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Seth Hammett
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BACKGROUND

Rep. Hammett was born and raised in Covington County, Alabama with a family that was not very active in politics. His family was primarily farmers and well-drillers, however, his uncle was a county commissioner. Hammett left Andalusia to attend Auburn University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree and Masters in Business Administration degree. He also served in the U.S. Air Force. In 1971, he returned to Andalusia as a teacher in the local community college.

Hammett got his first taste of politics in 1973 when the Chamber of Commerce President groomed Hammett to replace him as President. By 1978, the local state representative, Frank Jackson, announced his retirement and Hammett decided to run for his seat. Hammett won the election with a strong majority and continues to serve as representative for the 92nd District.

In addition to Hammett’s political activities, he has also been very active in the local community. He founded and served as the first President of the First National Bank of Andalusia (now Wachovia Bank). After resigning this position, Hammett became President of the Lurleen B. Wallace Community College. Recently Hammett resigned this position to become the Director of Economic Development for the Alabama Electric Cooperative. Furthermore, Hammett has received two honorary degrees from Troy University and the University of West Alabama.

Rep. Hammett continues to reside in Andalusia, Alabama with his wife, Nancy, and is a member of the First United Methodist Church of Andalusia. Rep. Hammett and his wife have two children and two grandchildren.


POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

Rep. Hammett was first elected to the Alabama House Of Representatives in November 1978. He ran against Mike Purnell (who is now the mayor of Red Level, Alabama) and received 67.7% of the vote. Since 1978, Rep. Hammett has run unopposed in 3 of 6 elections and never received less than 56% of the vote. In the most recent election in 2002, he ran against Roger Broxton who is the President of the Confederate Heritage Fund and an outspoken proponent for the protection of confederate history. Rep. Hammett won in a landslide receiving over 70% of the vote.

Rep. Hammett is well-respected by his peers in the State House of Representatives. In 1999, Rep. Hammett was elected by the House to serve as Speaker of the House. According to the Andalusia Star-News:


“The Alabama speaker’s office is often described by journalists as one of the most powerful statewide positions a man can hold in the United States. As speaker, Hammett names the committees, decides who is on them and decides who will be chair. The committees control what legislation gets brought out of committee and up for a vote. There are few states in which the speaker of the house or any other legislator has such say.” (http://www.andalusiastarnews.com/articles/2005/12/17/news/226news/txt)


He continues to hold this position today. He has considered running for Governor, however, he has announced that he will not do so in 2006. Instead, he is running for re-election in 2006 to remain the representative for District 92 for another 4-year term.

Rep. Hammett is interested in economic development issues for the state and especially for Covington County. Roughly 20% of the population in Covington County lives below the poverty line. Rep. Hammett has been responsible for encouraging industries to expand or relocate to the county. Hammett also led a delegation on behalf of the Governor to South America to encourage trade between Alabama businesses and South American businesses. The trade mission visited Chile and Brazil and was successful in increasing port service and commercial trade between South America and Alabama and in developing educational programs linking South American universities with Alabamian universities. (http://www.ndgi.com/news/2004/20040927.shtml)

One of the dominant issues in Alabama politics in recent years is the lottery. Rep. Hammett supports the idea of a lottery for the state.

Rep. Hammett also recently introduced bill to allow the Bible to be taught in schools only if they used a “The Bible and it’s Influence” textbook put out by the Bible literacy project. (http://www.newsbull.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=28732)

According to the Speaker’s website and office, Rep. Hammett has received the following distinctions:


Honors Received

  • Citizen of the Year and the Distinguished Service Award in Andalusia

  • Guardian of Small Business, awarded by the National Federation of Independent Businesses

  • The Legislative Leadership Award, given by the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools

  • The Meritorious Service Award, given by The Montgomery Advertiser

  • The Service to Agriculture Award, given by the Alabama Farmers' Federation

  • The Children's Hero Award, given by the Alabama Department of Human Resources

  • The Legislator of the Year Award, given by Alabama Electric Cities

  • The Legislative Award given by the Alabama Association of School Boards

  • The Legislator of the Year Award, given by the Alabama Independent Insurance Agents



Memberships

  • The Board of Directors of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation

  • The Executive Committee of the National Speakers Conference

  • The Management Committee of the Southern Legislative Conference

  • The Executive Committee of the Southern Legislative Conference

  • The Executive Committee of the Council of State Governments

  • The Executive Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures



Positions Held

  • Chairman of the 16-state Southern Legislative Conference

  • President of the National Speakers Conference

  • Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives

  • Founder and first president of the First National (now Wachovia) Bank of Andalusia

  • President emeritus of Lurleen B. Wallace Community College

  • Director of Economic Development for Alabama Electric Cooperative