Stephen Ralph Windom (born November 6, 1949) is an American attorney and politician who served as member of the Alabama State Senate from 1989 to 1998 and as the 27th lieutenant governor of Alabama from 1999 to 2003. Windom's political career began in the Alabama State Senate, where he served for two terms and an initial partial term decided by a special election. In 1997, he switched his party affiliation from

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to Republican. In 1998, Windom was elected Lieutenant Governor, becoming the first Republican Lieutenant Governor of Alabama since Reconstruction. He served under Democratic

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Don Siegelman Donald Eugene Siegelman ( ; born February 24, 1946) is a former American politician, lawyer and convicted felon who was the 51st governor of Alabama from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Democratic Party, as of , Siegelman is the last Democrat, as ...

as Alabama's Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected separately. He did not run for re-election in 2002, instead running for Governor. He lost in the Republican primary to Congressman Bob Riley and subsequently returned to the private sector.

Early life and education

Windom was born in Florence, South Carolina.Alabama Department of Archives and History: Steve Windom
/ref> He graduated from

Sidney Lanier High School Sidney Lanier High School is a public high school in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. History Established in 1910 on the southern outskirts of downtown Montgomery, Alabama, the school was named for a Southern poet, Sidney Lanier, who lived i ...

.Lt. Gov. Steve Windom to speak at TSU spring commencement
He then received his B.S. and J.D. degrees from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

. In 1974, he moved near Mobile, Alabama and began to practice law.

Career

State Senate

He was first elected as a Democrat to the Alabama State Senate in 1989. During his time in the Senate, he was selected to be the Banking and Insurance Committee chairman for 8 years. Although his first two terms were as a Democrat, he switched to the Republican Party in 1997 for his last term as a legislator. He was a delegate for

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

at the 1992 Democratic National Convention. He was a delegate for George Bush at the

2000 Republican National Convention The 2000 Republican National Convention convened at the First Union Center (now the Wells Fargo Center) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 31 to August 3, 2000. The 2000 delegates assembled at the convention nominated Texas Governor Georg ...

, and served as co-chair of the Alabama Bush-Cheney campaign.Steve Windom LLC: Home
/ref> While in office, Windom was selected Conservation Legislator of the Year by the Alabama Wildlife Federation in 1995, Legislator of the Year by the

National Federation of Independent Business The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is an association of small businesses in the United States. It is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, with offices in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state capitals. The goal of NFIB is to a ...

in 1996, and Legislator of the Year in 1997 by the Independent Insurance Agents. After his career in the Senate, he joined the Sirote Permutt lawfirm. He also ran for the position of Lieutenant Governor.

Lieutenant Governor

Windom's 1998 campaign for Lieutenant Governor was marked by scandal when false allegations involving a prostitute were made against him by supporters of his opponent. Garve Ivey, an Alabama plaintiffs' attorney, was eventually convicted of witness tampering and criminal defamation for conspiring with

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

Wes Chappell to defame Windom. A former

call girl A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who (unlike a street walker) does not display her profession to the general public, nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency.< ...

, who had been paid to make false allegations, testified at the trial. Despite the efforts to publicly malign him, Windom was elected. He thus became the first Republican Lieutenant Governor of Alabama since Reconstruction. The last Republican to hold the office was Alexander McKinstry, who served from 1872 to 1874. Windom gained notoriety in 1999 for discreetly urinating into a jug behind his desk while presiding over the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

, purportedly to avoid being stripped of most of his powers as presiding officer by the Democratic majority while going to the bathroom. Windom did not run for reelection in 2002, instead running for Governor. He was defeated in the 2002 primary by then-Congressman Bob Riley in a landslide. Riley went on to defeat Governor Siegelman by a very narrow margin.

Subsequent career

After leaving public office, Windom opened a legal and lobbying practice, Steve Windom, LLC. In the Republican primary on June 3, 2008, Windom's wife, Mary Becker Windom, was elected to a seat on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. She became the Court's Presiding Judge in 2012.

Personal life

Windom and his first wife Cathy Condiit Windom have two sons Robert and Thomas. He and his second wife, Mary Becker, have no childrenAlabama Judicial System Online
/ref>

Electoral history

2002 Republican Primary: GovernorAlabama Secretary of State 2002 Election Results
July 3, 2008 1998 General Election: Lieutenant GovernorAlabama Secretary of State Election Results
July 3, 2008 1998 Republican Primary: Lieutenant Governor

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Windom, Steve Lieutenant Governors of Alabama 1949 births Living people Republican Party Alabama state senators Politicians from Montgomery, Alabama People from Theodore, Alabama Lawyers from Montgomery, Alabama