Well, well. Bill Johnson sez he just can't wait to be king, er, ah, I mean governor of Alabama. He announces in the story below that he is "a passionate conservative Republican." Well, passionate perhaps. Certainly this is the same (married) guy who got caught screwing a (married) judge's wife at the Republican National Convention, so OK, I'll concede "passionate."
However I'm sure there are still some Missouri Libertarians out there who remember old Bill's checkered career in that neck of the woods. And, there will be more than a few folks like me who remember Bill's interesting foray into the Alabama militia movement. For my part, I recall vividly the time he palmed off some deliberate disinformation on me to try to maneuver me into making a political point for him. I still have the forged document and the witnesses to back it up. This was before he hitched his wagon to Riley's rising star.
Then there was the time he didn't pay taxes for a long while. Oh, and his foray into Afghanistan. And the more than sneaking suspicion extant in the 90s that Johnson was a federal snitch in the militia movement.
This guy has more political baggage than Imelda Marcos had shoes, and he must be banking on mass amnesia to think he can be elected Governor in this state.
He is brilliant, amoral, and a complete sociopath. His next move will be to try to hack this site because he really likes to use technology on political dirty tricks. Just ask Dr. Russ Fine.
Oh, yeah, and when I called him Governor Riley's "bagman," I meant it. Why do you think Riley stuck him in ADECA? Somehow I can't see Riley wanting a whole lot of attention to get focused on Johnson. For Riley, this will be like the Return of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, especially if he wants to be Senator or something later on.
My prediction is that this will be recorded as the shortest campaign for Governor the state of Alabama has ever seen. Riley will make sure of that.
Of course there was that rumor that Riley only held onto Johnson when he was first running for governor when all the tax crap came out because Johnson had some blackmail stuff on Riley. . .
Should be interesting to see how this plays out.
Mike
III
PS: by the way, BJ, remember that hacking is a federal crime. You don't want to add THAT to your checkered resume, do you? There aren't any judge's wives in prison.
Former Birmingham City Councilman Bill Johnson enters Alabama governor's race
Saturday, June 27, 2009
CHARLES J. DEAN
News staff writer
Make it a half-dozen seeking the Republican Party nomination for governor in next June's primary.
Bill Johnson, a former Birmingham city councilman and, for the past four years, director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, abruptly resigned that post Friday and declared his candidacy for governor.
"I think I have demonstrated over my years in public service that I am a passionate conservative Republican who believes small government is best and in low taxes," Johnson said. "But I also feel government has a role and responsibility to help those citizens who cannot help themselves."
Johnson, who lives in Prattville, said he has been encouraged to run by a host of people across the state who still have not found a candidate to their liking among the other five Republicans.
"Every time another one of the other candidates would announce I would get a phone call from someone encouraging me to get into the race," said Johnson.
After a number of such calls, Johnson began thinking about a bid and said so publicly. Word that he was mulling getting into the race caused Gov. Bob Riley to set a deadline for Johnson to make a decision.
"The governor felt that it might be seen as a conflict, me talking about making a run for governor while I was still at ADECA," Johnson said. "He gave me until Friday to make up my mind. I met with him Friday morning and told him I was running and then I resigned."
Riley praised the work Johnson has done at the state agency.
"Bill Johnson has done a great job at ADECA and I am truly grateful to him for his outstanding service to the people of Alabama," Riley said in a prepared statement.
This will be Johnson's second run for statewide office but his first in Alabama. In 1994, Johnson ran as a Libertarian for the U.S. Senate in Missouri, where he campaigned for the legalization of marijuana and prostitution. Johnson has since renounced those views, explaining that he was running as a Libertarian and as such was loyal to the party's platform.
Johnson joins a crowded GOP field: former state senator and two-year college Chancellor Bradley Byrne, state Rep. Robert Bentley, Alabama Treasurer Kay Ivey, Greenville businessman Tim James and former Chief Justice Roy Moore.
Democrats in the race include U.S. Rep. Artur Davis and state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks.
Riley wasted no time filling Johnson's old job with ADECA's Doni M. Ingram, who had been assistant director of the agency.
E-mail: cdean@bhamnews.com
2 comments:
Bill Johnson is a "Psycho".
He showed up at my doorstep election night 2004 and threatened to put me in the hospital in the presence of witnesses.
I had to call the Police Department and filed an incident report against him for Misdemeanor Trespassing and Harassment.
Bill Johnson is a "Psycho Nazi" and his wife is a "Heretic".
What makes this guy think his past won't come out to bite him? Guess he just couldn't pass up the 15 minutes of fame...or maybe more given the lack of investigative reporting that we now find in our state newspapers.
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