Don Siegelman

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Don Siegelman
Don Siegelman speaking at a Mercedes plant expansion announcement while Governor
51st Governor of Alabama
In office January, 1999 – January, 2003
Preceded by	Fob James
Succeeded by	Bob Riley
Born	February 24, 1946 Mobile, Mobile
Political party	Democratic
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Catholic

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. He was narrowly defeated for reelection in November 2002 by Representative Bob Riley, and defeated on the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006. He was recently convicted by a jury for multiple charges, including bribery, mail fraud and obstruction of justice. Sentencing is pending as of this writing.

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Governorship 3 2002 Election Controversy 4 Criminal problems 4.1 2004 Indictment 4.2 2005 Indictments, 2006 Convictions 5 2006 Election

[edit] Early life and career

Don Siegelman was born and grew up in Mobile, Alabama. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1968, and from Georgetown University Law School 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. 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 the former Lori Allen, and they have two children, Dana and Joseph. Siegelman is Catholic, but his wife Lori is Jewish, and their children had a bar and bat mitzvah at Montgomery's Conservative congregation in 2001 [1].

Mr. Siegelman has studied martial arts for decades and holds a black belt in Kyokushin-style karate.

[edit] 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. [2] 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.

Among his recongnized 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 [3], 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,[4] and Hyundai [5] [6] to build major assembly plants in Alabama.

[edit] 2002 Election Controversy

Main article: Alabama gubernatorial election, 2002

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 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. [7]

[edit] Criminal problems

[edit] 2004 Indictment

On May 27, 2004, Siegelman was indicted on federal charges of participating in a bid-rigging scheme with Paul Hamrick, his former chief of staff, and Phillip Bobo, a major contributor to his political campaigns. After considerable wrangling with federal prosecutors, including switching through three judges, his trial began in October 2004. 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.

[edit] 2005 Indictments, 2006 Convictions

On October 26, 2005, he was indicted on charges of racketeering, bribery, and extortion, along with his former chief of staff Paul Hamrick, former state transportation director Gary "Mack" Roberts, and former HealthSouth CEO Richard M. Scrushy. The indictment alleges that bribes were made in exchange for official favors from Siegelman during his term as Governor.

On December 12, the grand jury filed additional charges of mail fraud and conspiracy against Siegelman and Scrushy alleging that they conspired to provide HealthSouth with membership and influence on a state hospital regulatory board. The case went to trial in early May 2006.

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. Prosecutors also "claimed Siegelman and his chief of staff, Paul Hamrick, received gifts, including a Honda motorcycle for the governor that he allegedly tried to conceal from investigators. Hamrick reportedly received $25,000 for a new luxury BMW automobile." [8]

On June 29, 2006, a Federal jury found both Siegleman and Scrushy guilty 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: [9]. Siegelman, represented by Mobile attorneys Vince Kilborn and David McDonald, was acquitted on 25 charges, including the indictment's most serious allegations of a widespread RICO conspiracy.

Following the trial, Kilborn and McDonald raised serious issues regarding the jury's impartiality after receiving what purport to be emails exchanged between two jurors during the trial. Sentencing is on hold pending the Court's final ruling on these matters. [10]

[edit] 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 and faced incumbent Bob Riley in the general election. Riley was easily re-elected.

Governors of Alabama  v • d • e

W. Bibb • T. Bibb • Pickens • Murphy • G. Moore • S. Moore • Gayle • Clay • McVay • Bagby • Fitzpatrick • Martin • Chapman • Collier • Winston • A. Moore • Shorter • Watts • Parsons • Patton • Swayne • Smith • Lindsay • Lewis • Houston • Cobb • E.A. O'Neal • Seay • T. Jones • Oates • Johnston • Jelks • Samford • Jelks • Cunningham • Jelks • Comer • E. O'Neal • Henderson • Kilby • Brandon • McDowell • Brandon • Graves • Miller • Graves • Dixon • Sparks • Folsom Sr. • Persons • Folsom Sr. • Patterson • G. Wallace • L. Wallace • Brewer • G. Wallace • Beasley • G. Wallace • James • G. Wallace • Hunt • Folsom Jr. • James • Siegelman • Riley

Lieutenant Governors of Alabama  v • d • e
Applegate • Moren • McKinstry • Cunningham • Ligon • Gray • Seed • Kilby • Miller • McDowell • Davis • Merrill • Knight • Carmichael • Ellis • Inzer • Allen • Hardwick • Boutwell • Allen • Brewer • Beasley • McMillan • B. Baxley • Folsom • DeGraffenried • Siegelman • Windom • L. Baxley • Folsom