Means: Lawsuit over power and money in Montgomery

By Scott Wright

MONTGOMERY — The hot topic in the state house hallways these days is the out-of-control political battle engulfing the state Senate. Debates often break down into arguments and little new legislation is passed or even voted on.

Sen. Larry Means, D-Attalla, who represents Cherokee and Etowah counties, sat down with The Post in his Montgomery office last week for an exclusive one-on-one interview to discuss the tug-of-war and other topics.

Means was involved in a verbal altercation on March 15 over his defense of a proposal to rebuild Enterprise High School. Means talked about that confrontation and another legal battle that could result in him being forced to run for his Senate seat again well in advance of the next general election.

“This is not about Larry Means, this is about power and money in Montgomery,” said Means. “I won't call names because the suit's not over, but the people who were persuaded to file are actually friends of mine. I think they were just used.”

Means has been named defendant in a lawsuit filed by Gadsden resident Jack Lowe, Sr. Lowe contends that Means improperly filed 2006 campaign finance reports and that he should be disqualified and a new election held to replace him.

"One, it's a violation of the law (not to file), and two, it undermines the purpose of the law," Lowe's attorney told the Gadsden Times last month. The lawyer, Greg Hawley, also said Means filed election spending and contribution reports after he was re-elected.

But Means said his campaign simply followed directions from then-Sec. of State Nancy Worley's office. He also said he doesn't believe the legal battle has anything to do with whether election laws were followed.

“This is about trying to take away the vote of over 26,000 people,” Means said. “And the people are outraged about it.”

Means said he and his family have received plenty of support from the community since the battle began. He said all those calls and emails have been instrumental in helping get through the ordeal and remember that he is fighting the good fight.

Means stopped short of saying he considers the case over, even though a similar suit was dismissed by another judge earlier this month. But he said he's keeping his thoughts positive even though the lawyer fees are piling up.

“Well, you never know what judges are going to do, but we feel good about it,” Means said. “It's going to end up costing about $100,000, but I was fortunate enough to have some campaign money left.”

Means said the politics behind the legal fight over his Senate seat reappeared last week in a debate over funding to rebuild Enterprise High School, which was destroyed by a tornado March 1. Eight students were killed in the storm.

“The (lawsuit) is the from same group that should have put that bill for those kids in Enterprise first on the agenda.”

Last Tuesday, Means got into a shouting match with fellow Democrat Lowell Barron over the order of items scheduled for debate. Means wanted to discuss a House proposal that would provide $79 million to rebuild in Enterprise. Barron and his supporters wanted to talk about community grants instead.

“The first priority should have been Enterprise and they wouldn't even put it up,” Means said, referring to Barron's Senate Rules committee. “They were saying $79 million was too much. I don't know if it is nor it isn't, but let's put it up for debate and talk about it.”

Means said Sen. Jimmy Holley, a Democrat who represents the district where the tornado hit, is another who has run afoul of Barron and the Democratic leadership.

“Holley was one of the senators they went after and tried to defeat in November,” Means said.

He said the current Democratic leadership has the sort of vengeful mentality that causes acts of retribution to overflow the Senate chamber.

“They don't like anybody that bucks them and I'm not going to be run over. That's what this is all about,” Means said. He chuckled and added, “My theory is that we actually have enough laws already, though, so this slowdown is not all bad.”

Means said despite his disdain for the tactics of his fellow Democrats in the Senate, he still considers himself loyal to his party.

“I'm still a Democrat, and I'll always be a Democrat, even though this current tactic by the leadership of going after others in their own party is unprecedented,” Means said. “But I'm not going to hold it against my party because of what these men did.”

However, Means did admit that some of the animosity from Barron and others in his party stems from the perception that his politics have changed over the years.

“One of them said to me that I had abandoned the Democratic Party,” Means said. “But I told him I left the Democratic caucus because there was no accountability over how the caucus was spending campaign money. That was the initial disagreement.”

Means said his fears were realized last November when those same Democratic leaders banded together to finance the defeat of Sen. Gerald Dial. Means said they also attempted to run opponents against Means and four other Democratic senators they disagreed with.

“I've heard the phone message of them trying to get someone to run against me,” he said.

After he made the decision that he couldn't work with Democratic leaders, Means said he was able to better focus on his priorities as a senator.

“I am a moderate Democrat,” he said. “I'm not a liberal Democrat. I still feel like Democrats work for the average person, which is not to say that Republicans don't. But I was raised as a Democrat and I'll always be a Democrat. I just can't work with Democrats that go out and try to get you beat when you disagree with them.”

On the home front, Means said one of the issues he considers most pressing is the continued four-laning of Highway 411 between Leesburg and Gadsden. He said he recently spoke with Gov. Bob Riley about the project.

“He told me a year ago that he'd help me on that and he hasn't yet,” Means said. “I've reminded him of what he told me so I'm hopeful we'll have some progress to report sometime soon.”