By Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter
A close ally of former Speaker of the House and convicted felony Mike Hubbard is running for the US House of Representatives. State Representative Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) filed FEC papers on May 2 to run against incumbent Republican US Congresswoman, Martha Roby, to represent Alabama’s 2nd congressional district.
Moore’s biggest claim to fame is that he beat felony perjury charges in a case related to Hubbard. Moore’s other significant accomplishment as a State Representative may be his ability to obtain State contracts for his business interests.
Before Moore’s election in 2010, he had never received a single State contract, but since taking office, Moore’s business interests have received in-State contract work.
Just two months after being elected in 2010, Moore received a contract with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) for $27,500. The contract was executed in the name of Hopper-Moore, Inc., doing business as Barry Services. Hooper-Moore is registered as a “minority-owned business,” because Moore’s wife Heather is purportedly part-Native American.
On December 15, 2011 (FY 2012), two additional payments were made to Hopper-Moore from Environmental Management, one for $8,950 and the other for $16,900. The three contracts in FY 2011 and FY 2012 were for “solid waste.”
Fiscal year 2013, Moore’s company received yet another contract with ADEM, this time for $11,262 for “sanitation services.” Add up the four payments made to Hooper-Moore since January of 2011, and the total comes to $64,612, not exactly small change from the State’s coffers. Before Moore’s election as State Representative in District 91, neither he nor his wife had ever done business with the State.
In 2014, before Moore’s perjury trial, former Governor Bob Riley’s Alabama 2014 PAC gave $12,500 to the indicted lawmaker, which appeared to be used for his legal defense.
Moore was acquitted of all charges and was returned to his House seat, despite being under indictment at the time.
Moore believes Roby is vulnerable because of comments she made about then-candidate Donald Trump after a tape was released of him bragging (in graphic terms) about grabbing women by their genitals. Trump supporters dismissed his comments about women as simply “locker room talk.” Many ardent Trump supporters saw the 40-year-old mother of two young children reaction to Trump’s language about women as a betrayal. However, Roby continues to have support on Capital Hill, where she serves on the powerful House Committee on Appropriations, which oversees the whole range of government spending. She also serves on many important subcommittees, as well as the House Judiciary Committee and the Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee.
Plum committee assignments are given to lawmakers with proven track records and close ties with House leadership.
Moore, an avowed conservative, was ranked as the most conservative member of the State House of Representatives by Yellowhammer News. It is unusual for a sitting Representative to be challenged by a member of the same party.
After Hubbard’s conviction on 12 felony counts of public corruption, Moore ran for his friend’s old position as Speaker of the House. Moore’s bid was rejected by the majority of his fellow House colleagues.
