Albert P. Brewer Day

WHEREAS, former Alabama Governor Albert P. Brewer was born on October 26, 1928 on a small farm in Bethel Springs, Tennessee and grew up in Decatur in Morgan County, Alabama; and

WHEREAS, Albert Brewer graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1952 and began practicing law in Decatur, Alabama; and  

WHEREAS, serving in multiple offices within Alabama State Government, Albert Brewer was elected the Alabama House of Representatives in 1954, where he was reelected twice without opposition; Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1963, one of the youngest people to ever hold the office; and Lieutenant Governor in 1966; and

WHEREAS, following her untimely death, Albert Brewer succeeded Lurleen Wallace as Governor of Alabama on May 7, 1968, making him the only Alabamian to have held the offices of Speaker of the House, Lieutenant Governor and Governor in succession; and

WHEREAS, in his brief 33 months as Governor, Albert Brewer established by executive order Alabama’s first Ethics Commission and code of ethics for state employees; substantially increased efficiency in State finances; decreased the power of special interests in Montgomery; and formed the Constitutional Review Commission, whose recommendations have served as the foundation for constitutional reform efforts in Alabama; and

WHEREAS, during his abbreviated term as Governor, Albert Brewer established the Alabama Development Office as a cabinet level department and oversaw the construction of more miles of highways than any previous administration, with an emphasis of urban and interstate highways; and

WHEREAS, as Governor, Albert Brewer championed education and successfully moved through the Legislature one of the most progressive education reform packages ever passed in Alabama, including the establishment of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, giving permanent status to the Alabama Education Study Commission, and significantly increasing the state’s financial commitment to our public schools; and

WHEREAS, Albert Brewer joined the faculty at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in 1987, where he has been a devoted and faithful servant and where he is currently Professor Emeritus of Law and Government; and

WHEREAS, Albert Brewer in 1988 helped found and served as the first executive director of the Public Affairs Research Council (“PARCA”), the state’s only independent public policy research organization; and 

WHEREAS, Albert Brewer is a Member of the Alabama Academy of Honor, has twice been honored by the Alabama Bar Association with the Award of Merit for his work in establishing a program to recruit attorneys for indigent death row inmates and for his service as chairman of the Third Alabama Citizens Conference on Judicial Selection, and in 2006 was the first recipient of the Alabama Chief Justice’s Award for Professionalism; and

WHEREAS, Albert Brewer has served this State faithfully in so many ways and has always been an example of integrity, professionalism, and an unwavering commitment to the highest ideals of the legal profession; and

WHEREAS, Albert Brewer has always been and continues to be a pioneer of justice in Alabama; and

WHEREAS, the Alabama Civil Justice Foundation is honoring Albert Brewer for his legacy of public service and his steadfast commitment to improving the quality of life for all Alabamians:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim June 2, 2011, as

Albert P. Brewer Day

in the state of the Alabama.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 31st day of May 2011.

 

      

Governor Robert Bentley