now (2009) serves. He is currently seeking to be re-elected as Lt. Governor for a second term in the 2010 elections, and is being challenged by Republican candidate Kay Ivey. Folsom is the son and namesake of two-time Alabama governor James E. "Big Jim" Folsom, famous for being a progressive on civil rights when it was unpopular to be so.
Commissioner Jim Zeigler ran for state supreme court, civil appeals court, state treasurer and state auditor, losing each by narrow margins, thus earning the nickname "Mr. 49%." He made a comeback in 2004 when he shocked the political establishment by defeating Republican National Committeeman and former Chief Justice Perry Hooper Sr. for Statewide Delegate to the Republican National Convention. Hooper is a founder of the modern Republican Party of Alabama and had been expected to win handily. [1]
One of the most famous and colorful commissioners was Eugene "Bull" Connor, who had served as police commissioner in Birmingham. He made national news when he ordered that civil rights demonstrators be attacked by dogs and fire hoses. He lost a race for governor.
Commissioner Ed Pepper and his wife were killed in the worst fire in Alabama history in 1966. The Dale's Penthouse restaurant fire in Montgomery took 25 lives. He was the brother of well-known U.S. Senator and Congressman Claude Pepper of Florida, an Alabama native. The long-serving Claude Pepper became a national spokesman for senior citizens.
Two commissioners were convicted of felony offenses while serving and were automatically removed -- Juanita McDaniel and Kenneth "Bozo" Hammond. Hammond later was elected Mayor of his native Valley Head, Alabama.
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