Hinton Mitchem

Hinton Mitchem (May 18, 1938 – January 22, 2013) was a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 9th District from 1979 to January 1987 and then again from June 1987 to January 2011.

Early years

Hinton Mitchem was born on May 18, 1938 in Georgia to Neal Emory and Gertrude Helen Hinton. He received his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Education from the University of Georgia in 1961. He also served in the U.S. Coast Guard. He moved from Georgia to Marshall County, Alabama in 1962. He was the owner of Hinton Mitchem Tractor Co., Inc. from 1965 until he sold it in 2005.

Political service

Mitchem first entered politics as a member of the Albertville, Alabama City Council in 1968. In 1974, he was elected unopposed in the general election as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives, representing the 25th District, serving a single four-year term from 1975 through 1979 before his election to the Senate. He ran without Republican opposition again in both his first race and in 1982 as well as the special 1983 race the entire legislature had to run in. In 1986, Mitchem stepped down from the Senate and ran in the primary for Lieutenant Governor. In a four-person field, he placed third behind fellow State Senator John Teague and eventual winner, Jim Folsom, Jr., placing just ahead of former State Treasurer Melba Till Allen.

When Senate successor Loyd Coleman was forced from office upon a criminal conviction in April 1987, Mitchem jumped into the special election and won handily in the primary, and by a 2-to-1 margin over Republican Nell Burton Skidmore. He won unopposed again in 1990. With the growing strength of the Alabama Republicans, he faced opposition during his last terms in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006, with a declining, but respectable, percentage of the vote. His closest race was his final one in 2006 where he prevailed by 7% over attorney Bill Ingram of Guntersville, Alabama.

Mitchem was elected President Pro Tempore of the Senate on January 9, 2007, by a margin of 18–17 over the efforts of a coalition of Republicans and disaffected Democrats to elect leadership that would be more favorable to then-Gov. Bob Riley. He then resigned from the position on February 5, 2009, per a prior agreement to allow a vote on Rodger Smitherman to succeed him for the remaining two years of the session. As of 2010, Mitchem was serving in his 36th year in the Alabama Legislature, then the longest-serving member (with a 5-month gap of service in early 1987). He chose to retire in 2010 and was succeeded by Republican Clay Scofield.

Personal life

Mitchem was a Rotarian and enjoyed golf and traveling in his spare time. He had four children, Todd, Tonya, Dee and Brittnie, and five grandchildren.

Later years

In 1980, Mitchem was appointed by then-Governor Fob James, Jr. as Chairman of the Alabama Governor's Commission on Physical Fitness, serving in that capacity for 28 years. He also served 18 consecutive years as Chairman of the Alabama Special Olympics.

He died on January 22, 2013.Former Sen. Hinton Mitchem dies at 74
, Montgomery Advertiser, January 22, 2013 He had Alzheimer's disease. In addition to suffering with Alzheimer's disease for several years, in 2011 Mitchem was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, a fatal neuro-muscular disease with no known cause or cure.

References

External links

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*''Follow the Money'' - Hinton Mitchem
200620021998
campaign contributions
The Arab Tribune – Mitchem ending 36-year state career 3/10/2010Photo of Hinton Mitchem

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchem, Hinton
1938 births
2013 deaths
People from Oconee County, Georgia
People from Marshall County, Alabama
Businesspeople from Alabama
Alabama city council members
Democratic Party Alabama state senators
Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives
University of Georgia alumni
20th-century American businesspeople