Jump to content

Ron Sparks (politician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Rorytory (talk | contribs) at 11:54, 30 October 2010 (Added infomation about Sparks position on gambling in the 2010 general election). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Ron Sparks
28th Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries
Incumbent
Assumed office
2003
Preceded byCharles Bishop (D)
DeKalb County, Alabama Commissioner
In office
1978–1982
Preceded byAuzie Anderson (D)
Succeeded byCecil Shirey(D)
Constituency3rd District
Personal details
Born (1952-10-29) October 29, 1952 (age 72)
Fort Payne, Alabama, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Children3
ResidenceMontgomery, Alabama

Ronald D. Sparks (born October 29, 1952 in Fort Payne, Alabama) is the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries for the state of Alabama. Sparks is a member of the Democratic party, and is the Democratic candidate for Governor of Alabama in the state's 2010 gubernatorial election.

Early life, education and career

Sparks is a graduate of Fort Payne High School, and before beginning his political career worked in Fort Payne's iconic sock mills. He later served in the Coast Guard, and was awarded several commendations in that service. Following his discharge from the service, Sparks graduated from Northeast Alabama Community College in 1978.

At the age of 24, he became one of the youngest County Commissioners ever elected in the State of Alabama, defeating a two-term incumbent. Af first, Sparks could not find anyone to donate to his campaign; he sold his furniture and gun for initial funding.[1]

After an interlude in the private sector, in 1993 Sparks was appointed Director of the newly-created DeKalb County 911 System. As director he was responsible for overseeing the construction of the headquarters office, procuring equipment, hiring and training staff, and field verifying street addresses for over 30,000 homes and businesses.[2] Sparks was elected the President of the Alabama chapter of the National Emergency Number Association in 1998.[3]

Department of Agriculture and Industries

In 1999, Sparks was appointed as Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, where he ran the day-to-day operations of the Department. In 2002, Sparks was elected Commissioner, winning 54 out of 67 counties, and defeating his Republican opponent in the general election by a margin of 53%-47%[4]. In that campaign, Sparks was briefly criticized for appearing in media produced by the Department. However, he responded that the media in question was time-sensitive, and that the then-Commissioner had scaled back his involvement in the Department’s operations following his own defeat in the gubernatorial primary a few months earlier.[5] In this campaign, Sparks became one of the rare Democrats to win the endorsement of the Alabama Farmers Federation.[6]

During his first term as Commissioner, Sparks pushed for country-of-origin labeling for food and agricultural products, citing health problems and under-cost dumping associated with imports from certain countries. He also initiated the establishment of state laboratories for expanded testing of food and agricultural products.[2] Sparks also led efforts to open the Cuban market to Alabama farm products, traveling to the nation and meeting with Cuban leader Fidel Castro, leading to Cuba’s agreement to begin imports from Alabama.[7]

He was re-elected in 2006. During this campaign, even The Birmingham News, which had criticized Sparks four years earlier, spoke favorably of Sparks's handling of a mad cow disease scare that could have threatened the state's cattle industry.[8] Sparks built on his 2002 margin, defeating his Republican opponent by a margin of 59%-41%, making Sparks the leading statewide candidate on the Democratic ticket.[9]

During his second term, Sparks has continued the expansion of the state lab system.[2] When a salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes occurred in the spring of 2008, Sparks acted to secure verification that tomatoes grown in Alabama were not suspected of contamination with the disease, and to facilitate marketing of those tomatoes as "safe."[10]

Sparks is the 2007-08 President of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. He took over as President of the association at its annual meeting in September 2008.[11]

Political involvement

It was rumored that Sparks would run for the Senate seat currently held by Jeff Sessions, but he declined to run to avoid a primary contest with state Senator Vivian Davis Figures.[12] Sparks backed the 2008 presidential effort of Hillary Clinton.[13] Sparks, who is ineligible for a third term as Commissioner, was mentioned as a candidate for governor or lieutenant governor in 2010.[14] He launched a website, sparks2010.com, in late 2008. The site promoted a Sparks candidacy in 2010, without initially specifying which office he might seek.[15]

2010 candidacy for governor

Further information: [[:Alabama gubernatorial election, 2010]]

On April 3, 2009, Ron Sparks announced that he would run for governor of Alabama. In what was regarded as an upset, Sparks handily defeated Congressman Artur Davis in the Democratic primary on June 1, 2010. Tensions over Davis' opposition to President Obama's healthcare reform legislation, along with Davis' decision to not seek the support of traditonal Democratic Party groups, led black organizations and voters to turn to Sparks.[16]

Early in the 2010 campaign, Sparks voiced support for healthcare reform and the public option, opposed charter schools, supported the Stimulus, and advocated an educational lottery and gaming tax for pre-kindergarten and college scholarships.[17]

Following Parker Griffith's switch to the Republican party, Sparks considered running for Griffith's seat in the United States House of Representatives,[18] however he ultimately chose to remain in the running for Governor. [19]

On April 23, 2010, Sparks' campaign manager Sharon Wheeler resigned after being charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Sparks accepted her resignation and noted that he doesn't drink. "Drinking and driving is a serious offense and can never be tolerated," the Associated Press quoted Sparks as saying. "Everyone makes mistakes." [20]

In the 2010 general election against the Republican nominee, Dr. Robert Bentley, Sparks has embraced what has been characterized as a pro-gambling stance, in reaction to current Governor Bob Riley's controversial efforts to shut down electronic bingo in various counties throughout the State.

References

  1. ^ "Sparks relishes underdog role", by Phillip Rawls (AP), Times-Journal, June 8, 2010
  2. ^ a b c "Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries: Commissioner Ron Sparks". Agi.alabama.gov. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  3. ^ "Alabama NENA: Officers". Al911.org. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  4. ^ "Alabama Secretary of State: General Election Returns 2002" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  5. ^ Editorial: “Plugging Sparks,” The Birmingham News, October 9, 2002, p. 8A
  6. ^ “Farmers Group Endorses Riley, Bishop for Governor,” The Birmingham News, April 26, 2002, p. 1B
  7. ^ "Alabama's Cuba Trip Reaps $18M, More Expected," The Huntsville Times, December 22, 2004, p. 13A
  8. ^ "The Mark of the Beast," The Birmingham News, March 29, 2006, p. 8A
  9. ^ "Alabama Secretary of State: General Election Returns 2006" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  10. ^ "Food Sellers React Quickly to Outbreak of Salmonella," Mobile Press-Register, June 11, 2008, p. A2
  11. ^ "NASDA Elects Officers at Annual Meeting". Nasda.org. 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  12. ^ ""Sparks Says He Won't Seek U.S. Senate Seat," ''The Birmigham News'' blogs, June 12, 2007". Blog.al.com. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  13. ^ "Clinton, Obama to Increase Focus on State," Mobile Press-Register, January 10, 2008, p. A1
  14. ^ "Political Site Looks as Far Ahead as 2010," The Tuscaloosa News, July 28, 2007, p. 2B
  15. ^ ""State Agriculture Commissioner Eyes 2010 Governor's Race," WVTM-TV News, December 2, 2008". Nbc13.com. 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  16. ^ "Taking cues from Obama's playbook didn't bring Davis a victory", by Perry Bacon Jr., The Washington Post, June 2, 2010
  17. ^ Huntsville Times. "Ron Sparks speaks to Madison County Democratic Women | al.com". Blog.al.com. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  18. ^ "Ron Sparks open to Parker Griffith challenge". Politico.Com. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  19. ^ 10:38 AM CST, December 29, 2009 (2009-12-29). "Ron Sparks to Stay In Governor's Race". WHNT. Retrieved 2010-06-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "Sparks Campaign Manager Quits After Arrest - WAAYTV.com - Huntsville, Alabama - News Weather, Sports |". WAAYTV.com. 2010-04-23. Retrieved 2010-06-06.

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Ron_Sparks_(politician)&oldid=393775193"