Staff Report
Montgomery – Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP) Chairman Bill Armistead has announced that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will be in Alabama this Friday, August 23 as the Keynote speaker for ALGOP’s annual Summer Dinner. Over 900 attendees have RSVP’d to the dinner. The dinner will be held at the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery on August 23, 2013. Doors open at 6:15 PM and event begins at 7:00 PM.
Prior to Gov. Walker’s address to the Party faithful on Wednesday night, Chairman Armistead announced that the ALGOP will pay tribute to and honor the early “Alabama Republican Pioneers” who provided the leadership for the modern day Republican Party in Alabama:
“Even though the Republican Party has only recently dominated the political scene in Alabama, we must pay tribute to and honor those Republicans who went before us in the 1950’s and 1960’s to lay the groundwork for the successes we have realized in Alabama,”
Armistead said. It was in the 1960’s as a college student that he got involved in the Republican Party and had the opportunity to work with many of the “Pioneers”. It is a thrill for me to see once again many of those who ran for office in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Ten individuals will be present to receive the special recognition for their service to the Party. Some of those who will be honored Friday night include:
Former Congressman Jim Martin, Gadsden, elected to Congress in 1964
Former Chief Justice Perry Hooper, Sr. who was elected Montgomery Probate Judge in 1964 and Chief Justice 30 years later in 1994
Retired businessman Frank Mason who was the first Republican elected in Jefferson County (Justice of the Peace) in 1956 and was the Republican nominee for Congress in 1958
Attorney Bob French, Ft. Payne, who was the Republican nominee for Congress in 1964 from Tuscaloosa
Former ALGOP Chairman Edgar Welden who worked in the Goldwater Presidential campaign in 1964
“It is not often that we have the opportunity to honor the past leadership of the state party while hearing from someone many consider the future leadership of the national party – Gov. Scott Walker. I know that those who come to see and hear Gov. Walker will not be disappointed. They will see a real conservative patriot in Gov. Walker, who shares the same values that we do here in Alabama.
“Gov. Walker is a principled conservative who is known for standing up for his conservative values and does not flinch or back down from his principles as was demonstrated when he took bold steps to balance Wisconsin’s budget. Gov. Walker’s cost cutting measures in Wisconsin included removing the bargaining rights of the state employees union. Even in the face of a recall election, Gov. Walker did not back down and won the recall election by a larger margin than in his original election in 2010. Gov. Walker is a fighter and does not mind fighting for a good cause.
“Gov. Walker is a pro-business, pro-growth governor who we are proud to welcome into Alabama, a state where businesses are setting up shop daily. With his conservative stances on social and fiscal matters, Governor Walker is a great fit for Alabama”, continued Armistead.
