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Robert Renfroe Riley (born October 3, 1944) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 52nd governor of Alabama from 2003 to 2011. A member of the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...
, he previously represented Alabama's 3rd district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 to 2003.


Early life, education and early career

Riley was born in
Ashland, Alabama Ashland is a city in Clay County, Alabama, United States. The population was 2,037 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Clay County. History Clay County was formed by an act of the Alabama General Assembly on December 7, 1866. ...
, a small town in
Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Flo ...
where his family ranched and farmed for six generations. Riley attended the
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the public ...
, where he was a brother of
Phi Kappa Sigma Phi Kappa Sigma () is an international all-male college secret society and social fraternity. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are Skulls, Skullhouse, Phi Kap, and PKS (the fi ...
fraternity and graduated with a degree in business administration. Prior to being elected to the U.S. House in 1996, Riley had led a number of businesses. He owned a car dealership and trucking company, and had also been a cattleman and commercial and residential realtor.


U.S. House of Representatives

Riley was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996, defeating his Democratic opponent, State Senator T.D. "Ted" Little ( Auburn) and Libertarian
John Sophocleus John Peter Sophocleus is an American economist and libertarian political activist. Career in economics Sophocleus has taught economics at Clemson University, Auburn University, and Auburn University Montgomery. He has been twice nominated to t ...
. It was his first run for elected office. He won by just over 6,000 votes to become only the second Republican to represent Alabama's 3rd district since
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology * Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
. The first was
Glenn Andrews Arthur Glenn Andrews (January 15, 1909 – September 25, 2008) was an American politician and a United States representative from Alabama. Biography Andrews was born in Anniston in Calhoun County in North Alabama, a son of Roger Lee Andrews a ...
, who held it from 1965 to 1967, when it was numbered as the 4th District. Riley was reelected in 1998 with somewhat less difficulty, taking 58% of the vote over Democrat Joe Turnham. In 2000, he only faced a Libertarian candidate.


Governor of Alabama


2002 election

Riley did not run for re-election to the House in November 2002 (as a supporter of term limits, he imposed a three-term limit on himself), instead running for governor of Alabama and defeating the Democratic incumbent Don Siegelman by approximately 3,000 votes - the narrowest margin in the state's history for a gubernatorial race. The result was controversial, as the initial election night count showed a 2,000-plus vote victory for Siegelman.


First term


Approval ratings

On May 10, 2005, Riley's approval ratings were 36% approving and 52% disapproving of his job as governor. By September 20, 2005, Riley's approval ratings had increased substantially to 58% approving and 38% disapproving. Analysis of this increase seems to indicate that it may be attributed to the public's perception of Riley's response to Hurricane Katrina. By February 14, 2006, Riley's approval ratings had slightly decreased, with 52% approving and 43% disapproving of his job as governor. By August 2006, his approval rating was at 62% with a disapproval rating of 35%.


Supreme Court

In 2003, Alabama state politics gained national attention when the chief justice of the
Alabama Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six-year terms. The Supreme Court is house ...
,
Roy Moore Roy Stewart Moore (born February 11, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer, and jurist who served as the 27th and 31st chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2013 to 2017, each time being removed fro ...
, refused to remove a monument of the
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...
from the rotunda of the court building. Riley reportedly supported Moore, but ultimately did not play a large role in the dispute. Riley stated there was nothing he could do to prevent Moore from being removed from office by a judicial ethics panel. Moore challenged Riley in the June 6, 2006, GOP primary.


Property Taxes

Property tax appraisals became a major campaign issue with Riley's opponents claiming that Riley, acting through his revenue commissioner, ordered that property tax appraisals be made annually, rather than the
quadrennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints. ...
reappraisals that were established practice. Because property values tend to increase over time, making appraisals more frequent has the indirect effect of increasing the taxes paid by property owners. Riley's opponents claimed that by doing so, he raised taxes without a vote of either the Legislature or the people. Riley claims he is merely following the language of the law, and the advice of his attorneys.


Amendment One

In the first year of his administration, Riley proposed " Amendment One", which would have made swift changes to the state's tax system. The plan essentially consisted of income tax breaks for lower brackets, offset by various tax hikes on consumption, property and income from higher brackets. Part of the problem that this plan sought to address was the strong dependence the Alabama tax system placed upon sales tax, which makes the state budget dependent upon the economy in the state. The plan was estimated to yield an overall state revenue increase of $1.2 billion per year. The plan also included accountability reforms, including changes to teacher tenure policies, accountability for school systems, and bans on pass-through pork. This plan also included provisions for a scholarship program for Alabama students to attend college and funding of other education initiatives. Both support and opposition to this plan came from traditionally opposing forces in Alabama, crossing party lines. This included support from pro-business organizations, including the Business Council of Alabama and many Chambers of Commerce, as well as prominent education organizations, including the Alabama Education Association. Other progressively-minded non-profit groups supported this plan, including many organizations that had sought changes in the Alabama tax system for many years. These organizations saw this as an opportunity for Alabama to invest in the future of the state through investments in education and governmental reforms. Riley also presented this plan using Christian terms, building upon language already present in the state to argue that the Alabama tax system placed the heaviest burden upon the poorest citizens of the state. Opponents to the plan included the Alabama chapter of the Christian Coalition (splitting with the national Christian Coalition who endorsed the plan), and the Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA). A number of those who opposed this plan, including both organizations mentioned, had strongly supported Riley for governor in 2002. These opponents based a campaign upon a criticism of the state legislature and used the complexity of the plans to claim that taxes would go up on people in the state. While proponents had pointed to studies of the plan showing the majority of Alabamians seeing a lower overall tax burden, polls indicated that most citizens - likely influenced by the proposed property tax increase - believed their personal taxes would be higher under the plan. Amendment One was rejected by voters on September 9, 2003, with 68% opposed. While Riley's Amendment One was soundly rejected by Alabama voters, it did gain him national recognition. For his leadership in addressing the state's fiscal crisis, Governor Riley was named the "Public Official of the Year" by ''
Governing Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, norms, power or language of an organized society over a social system (family, tribe, formal or informal organization, a territory or across territories). It is done by the govern ...
'' magazine in 2003, and '' Time'' magazine hailed him for being one of the nation's "most courageous politicians". The overwhelming rejection of this plan forced Riley to mend fences within his own base and seek to do some reforms without the broad tax increases that Amendment One sought. Some parts of the proposal have been enacted, such as efforts to raise the minimum tax threshold in Alabama.


Industrial development

Riley has claimed credit for helping to spur economic development in Alabama. Riley points to the opening of an aeronautics engineering facility in Mobile by
EADS Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: ' ...
, the parent company of
Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...
, which may ripen into an aircraft assembly plant if EADS secures future contracts. Riley's critics have pointed out that Riley has failed to emulate the success of predecessors, such as Siegelmanduring whose administration the Hyundai plant was successfully recruitedand Jim Folsom, Jr., in securing automotive manufacturing plants. Specifically, when
Kia Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second la ...
announced in March 2006 it would build a maunfucturing plant in Georgia, Riley was criticized by Siegelman, for Alabama's failure to mount a serious bid for the plant. Under Riley's administration, unemployment in Alabama fell from 5.3% in January 2003 when Riley took office to 3.3% in March 2006. This rate was the lowest ever recorded since statistics began being tracked in 1976 and was among the nations lowest.


Hurricanes

In 2005, Governor Riley was criticized by some Mobile County residents after issuing that area of the state a "mandatory" evacuation order in advance of
Hurricane Dennis Hurricane Dennis was an early-forming major hurricane in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico during the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Dennis was the fourth named storm, second hurricane, and first major hurricane of the season. F ...
' landfall. Residents felt the issue was better addressed during Hurricane Katrina using a layered approach with sections of the county evacuated instead of the entire county. On August 28, 2005, Governor Riley declared a state of emergency for the approaching
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cos ...
. On the same day, he requested president
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
to declare "expedited major disaster declaration" for six counties of south Alabama, which was approved by the evening of August 29. 350 national guardsmen were called on duty as of August 30. ;Aruba local government On November 9, 2005, Riley called for a citizens' boycott of
Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...
, alleging that the local government was engaged in a cover-up of the disappearance of Alabama native
Natalee Holloway Natalee is a female given name. It is a variant of the name Natalie, though uncommon according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Notable people with the name include: * Natalee Caple (born 1970), Canadian author of novels and poetry * Natalee Holloway (b ...
.


Abramoff scandal

In November 2005, Riley was linked to the
Jack Abramoff Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction a ...
scandal when his former Congressional
press secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Duti ...
,
Michael Scanlon Michael Scanlon (also known as Sean Scanlon) is a former communications director for Rep. Tom DeLay, lobbyist, and public relations executive who has pleaded guilty to corruption charges related to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. He is curr ...
, pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the matter. It further emerged that, as a Congressman, Riley signed a letter on behalf of the U.S. Family Network, opposing expansion of casino gambling in Alabama. The U.S. Family Network was revealed to be an Abramoff front, funded by the Mississippi Band of
Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...
Indians, which operated competing
casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
s. Riley has denied knowing the source of this funding.


2006 election

Riley defeated Democratic Lieutenant Governor
Lucy Baxley Lucy Mae Bruner Baxley Smith (December 21, 1937 – October 14, 2016) was an American politician who served from 2003 to 2007 as the 28th lieutenant governor of Alabama and from 2009 until 2013 as President of the Alabama Public Service Commissi ...
easily as his approval ratings made a comeback.


Second term


Economy

In April 2007, the unemployment rate once again reached 3.3%. However, recent labor statistics provided by the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations indicate that under Governor Riley, Alabama's unemployment nearly tripled to a seasonally adjusted rate of 8.4% in February 2009. The rates for seasonally adjusted and unadjusted range from 7.8–8.9% for January and February 2009. Under Governor Riley, Alabama's unemployment has continued to climb, and Alabama Department of Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees issued a press release dated June 19, 2009, which indicated that Alabama's unemployment rate for May rose to 9.8%, an increase from April's rate of 9.0%, and is Alabama's highest unemployment rate in 25 years. Critics have claimed that recent developments are a consequence of national economic recovery and pointed to the loss of thousands of Alabama's historic textile jobs under Riley. Nevertheless, the state under Riley's administration was recognized as "State of the Year" by ''Southern Business and Development'' magazine four years in a row and received other awards for competitiveness, job creation and economic development. Among other honors, ''Worldwide Interactive Network'' named the Alabama Office of Workforce Development the No. 1 U.S. employee development agency and ''Expansion Management'' magazine has ranked Alabama Industrial Development Training No. 1 among workforce training programs. Riley's Alabama Bureau of Tourism & Travel received the National Council of State Tourism Directors' annual Mercury Award recognizing its "Year of Alabama Food" as the nation's top tourism campaign. In May 2007, Riley announced that ThyssenKrupp would build a $4.2 billion state-of-the-art steel mill north of Mobile, Alabama, the largest economic announcement in Alabama's history, and largest corporate project in U.S. history. The mill, now in operation, employs 2,700 workers


Transparency

As part of his plan to provide open government, Riley has posted on the Governor's website the monthly expenditures from the Governor's Contingency Fund and the quarterly flight logs from all state airplanes.


Death penalty

As governor, Riley oversaw 25 executions in Alabama, more than any of his predecessors since 1983 (see
Capital punishment in Alabama Capital punishment in Alabama is a legal penalty. The state has the highest per capita capital sentencing rate in the United States. In some years, its courts impose more death sentences than Texas, a state that has a population five times as la ...
).


Apology for slavery

In 2007, Riley signed a resolution passed by the legislature apologizing for slavery in the state.


2012 presidential speculation

An editorial by ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' and separate piece in the paper on August 13, 2009, in what was deemed to be an open endorsement of Bob Riley as a potential 2012 presidential candidate instantly threw the governor's name into the political field of possible nominees as state and national media jumped on the story. Governor Riley during an interview the same day denied he was considering a future presidential run. On February 2, 2011, both the ''
Birmingham News ''The Birmingham News'' is the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The paper is owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its founding through September 30, 2012. After that day, the ''News'' and its two ...
'' and the ''
Decatur Daily ''The Decatur Daily'' is a daily (five days a week) newspaper serving Decatur, Alabama and the Tennessee Valley in the North Alabama area of the United States. As of September 30, 2006, it had an average daily circulation of 20,824 and a Sunday ...
'' also ran stories speculating that Riley was considering running for president. In the end, Riley did not run.


Personal life

Riley is married to the former Patsy Adams, also from Clay County. The Rileys have four children, Rob, Jenice, Minda and Krisalyn. Jenice, the Rileys' first daughter and the campaign's fundraiser, died in August 2001. The Rileys have three granddaughters and three grandsons. He is an alumni brother of
Phi Kappa Sigma Phi Kappa Sigma () is an international all-male college secret society and social fraternity. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are Skulls, Skullhouse, Phi Kap, and PKS (the fi ...
. On June 26, 2011, Riley was on a cross-country trip on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle when he crashed on the
Dalton Highway The James W. Dalton Highway, usually referred to as the Dalton Highway (and signed as Alaska Route 11), is a road in Alaska. It begins at the Elliott Highway, north of Fairbanks, and ends at Deadhorse (an unincorporated community within the ...
in
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
and sustained serious injuries.


Electoral history


See also


References


External links


Alabama Governor Bob Riley
''official state site''
Bob Riley for Governor
''official campaign site'' * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Bob 1944 births 21st-century American politicians Baptists from Alabama Farmers from Alabama Republican Party governors of Alabama Living people People from Ashland, Alabama Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama University of Alabama alumni