By Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter
MONTGOMERY—Just days before the 2016 Special Legislative Session, Republican Governor Robert Bentley sent a letter to all members of the Legislature, asking they put aside polls and political parties and “consider only the people we serve.”
In reply, Representative Johnny Mack Morrow (D-Red Bay) wrote Bentley saying, “That request coming from you is laughable.”
Morrow’s letter, which was delivered to Bentley on the first day of Session, bluntly accuses the Governor of always playing party politics, from the Accountability Act to the selection of a new State Superintendent of Education.
In the letter, Morrow says Bentley engaged in partisan politics when he “signed the so-called “Accountability Act” which took millions of dollars from the school children of Alabama.” He also accuses Bentley of deceiving Superintendent Tommy Bice about the Accountability Act, when he stated, “Bice was not informed of the changes because he would have opposed them.”
He further asks if partisanship wasn’t at the heart of Bentley’s vote making Michael Sentance, a Massachusetts education consultant, head of the Alabama Department of Education.
Next, Morrow produces a laundry list of grievances against Bentley, ranging from his use of BP funds to refurbish the Governor’s Beach Mansion, to his alleged lover’s intervention in a local bill Morrow sponsored, during the 2013 Regular Session.
He then assails Bentley for not expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and then ravages him for lying to his friends about the cause of his divorce.
Morrow finally asks once again, “what happened to Wanda’s desk?”
