Guest Commentary-- BBA, Birmingham News, BARD and the Coziness of Special Interests in Alabama Business, Media and Politics

Big Mules in New Wagons
By: Conner Cambran

A seemingly innocuous Associated Press report, New Governor Looks at Changes in Business Recruitment, warrants a re-read and a closer look at Governor-Elect Robert Bentley’s push for a public-private partnership agency to recruit industry to Alabama.

What's the problem with Governor-elect Bentley’s current proposal?

Certainly, Alabama’s business and industry titans could offer valuable advice on how to attract more industry, right? Yes, but wouldn't the Business Alliance for Responsible Development (BARD) and their very powerful members (e.g., Drummond Company, U.S. Steel, Alabama Power, Protective Life Corp, US Steel) also stand to gain an unbalanced degree of power?

Consolidation in economic development is certainly in vogue. The Birmingham Business Alliance was created by merging the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce with the Metropolitan Development Board and Region 2020. Now, Operation New Birmingham may be enveloped by the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) as well.

Charles McCrary is not just the chief executive of Alabama Power. He is also the chairman of the EDPA and vice chairman of economic development at the BBA. He is also chairman of Bentley's transition team. Stephen Bradley, BARD creator, is the "message man" for Bentley and his form of messaging is one-sided and questionable at best.

Alabama Power was a founding member of the EDPA and was one of the largest contributors to the chamber, MDB, Region 2020 and ONB. Funding all entities meant the company had to write a lot of checks each year in an attempt to lure new industry -- industry that would consume large amounts of electrical power.

True, successful business/industry CEOs could provide insight on recruiting other businesses or industries to the state. But could BBA members use their power to block competing businesses from setting up shop in the state?  Could they propel certain projects in order to gain contracts for their own companies? 

Some argue that the elevated Hwy 280 is just such a “sweetheart deal” for developer Daniel Corporation. HealthSouth, which still owns 40% of the so-called digital hospital where Daniel hopes to have Community Health System’s Trinity Hospital relocate, for paving contractors, for White Rock Quarries (which will certainly provide the materials for the road work with their ideal location in Vincent, Alabama, a "stone's throw" from Hwy 280), and other BBA members.

The merging of big business and government and/or quasi-government agencies warrants closer scrutiny. An eagle eye, in fact. But don’t hold your breath waiting for the area’s main newspaper (Bham News) to explore the pros and cons of such a union. One of the BBA’s executive committee members, Birmingham News publisher Pam Siddall, was feted by Trinity Hospital and the BBA upon taking the position at the News.

Consider the “merger” of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Metropolitan Development Board into the Birmingham Business Alliance.

The Chamber formerly boasted of both large and small businesses as members and proudly printed a membership directory.

We don’t know if the BBA counts all of the Chamber’s previous small businesses as members because we cannot find a published membership directory. We do know that Alabama Power, Drummond Company, Harbert Management (formerly Harbert Corporation, an Alabama-based construction company with worldwide contracts) and other heavy hitters are represented on BBA committees by their principals.

In reviewing the list of the BBA’s Big Mule committee appointees at BBA Names New Board Officers, you likely won’t recognize all of the names. Neither do we. But we recognize enough of them to convince us that it’s worth a Google search on the others to just to see how many of the Big Mules are pulling this wagon.

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