Steve Windom

Steve Windom
27th Lieutenant Governor of Alabama
In office January 18, 1999 – January 20, 2003
Governor	Don Siegelman
Preceded by	Don Siegelman
Succeeded by	Lucy Baxley
Alabama State Senator
In office 1989–1999
Preceded by	Bill Menton
Succeeded by	George Callahan (R)
Constituency	35th District
Personal details
Born	(1949-11-06) November 6, 1949 Florence, South Carolina
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Hon. Mary Windom[1]
Children	2

Stephen Ralph Windom (born November 6, 1949) is an American politician who served as a Senator in the Alabama State Senate from 1989 to 1998 and as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Alabama from 1999 to 2003.

Windom's political career began in the Alabama State Senate when he served for two terms and an initial partial term decided by a special election. During this time he switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.

Windom was the first Republican Lieutenant Governor to serve in Alabama since Reconstruction. He served under Governor Don Siegelman, (D-AL). Alabama's Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected separately.^[2]

Biography

Windom was born in Florence, South Carolina.^[3] He graduated from Sidney Lanier High School.^[4] He then received his B.S. and J.D. degrees from the University of Alabama.^[3] In 1974, he moved near Mobile, Alabama and began to practice law.^[4] He married Mary Becker and had with her two sons: Robert and Thomas.^[1][3]

Political career

He was first elected as a Democrat to the Alabama State Senate in 1989.^[4] During his time in the Senate, he was selected to be the Banking and Insurance Committee chairman for 8 years.^[4] Although his first two terms were as a Democrat, he switched to the Republican Party in 1997 for his last term as a legislator.^[5]

He was a delegate for Bill Clinton at the 1992 Democratic National Convention.^[6] He was a delegate for George Bush at the 2000 Republican National Convention, and served as co-chair of the Alabama Bush-Cheney campaign.^[7]

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.^[7] After his career in the Senate, he joined the Sirote Permutt lawfirm.^[8] He also ran for the position of Lieutenant Governor.

Windom's 1998 campaign for Lieutenant Governor was marked by scandal when false allegations involving a prostitute were made against him by supporters of his opponent. Garve Ivey, an Alabama plaintiffs' attorney, was eventually convicted of witness tampering and criminal defamation for conspiring with private investigator Wes Chappell to defame Windom. A former call girl, who had been paid to make false allegations, testified at the trial.^[9] Despite the efforts to publicly malign him, Windom was elected.^[10]

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.^[11]

Toward the end of his term as Alabama's Lieutenant Governor, Windom ran for governor of the state, but was defeated in the 2002 primary by then-Congressman Bob Riley^[12]

Later years

After leaving public office, Windom opened a legal and lobbying practice, Steve Windom, LLC.^[13] 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.^[14]

Electoral history

2002 Republican Primary: Governor^[15]

1998 General Election: Lieutenant Governor^[16]

1998 Republican Primary: Lieutenant Governor^[16]

References

v t e Governors and Lieutenant Governors of Alabama Governors 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 Samford Jelks Comer E. O'Neal Henderson Kilby Brandon Graves Miller Graves Dixon Sparks Folsom Sr. Persons Folsom Sr. Patterson G. Wallace L. Wallace Brewer G. Wallace James G. Wallace Hunt Folsom Jr. James Siegelman Riley Bentley Lieutenant Governors Applegate Moren McKinstry Ligon Cunningham Gray Seed Kilby Miller McDowell Davis Merrill Knight Carmichael Ellis Inzer Allen Hardwick Boutwell Allen Brewer Beasley McMillan B. Baxley Folsom Siegelman Windom L. Baxley Folsom Ivey