By Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter
MONTGOMERY—In an email blast throughout the State, Stalwart Conservative Republican activist Thomas Scovill said, “It’s past time for Speaker Hubbard to go.”
Scovill, a Madison County political leader wrote the following in an email and on Facebook:
As you know, Mike Hubbard, speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, is awaiting trial on 23 felony charges involving alleged abuse of his office and commingling of personal and government business.
Although he deserves the benefit of the doubt with respect to his legal issues, it has been obvious for some time that Speaker Hubbard has at the very least a serious conflict of roles between his duty to serve the state and his self interest in business and in defending himself and friends in legal matters. Yet heretofore I have been willing to give him the benefit of my doubt.
But now the Speaker is pushing a gambling agreement with the Poarch Creek Indians which could give them exclusive rights to operate class 3 gaming casinos in Alabama without having to compete for the right with any potential alternative operators. This seems like a multi-billion dollar sweetheart deal for the PCI.
Ethics and corruption are always a matter of concern with casinos and gambling and so they are given close oversight and regulation by government. My concern is magnified by the proposal being pushed by our Speaker and his conflict of roles. I simply do not trust him with such a major undertaking and wish not to take the chance of Alabama government making a deal with the PCI and then seeing the court find him guilty of some or all of the criminal allegations against him.
Speaker Hubbard was boneheaded for causing this conflict of roles. He is boneheaded for taking the lead in pushing for more gambling in Alabama and aggravating his conflict of roles while his serious legal issues are awaiting resolution. And it would be boneheaded for me to continue to support his leadership.
I urge you to call for Speaker Hubbard to resign and to replace him with a representative more clearly worthy of our trust and confidence.
Thomas Scovill is a man to be reckoned with in the Madison area and a conservative voice that is not to be ignored.
