terms from 12 to seven years, limiting future members to two terms and allowing non-Alabama residents to serve in at-large seats.

When Lowder's term on the board expired in 1995, then-Gov. Fob James appointed ALFA executive Phil Richardson to the vacancy. The Senate Confirmations Committee, led at that time by Barron, refused to confirm Richardson or any other James' appointee, and Lowder finally got his seat back in 1997 when Don Siegelman was elected governor.

Gina Smith, public affairs director for the state department of finance, forwarded questions to Jim Main. She said that, according to their reading, a nomination is rejected if not confirmed and the process begins anew. The amendment also provides that the same name may be submitted to the Senate for the same position on the board more than one time.

"As for those questions regarding Sen. Penn, you'll have to call and ask him," Smith said.

No link as yet...

[aubiescottie 1]

Wow! I can't believe it.

[PChamp119 96]

Too long to read that is not about football. Can someone please summarize and why I should care? (This is not sarcastic by the way)

[quietfan 233]

Too long to read that is not about football. Can someone please summarize and why I should care? (This is not sarcastic by the way)

I think before anyone tries to "summarize" the Gordian Knot of intrigue and back-room backstabbing that is Alabama politics, they should warm up on simplier questions like quantum gravitation or how many angels can dance on the head of a pin!

As always, simply "SNAFU"...with the harshest possible interpretation of the "F" initial

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

Too long to read that is not about football. Can someone please summarize and why I should care? (This is not sarcastic by the way)

I think you are old enough to do your own summarizing. Not many flunkies on here

You should care because Auburn people, including you, are always complaining about Auburn officials including BOTs. Everybody here should be e-mailing or calling these idiots in Montgomery. They found time to approve a new BOT for UAT.

[Ranger12 53]

Too long to read that is not about football. Can someone please summarize and why I should care? (This is not sarcastic by the way)

I guess some could ask why did you even care to reply in the thread to begin with.

I do feel bad for you that reading a 1-2 page article is too long for you. Let us know when you graduate from the "Dick and Jane" books.

[PChamp119 96]

Apparently you didn't catch on...

first off I graduated with Honors from Auburn in Engineering (we don't like to read - we do numbers).

Second, I enjoy reading when it has a purpose. Did you read about Finance and Social Security when you were in the 10th grade? Probably not. I tried reading this article and after the first two paragraphs I got bored.

An article needs to grab my attention somehow to gain my interest to read it. You wouldn't just read any article published in the world when you have no clue what it's about do you?

For me, it's difficult to keep my attention because most articles have a history behind it and you need to understand that history to understand the article.

I was asking for someone to please summarize it, I don't think it was a big deal. Don't we see that often around here? People have a link to an article and point out the key things to pull from?

[Hoopie 6]

Apparently you didn't catch on...

first off I graduated with Honors from Auburn in Engineering (we don't like to read - we do numbers).

Second, I enjoy reading when it has a purpose. Did you read about Finance and Social Security when you were in the 10th grade? Probably not. I tried reading this article and after the first two paragraphs I got bored.

An article needs to grab my attention somehow to gain my interest to read it. You wouldn't just read any article published in the world when you have no clue what it's about do you?

For me, it's difficult to keep my attention because most articles have a history behind it and you need to understand that history to understand the article.

I was asking for someone to please summarize it, I don't think it was a big deal. Don't we see that often around here? People have a link to an article and point out the key things to pull from?

Champ....I live in Ga and don't follow Ala politics unless it affects AU. This does. The author is located in Bama and seems to be boring because he is being cautious to keep editorialism to a minimum. He lives there. I grew up near Montgomery and still have friends there and in Auburn even now. I get conflicting reports as to the amount of interference/influence still attempted by the infamous members of the BOT. Oddly enough, the folks in Auburn (athletic connections) say that there is no discernable interference. The folks I know in Montgomery are more political in nature and say that there is always pressure to exert influence without being detected. This article reeks of an attempt by the infamous folks to maintain control. The trustee candidate from Bham is an international business person and wouldn't be affected by the local control of the infamous. AU needs this change in the trustees.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

Apparently you didn't catch on...

first off I graduated with Honors from Auburn in Engineering (we don't like to read - we do numbers).

I need to talk to John about that

[AU alum 2]

Apparently you didn't catch on...

first off I graduated with Honors from Auburn in Engineering (we don't like to read - we do numbers).

Second, I enjoy reading when it has a purpose. Did you read about Finance and Social Security when you were in the 10th grade? Probably not. I tried reading this article and after the first two paragraphs I got bored.

An article needs to grab my attention somehow to gain my interest to read it. You wouldn't just read any article published in the world when you have no clue what it's about do you?

For me, it's difficult to keep my attention because most articles have a history behind it and you need to understand that history to understand the article.

I was asking for someone to please summarize it, I don't think it was a big deal. Don't we see that often around here? People have a link to an article and point out the key things to pull from?

Champ....I live in Ga and don't follow Ala politics unless it affects AU. This does. The author is located in Bama and seems to be boring because he is being cautious to keep editorialism to a minimum. He lives there. I grew up near Montgomery and still have friends there and in Auburn even now. I get conflicting reports as to the amount of interference/influence still attempted by the infamous members of the BOT. Oddly enough, the folks in Auburn (athletic connections) say that there is no discernable interference. The folks I know in Montgomery are more political in nature and say that there is always pressure to exert influence without being detected. This article reeks of an attempt by the infamous folks to maintain control. The trustee candidate from Bham is an international business person and wouldn't be affected by the local control of the infamous. AU needs this change in the trustees.

That is the key right there. He is not a person that could be controlled.

[MDM4AU 337]

In related news (as posted by others on here) Harbert International won the bid for the new BBall arena coming in $10M less than AU anticipated.

[mowegl 4]

FYI for those that don't know. Harbert International is owned by Raymond's uncle, Bill, and was originally owned by Raymond's father.

[DKW 86 7,882]

I cant keep up with all this either on a day to day basis these days. I do know Ralph Jordan jr was not high on the nomination. He is usually the gauge for the alumni. It would appear that once again the alumni lost this round.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I cant keep up with all this either on a day to day basis these days. I do know Ralph Jordan jr was not high on the nomination. He is usually the gauge for the alumni. It would appear that once again the alumni lost this round.

David, not sure how you figure this. based on what I read and hear, Ralph and other alumni leaders have played a key role in blocking a confirmation vote on Harbert. They have their own agenda. I'm not taking any sides here, just questioning why you think the alumni lost.....and what we lost other than a delay in the process.

[AU alum 2]

If I had to guess - and this is totally conjecture on my part - Myron Penn was induced (paid) to stall that nomination. By who? Just a guess, a member of the BOT.

[DKW 86 7,882]

I cant keep up with all this either on a day to day basis these days. I do know Ralph Jordan jr was not high on the nomination. He is usually the gauge for the alumni. It would appear that once again the alumni lost this round.

David, not sure how you figure this. based on what I read and hear, Ralph and other alumni leaders have played a key role in blocking a confirmation vote on Harbert. They have their own agenda. I'm not taking any sides here, just questioning why you think the alumni lost.....and what we lost other than a delay in the process.

Jordan jr et al had to block it. Their nominee didnt make the cut due to some real bad politics.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I cant keep up with all this either on a day to day basis these days. I do know Ralph Jordan jr was not high on the nomination. He is usually the gauge for the alumni. It would appear that once again the alumni lost this round.

David, not sure how you figure this. based on what I read and hear, Ralph and other alumni leaders have played a key role in blocking a confirmation vote on Harbert. They have their own agenda. I'm not taking any sides here, just questioning why you think the alumni lost.....and what we lost other than a delay in the process.

Jordan jr et al had to block it. Their nominee didnt make the cut due to some real bad politics.

Are you saying the Alumni Assn. is screwing things up again, i.e., we didn't get our way so we got nobody?

[DKW 86 7,882]

I cant keep up with all this either on a day to day basis these days. I do know Ralph Jordan jr was not high on the nomination. He is usually the gauge for the alumni. It would appear that once again the alumni lost this round.

David, not sure how you figure this. based on what I read and hear, Ralph and other alumni leaders have played a key role in blocking a confirmation vote on Harbert. They have their own agenda. I'm not taking any sides here, just questioning why you think the alumni lost.....and what we lost other than a delay in the process.

Jordan jr et al had to block it. Their nominee didnt make the cut due to some real bad politics.

Are you saying the Alumni Assn. is screwing things up again, i.e., we didn't get our way so we got nobody?

Uh, no. Exactly the opposite. The Alumini Assn nominated several folks and got bumpkis. The PTB got their nominated guy selected by the Governor's nominating committee until it would not come out of the state congressional committee. I rule this a lose-lose draw. No one got what they wantred, they both just stopped the other side from getting what they really wanted.

[Hoopie 6]

I cant keep up with all this either on a day to day basis these days. I do know Ralph Jordan jr was not high on the nomination. He is usually the gauge for the alumni. It would appear that once again the alumni lost this round.

David, not sure how you figure this. based on what I read and hear, Ralph and other alumni leaders have played a key role in blocking a confirmation vote on Harbert. They have their own agenda. I'm not taking any sides here, just questioning why you think the alumni lost.....and what we lost other than a delay in the process.

Jordan jr et al had to block it. Their nominee didnt make the cut due to some real bad politics.

Are you saying the Alumni Assn. is screwing things up again, i.e., we didn't get our way so we got nobody?

Uh, no. Exactly the opposite. The Alumini Assn nominated several folks and got bumpkis. The PTB got their nominated guy selected by the Governor's nominating committee until it would not come out of the state congressional committee. I rule this a lose-lose draw. No one got what they wantred, they both just stopped the other side from getting what they really wanted.

What is PTB an acronym for?

[AU alum 2]

I cant keep up with all this either on a day to day basis these days. I do know Ralph Jordan jr was not high on the nomination. He is usually the gauge for the alumni. It would appear that once again the alumni lost this round.

David, not sure how you figure this. based on what I read and hear, Ralph and other alumni leaders have played a key role in blocking a confirmation vote on Harbert. They have their own agenda. I'm not taking any sides here, just questioning why you think the alumni lost.....and what we lost other than a delay in the process.

Jordan jr et al had to block it. Their nominee didnt make the cut due to some real bad politics.

Are you saying the Alumni Assn. is screwing things up again, i.e., we didn't get our way so we got nobody?

Uh, no. Exactly the opposite. The Alumini Assn nominated several folks and got bumpkis. The PTB got their nominated guy selected by the Governor's nominating committee until it would not come out of the state congressional committee. I rule this a lose-lose draw. No one got what they wantred, they both just stopped the other side from getting what they really wanted.

What is PTB an acronym for?

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