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Forrest Hood "Fob" James Jr. (born September 15, 1934) is an American politician,
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...
, entrepreneur, and former
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player. He served as the 48th governor of Alabama, first as a Democrat from 1979–1983, and then as a Republican from 1995 to 1999.


Education, football, and early career

James was born in Lanett, Alabama, the son of Rebecca (née Ellington) James (1907 - 1999) and Forrest Hood James (1905 - 1973). Named after his father, James was nicknamed "Fob" as a boy. His maternal grandparents were Calvin Sidney Ellington (1871 - 1958) and Sue Reese Robertson (1872 - 1959). They married in 1904. Calvin, known by his nickname of "Cal" was a commercial traveler who sold dry goods. In addition, he was also a farmer. Calvin died on November 1, 1958 at the age of 87, and Sue died the next year on October 2, 1959, also at the age of 87. Calvin and Sue were buried at Rosemere Cemetery in Opelika, Lee County, Alabama. After graduation in 1952 from
Baylor School Baylor School, commonly called Baylor, is a private school, private, coeducational college-preparatory school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1893, the school's current campus comprises 690 acres and enrolls students in grad ...
, a private high school in
Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...
, James entered
Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...
, where he played football for head coach Ralph "Shug" Jordan. In 1955 James was named
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
n as a halfback. He received a
civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...
degree in 1957. During the 1956 season, he played professional football in Canada as a member of the
Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...
. He entered the US Army and served two years as a lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. From 1958 to 1959, James worked as a heavy construction engineer with Burford-Toothaker Tractor Company in
Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...
. He had married and started a family. In 1959, his second born, Gregory Fleming James, was diagnosed with
cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...
. Needing more money to pay medical bills, James left Montgomery in 1960 to take a job as construction superintendent with Laidlaw Contracting Company, a road-paving company in Mobile. In 1961, James decided that he could earn a living from the manufacture of plastic-coated barbells. In 1962, he founded Diversified Products Inc., a manufacturer of fitness equipment; it was known for the plastic-disc barbells filled with "Orbatron," which DP patented. The company name was changed to "Diversified Products Corporation" after originally being called Health-Disc Inc. In addition to physical fitness equipment, the company manufactured ballasts and counterweights for farms, industry and trucking. James founded DP in his basement and, over the next 15 years, the company ultimately grew to employ 1,500 people with plants in Opelika, AL;
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, and
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, with sales of about $1 billion annually. James served as the CEO of DP until 1977, when it was bought by the
Liggett Group Liggett Group ( ), now JTI Ligget, formerly known as Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, is the fourth largest tobacco company in the United States. As of 2014, Liggett Group was the fourth largest American tobacco company by gross revenue, though ...
. James's son Gregory died of cystic fibrosis at the age of eight. In 1981 James established the Gregory Fleming James Cystic Fibrosis Research Center at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...
, named in his honor. James played an integral role in the establishment of the center. From 1972 to 1974, James served as president of the Alabama Citizens for Transportation, a statewide committee that developed a twenty-year highway program. This was subsequently adopted by the Alabama Legislature.


Political career


First term

During his 1978 campaign for governor, James campaigned as a "born-again Democrat". James had left the Democratic Party in the early 1970s but returned to the party before the election. In the first primary, he defeated Alabama Attorney General
Bill Baxley William Joseph Baxley II (born June 27, 1941), is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and attorney from Dothan, Alabama. In 1964, Baxley graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law in Tuscaloosa, Alaba ...
, 296,196 votes to 210,089 votes. In the run-off, James easily outdistanced Baxley. In the November general election, he defeated the Republican candidate, Guy Hunt. During James' first administration, the state faced considerable financial difficulties. James was reasonably successful in attaining his education reform package, improving the state's mental health system, rectifying some
prison overcrowding Prison overcrowding is a social phenomenon occurring when the demand for space in a prison exceeds the capacity for Prisoner, prisoners. By country Egypt Amnesty International reported on 25 January 2021 the abuse of prisoners in Egypt not onl ...
problems and fortifying the once financially strapped Medicaid system. James consolidated various state agencies to reduce state spending. Additionally, he implemented a ten percent State spending cut, instituted a hiring freeze, and laid off a considerable number of the state employee workforce. He also chose to emphasize funding for k-12 education, over that for Alabama's colleges and universities, a highly contested action. He also worked to acquire stiffer penalties for convicted drug traffickers. He was instrumental in improving state highways as a result of earmarking a substantial amount of money for such improvements from the state's oil windfall funds. James was unsuccessful in his attempts to: have a new state constitution drafted, levy a fuel tax, rectify the court-ordered desegregation of some of the state's post-secondary institutions, and secure passage of his bill to eliminate income tax deductions for Social Security payments. One of his greatest accomplishments was integrating Alabama government. During his inauguration, he "claim(ed) for all Alabamians a New Beginning (his campaign theme) free from racism and discrimination." During his first term as governor, he nominated Oscar W. Adams Jr. to fill a vacancy on the Alabama Supreme Court, the first African American chosen for such a position. In addition, he appointed other blacks to cabinet positions, including Gary Cooper as director of the Department of Pensions and Security, the first African American in a century to be appointed to lead a major state agency in Alabama. During his first term, James drew opposition by signing into law a measure passed by the legislature that allowed teachers to lead willing students in prayer. The law was declared unconstitutional by the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
in 1985.


Between terms

James's decision not to run again for governor in
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
eased the way for former governor
George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...
to return to office for a fourth and final term. Out of office, however, James began to yearn for a return to the governorship. He ran but was defeated in both the 1986 and
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
Democratic primaries. Living a semi-retired life while out of office, he partnered with his sons in several businesses. He managed and partly owned Orange Beach Marina, served as the CEO of Coastal Erosion Control, a company that worked to prevent coastal erosion; and worked as the CEO of Escambia County Environmental Corporation, which develops landfills and waste incinerators. In the spring of
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
, James's desire to be governor again led him to switch parties again. He qualified at the last moment as a Republican candidate. First he defeated Winton Blount, III, of Montgomery and
State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...
Ann Bedsole, a moderate Republican from Mobile in the primary and runoff election for the Republican nomination. Bedsole refused to endorse James in the
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
, but he still defeated incumbent Democratic Governor Jim Folsom, Jr., by a narrow margin, and won his second term as governor, this time as a Republican.


Second term

James governed as a staunch conservative during his second term, reflecting individualistic,
states' rights In United States, American politics of the United States, political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments of the United States, state governments rather than the federal government of the United States, ...
convictions. James "seceded" from the
National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American Politics of the United States, political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 U.S. state, states, Territories of the United States, territories ...
, and was the only state governor to refuse to attend the organization's meetings. In 1981, he designed the Alabama Budget Isolation Process as a hopeful remedy to years of legislative standstills. It is still in effect in the Legislature today. As governor, James appointed Aubrey Miller, an African American, to head the Alabama Tourism Department. He also appointed Beth Chapman to his cabinet; she was the first woman in Alabama's history to serve as Appointments Secretary.


Crime and justice

James took a " tough" position on crime and criminals. He and his prison commissioner, Ronald Jones, reinstituted chain gangs, a form of forced labor for Alabama's prison inmates. This practice affected the disproportionately large African-American inmate population in Alabama, in which a discriminatory criminal justice system played a part. Inmates were displayed while in chains for mostly white tourists to see. Alabama became the first state to bring back the practice symbolic of and prevalent in the
Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...
era, the post-slavery period where racism against African Americans was codified into law. The practice continued even as an African American inmate was killed by an officer after a fight with another inmate ensued at a chain gang worksite. The Governor approved other policies instituted by Jones, but he balked at the commissioner's suggestion that chain gangs be extended to include female prisoners. James put an end to the chain gang in June 1996, because of a lawsuit brought by a coalition of community human rights groups. Regarding crime issues, James cited as one of his "major accomplishments" the revision of the Alabama Criminal Code, which made it one of the toughest in the U.S. During his second term James, who firmly supported the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
, presided over seven executions by
electric chair The electric chair is a specialized device used for capital punishment through electrocution. The condemned is strapped to a custom wooden chair and electrocuted via electrodes attached to the head and leg. Alfred P. Southwick, a Buffalo, New Yo ...
(Alabama resumed executions in 1983). However, in one of his last official acts as governor, James commuted the death sentence of Judith Ann Neelley to life in prison. This remains, , the only post-Furman commutation of a death sentence by a governor in Alabama. James explained that, in his view, executing Neelley would not have been just. His reason was that the Neeley case was the only time he had seen a judge overrule the jury's unanimous decision to impose life imprisonment by issuing a death penalty. But Alabama has more than one judge who has made his reputation on imposing the death penalty against jury votes. James helped arrange a State of Alabama-paid voluntary return to the US of Lester Coleman, a former journalist accused by the
federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
of committing
perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...
, who had been residing in Europe. According to Redding Pitt, a federal government attorney from
Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...
, Coleman called James, an acquaintance from the 1970s, for help in his case. Coleman promoted alternative theories regarding the Lockerbie bombing. His perjury charges stemmed from his statements about that incident. Joe Boohaker, Coleman's attorney, said that James apparently knew Coleman from when the latter man had worked at a
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
radio station.James helps arrange return of fugitive from Europe
", ''
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'', ''
Times Daily The ''TimesDaily'' is the daily newspaper for Florence, Alabama. ''The TimesDaily'' covers a four-county region in Alabama including Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, and Lawrence counties, as well as portions of southern Tennessee and northeas ...
''. October 25, 1996. 9 of 16. Retrieved on September 28, 2010.
James defended embattled judge Roy Moore when Moore was ordered by a Montgomery circuit judge to remove his wooden representation of the
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...
from his courtroom. James threatened to send in the
National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...
to prevent the removal of the plaque with this display. In an interview, Fob also said of the removal of the Confederate flag from state offices:
''I think it's a sick form of political correctness for everybody to act like they're offended because history is portrayed like history was.''


Education

The Alabama legislature joined James in passing an educational reform package known as the James Educational Foundation Act. This legislation required local school systems that were not already at a minimum level of support to raise local property taxes to 10 mills,. It also increased the number of credit hours in academic subjects that students were required to have in order to graduate. This legislation empowered the state superintendent of education to take control of schools that scored poorly on national achievement tests. Prioritizing K-12 education, James shifted funding from the state's colleges and universities; such action strained relations between higher education and the governor's office. James refused to accept federal monies from the U.S. Department of Education's Goals 2000 program because he believed that it would lead to increased federal involvement and control over the state's schools. When Secretary of Education Richard Riley promised that the Department of Education would not interfere in the use of the funds, Alabama's state board of education ignored the governor's protests and voted to accept the funding. They used it to purchase computers for K–12 classrooms.


Religion controversies

James was frequently criticized for expressing too much of his religious beliefs in his governing. At a 1995 Alabama State Board of Education meeting, James criticized the teaching of
evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
in textbooks by imitating a "slump-shouldered ape turning into an upright human". He supported the adoption of a textbook warning sticker that said, among other things, that "No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life's origins should be considered as theory, not fact." James's most publicized religious battle was the lengthy controversy surrounding Etowah County Judge Roy S. Moore's posting of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom and the offering of a daily Christian prayer before proceedings. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued to have the practice stopped as unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Ira DeMent, an appointee of President
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
, ruled in its favor, ordering the removal of the commandment plaque and cessation of the prayers because they violated the First Amendment guarantee of separation of church and state. Judge Moore appealed the decision, and James supported his position. For a brief period he threatened to mobilize the Alabama National Guard and use force if necessary to prevent the removal of the Ten Commandments plaque from Moore's courtroom. In October 1997, Judge DeMent issued another sweeping order forbidding certain religious practices in DeKalb County's public schools, which also aroused controversy. James verbally attacked DeMent's order as yet another illegitimate intrusion by federal courts into local affairs. The judge's order was, in part, reversed shortly after James left office, allowing students at their own choice to hold religious meetings on school grounds.


Campaign for a third term

In his campaign for re-election to a third term, James faced strong opposition in the Republican party primary from Winton Blount III, a fellow conservative and a millionaire businessman whom James was documented referring to as a "fat monkey." He sharply criticized James's close ties to the
Christian right The Christian right are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with their interpretation ...
. James struggled through the bitter Republican primary runoff and defeated Blount, but had little money left to finance the general election campaign. Incumbent Lieutenant Governor
Don Siegelman Donald Eugene Siegelman ( ; born February 24, 1946) is an American politician who was the 51st governor of Alabama from 1999 to 2003. To date, Siegelman is the last Democrat as well as the only Catholic to serve as Governor of Alabama. Siegelma ...
easily won the Democratic primary on the sole issue of establishing a state
lottery A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...
to provide for college scholarships. James opposed the lottery and was soundly defeated by Siegelman in the 1998 general election, to date the last time a Republican has been defeated in an Alabama gubernatorial election. He returned to semi-retirement, saying he wanted to spend more time with his children and grandchildren.


Personal life and family

James and his wife, Bobbie, live in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. As of 2021, Fob James resides in an independent-living apartment in close proximity to the nursing facility where Bobbie James lives. The couple had four children: Greg, who died in the 1960s of
cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...
; Tim, a businessman and three-time candidate for governor of Alabama; Fob III, a trial lawyer; and Patrick, whom Fob and Bobbie James sued in 2015 over allegations of fraud.


Notes


External links


Forrest Hood "Fob" James Jr.
Alabama Department of Archives and History.

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081211112720/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/07/01/alabama.elex/ Fob James Wins GOP Primary Runoff For Alabama Governorbr>Former Alabama Gov. Fob James and his son oppose prosecutor of Judge MooreEncyclopedia of Alabama
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Fob 1934 births Living people People from Lanett, Alabama Candidates in the 1998 United States elections 20th-century Alabama politicians 20th-century American Episcopalians 21st-century American Episcopalians Players of American football from Alabama Auburn Tigers football players American football running backs American athlete-politicians Montreal Alouettes players United States Army officers Democratic Party governors of Alabama Republican Party governors of Alabama