Bob Hill Jr. Knows Where the Bodies Are Buried

Alabama has long been a bastion of dirty tricks. Such machinations reached their apogee during the administrations of George Wallace; while we realize 100% honesty and accountability will never be present in any government, we have come to expect more in the years since Wallace left office.

Yes, things have changed...but perhaps not for everyone. Bob Hill Jr. served as District I representative from 1967 to 1979. Hill's successor, Nelson Starkey, served honorably for 24 years until his death. At that time, Lauderdale County voters elected Tammy Irons, Hill's law partner. Now after one term in the House, Irons has elected to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Bobby Denton.

As we mentioned yesterday, there's not a dearth of likely candidates to replace Irons. Among those who have uttered their possible intentions is Hill. Calling himself "an old race horse" in a May 25th TimesDaily article, Hill broached the possibility of a fourth term in the State House. When asked his current qualifications, Bob Hill responded, "I also know where all the bodies are buried."

Perhaps the 77 year-old Hill knew where the bodies were buried when he left office in 1979. If he should know where any are buried today, we hope he will not choose to exhume them. This is 2009, and Alabama has suffered enough quid pro quo politics to know that such antics will only negate any progress this state has achieved during the Riley administration.


Tomorrow: With apologies to Matt Osborne, who is Bob Hill?