Bill Johnson Calls on King, Brooks to Investigate Possible Legal Violations by Bob Riley
“This is the only way we will clean up Alabama politics and government once and for all.”
Gubernatorial candidate Bill Johnson, former cabinet member under Governor Bob Riley, today announced that he has sent a letter to Alabama Attorney General Troy King and Montgomery Country District Attorney Ellen Brooks requesting investigations of possible violations of law by Governor Bob Riley. In particular, Johnson’s letter states the Governor has taken actions that have benefited the law firms where Riley’s son and son-in-law practice. He also calls on these two state law enforcement officials to investigate thoroughly Riley’s 2002 gubernatorial campaign’s receipt of campaign contributions from Mississippi Indian casino owners and their agents and the impact it may be having on public policy in Alabama.
(Letter to King Brooks Here)
“I signed the Governor’s ‘Code of Ethics’ pledge in November 2005, stating that I pledged ‘my actions to always reflect first and foremost what is in the best interest of the State of Alabama and her taxpayers,” said Johnson. “In January 2009, I reported concerns of potential conflicts of interest by Governor Bob Riley relative to the Jefferson County sewer negotiations directly to the US Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Alabama. I took that step firstly because it was the right thing to do as a public servant working for the taxpayers of Alabama, and secondly, because my signature on the Governor’s ‘Code of Ethics’ was my personal commitment to ‘uphold and daily apply the highest degree of professional standards.’
Johnson stated in his letter to King and Brooks that he believes threatening letters he has been receiving since announcing his candidacy are a result of “private and public comments I made regarding actions taken by Governor Riley that appear to be contrary to state law.”
Johnson stated that he believes critical principles are at stake: “No state official is above the law. The people deserve to know whether or not their Governor has violated the law. The next Governor should be someone who is committed to telling the truth no matter how uncomfortable that might make people in power. This is the only way we will clean up Alabama politics and government once and for all. And, above all else, I refuse to be bullied by the cowards who are anonymously threatening me and my family.”
Johnson’s letter raises concerns in four specific areas that he believes warrant investigation by King and Brooks for possible violation of state law. Johnson previously reported his concerns to federal law enforcement officials and has spoken publically about them during his campaign.
The law that prohibits conflicts of interest requires that state cabinet officials report “any matters that come to his or her attention in his or her official capacity which constitute a violation of this chapter.” Johnson served as head of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) in the Riley administration before launching his campaign for governor earlier this year.
The specific areas of concern raised in Johnson’s letter include (1) Riley’s serving as lead negotiator for and taking other actions related to the Jefferson County Sewer debt while his son’s law firm was under contract by Jefferson County; (2) Riley calling for a special legislative session to approve a new occupational tax for Jefferson County while the law firms of his son and son-in-law were employed by the County; (3) payment of millions of taxpayer dollars for other state legal matters to the law firm where Riley’s son-in-law practices; and (4) the contributions by Mississippi Indian casino owners and their agents to the Riley campaign. Sons and sons-in-law are considered “family members” under Alabama law.
Johnson’s letter to King and Brooks notes that “I assume the Governor will cooperate with your investigations since he has stated on numerous occasions his support for Alabama’s law enforcement activities. In addition, Riley Press Secretary Todd Stacy was quoted on Nov. 26 that ‘We hope law enforcement will investigate this, find out who is responsible and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law’.”
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Bill Johnson, former director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) is a Republican Candidate for Alabama Governor in 2010. Johnson has been a member of Governor Riley’s cabinet since 2005 and led Riley’s grassroots efforts for his successful races for Congress in 1998 and Governor in both 2002 and 2006. Johnson was selected by Riley to serve as Alabama’s delegate for both the 13-state Appalachian Regional Commission and 8-state Delta Regional Authority. Managing over a quarter of a billion dollars in grants per year, Johnson also worked with state and local-level economic and workforce development efforts; was instrumental in launching the Black Belt Action Commission, of which he was director during the program’s initial two-years; was active in launching the Rural Action Commission; and was the impetus for development of the Community Prison Re-entry (CPR) Network. Johnson, the son of a career military and civil servant, is a native of Birmingham. He and his wife, Kathy, live in Prattville and are the parents of three children.