Hinton Mitchem (May 18, 1938 – January 22, 2013) was a
Democratic member of the
Alabama Senate
The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district conta ...
, representing the 9th District from 1979 to January 1987 and then again from June 1987 to January 2011.
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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
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
(B.S.
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
) degree in Education from the University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
in 1961. He also served in the U.S. Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...
. He moved from Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
to Marshall County, Alabama
Marshall County is a county of the state of Alabama, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 97,612. Its county seat is Guntersville. A second courthouse is in Albertville. Its name is in honor of John Marshall, famous Chief ...
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
Albertville is a city in Marshall County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 22,386. It is the largest city in Marshall County.
His ...
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
John Teague (June 3, 1833 – October 25, 1902) was a Canadian architect and politician who served as mayor of Victoria, British Columbia from 1894 until 1895.
Born in Redruth, Cornwall, United Kingdom, Teague left the UK in 1856 spending som ...
and eventual winner, Jim Folsom, Jr.
James Elisha 'Jim' Folsom Jr. (born May 14, 1949) is an American politician who was the 50th governor of Alabama from April 22, 1993, to January 16, 1995. He has also served as the lieutenant governor of Alabama on two occasions. He is a member ...
, 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
William Austin Ingram (June 14, 1898 – June 2, 1943) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1922), Indiana University (1923–1925), the United States Naval Academy (1 ...
of Guntersville, Alabama
Guntersville (previously known as Gunter's Ferry and later Gunter's Landing) is a city and the county seat of Marshall County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,553. Guntersville is located in a HUBZon ...
.
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
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, he previously represented Alabama's 3rd district in the U. ...
. 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
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
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
*
*''Follow the Money'' - Hinton Mitchem
200620021998
campaign contributions
The Arab Tribune – Mitchem ending 36-year state career 3/10/2010
Photo 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