Bob Riley (Alabama)
From Freepedia
|
Bob Riley | |
| Order: | 66th Governor of Alabama |
| Term of Office: | January 2003 – |
| Predecessor: | Don Siegelman |
| Successor: | Incumbent |
| Date of Birth: | October 3, 1944 |
| Place of Birth: | Ashland, Alabama |
| First Lady: | Patsy Riley |
| Profession: | Real estate agent |
| Political Party: | Republican |
| Lieutenant Governor: |
Lucy Baxley (2003–present) |
Robert Renfroe "Bob" Riley (born October 3, 1944) is an American politician in the Republican Party. He is currently the Governor of Alabama.
Riley was born in Ashland, Alabama, a small town in Clay County where his family had ranched and farmed for six generations. Riley attended the University of Alabama, graduating with a degree in business administration. Riley is married to Patsy Adams Riley, also from Ashland. The couple has four children and four grandchildren.
Riley was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996 defeating his Democratic opponent, State Senator Theadore "Ted" Little (Opelika, Ala.) and Libertarian John Sophocleus, and served from 1997 to 2003. He did not run for re-election to his seat in November 2002, instead running for governor and defeating the Democratic incumbent, Don Siegelman, by one of the narrowest margins in Alabama history and again defeating Libertarian candidate John Sophocleus. Riley took office in January 2003.
In 2003, Alabama state politics gained national attention when the chief justice of the state Supreme Court, Roy Moore, refused to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the court building. Riley reportedly supported Moore, but ultimately did not play a large role in the dispute, and there was nothing he could do to prevent Moore from being removed from office by a judicial ethics panel.
Riley also proposed a sweeping reform of the state's tax system, regarded as one of the most regressive in the United States. Riley intended to shift more of the burden to the rich in order to salvage the dismal state of Alabama's state finances. He presented his plan in Christian terms, arguing that the existing system was unfair to the poor, but his plan was rejected by voters on September 9, 2003, with 68 percent opposed to it. This was largely due to massive negative advertising financed by opponents of the proposal.
As of May 10, 2005, Riley's approval ratings were 36% approving, 52% disapproving. [1]. Riley has been credited with helping to spur economic development in Alabama, including the construction of a major aeronautics plant from EADS, the parent company of Airbus. This can possibly account for some recent upswings in his approval ratings. For example, during the course of the summer of 2005, Riley’s approval ratings improved steadily, reaching 45 percent by the end of July. By September 20, 2005, Riley’s approval ratings had increased substantially to 58 percent with 38 percent having an unfavorable view of Riley. [2] Analysis of this increase seems to indicate that it may be attributable to the population’s perception of Riley’s response to Hurricane Katrina.
In 2005, Governor Riley was criticized by some Mobile County residents after issuing that area of the state a "mandatory" evacuation order in advance of Hurricane Dennis's landfall. This issue was better addressed during Hurricane Katrina using a layered approach with sections of a county evacuation instead of the entire county.
In July of 2005, Governor Riley attempted to assist the family of Natalee Holloway, an Alabama teen missing in Aruba and was involved in the decision to Boycott Aruba.
On August 28, 2005, Governor Riley declared the state of emergency for the approaching Hurricane Katrina, at the same day, he requested president George W. Bush to declare "expedited major disaster declaration" for six counties of south Alabama, which was apporved by the evening of August 29. 350 national guards were called on duty as of August 30.[3][4][5]
| Preceded by: Don Siegelman | Governor of Alabama 2003–present | Succeeded by: — |
| Governors of Alabama | Image:Flag of Alabama.svg |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Categories: 1944 births | American farmers | Baptists | Freemasons | Governors of Alabama | Shriners | U.S. Representatives from Alabama
