Paul R. Hubbert (December 25, 1935 – October 14, 2014) was an American politician and Democratic gubernatorial candidate from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. From 1969 to 2011, he was executive secretary-treasurer of the Alabama Education Association, a

professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in ...

for

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

s. The organization serves many of the functions of a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

, and is often referred to as such by

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and political opponents. State law prohibits public employees from being represented by a union ''per se,'' hence the designation. As president of the AEA, he exerted significant influence upon Alabama politics. In 1990, he ran as the Democratic nominee in the Alabama gubernatorial election, and lost to Republican incumbent H. Guy Hunt. Four years later he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor. He was co-chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, and a target of criticism from the state's Republican party and leadership. He resigned that role in 2011, after Republicans took control of both chambers of the

Alabama Legislature The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both cham ...

, which greatly diminished the influence of the AEA. Born in Hubbertville, Alabama, Hubbert was an alumnus of the

University of North Alabama The University of North Alabama (UNA) is a public university in Florence, Alabama, United States. It is the state's oldest university. Occupying a campus in a residential section of Florence, UNA is located within a four-city area that also ...

, which at the time of his attendance, was named Florence State Teachers College. He died in a

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 ...

hospital following complications of a fall October 6, 2014.

References

1935 births 2014 deaths People from Fayette County, Alabama National Education Association people Alabama Democrats University of North Alabama alumni Candidates in the 1990 United States elections {{Alabama-politician-stub