Thursday, 2010 gubernatorial candidate, and respected businessman Tim James endorsed State Representative Will Ainsworth’s (R-Guntersville) candidacy for lieutenant governor.
“I’m Tim James, and I am supporting Will Ainsworth for Lt. Governor of Alabama,” James wrote in a statement. “I know Will personally, and he is ready to serve the people of Alabama at the highest level of government.”
“Will is a businessman who has NOT been part of the Montgomery political system for many years, which is exactly what Alabama needs,” James said. “Recently, Will’s opponent attacked him with an ad that leads people to believe he is a ‘common thief’ because he of an incident that occurred decades ago. The problem is that his opponent didn’t tell the whole story, and she purposely left out the facts.”
“The truth is the so-called crime was a harmless college prank where he and some buddies ‘kidnapped’ a fiberglass tiger in Auburn, hid it, and got caught,” James said. “The other ‘serious’ infraction that Will’s opponent mentions is a ‘boating arrest,’ but, once again, it turns out it was just a ticket for not having a registration on a boat. The basic question here is simple – which is worse? A teenage college prank involving a fiberglass tiger and a boating registration ticket, or the false attack by Will’s opponent that is intended to mislead the people of Alabama. To intentionally omit the facts is the same as lying. Had Twinkle included the facts, any reasonable person would roll their eyes. Personally, I’m not very concerned about a silly, decades-old college prank, but I am concerned about a candidate who willfully and knowingly misleads. For these reasons, I urge Alabama voters to vote for Will Ainsworth on Tuesday, July 17.”
James ran for the Republican nomination for Governor in 2002 and 2010 and is the son of former Governor Fob James, who served from 1979 to 1983 and again from 1995 to 1999.
The Ainsworth campaign has heaped criticism upon Twinkle Cavanaugh’s recent advertising blitz attacking Ainsworth as “deceptive and misleading.” Cavanaugh’s campaign however claims that Ainsworth’s extremely wealthy father and family connections protected him from the sorts of punishments that Alabamians of less lofty social status would have received if they had committed the same offense. Cavanaugh’s campaign claims that Ainsworth’s father had to spend $10,000 to replace the Chamber of Commerce sponsored Auburn tiger sculptures that Ainsworth and his friends stole. The Cavanaugh campaign has also publicized an account from one of the young artists who said that she was emotionally devastated when the tiger that she spent hours decorating was stolen by Ainsworth and his accomplices.
Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh (R) is the President of the Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC) and was the first female Chair of the Alabama Republican Party.
Republican voters go to the polls on Tuesday to select which of the candidate’s they would prefer as Lieutenant Governor.
Polls open at 7:00 am and close at 7:00 pm. To participate in the election you must bring a valid photo ID with you to the polls.
The eventual winner of the Republican primary will face Muscle Shoals area pastor Dr. Will Boyd (D) in the general election on November 6.
