Vance leaves 50-year legacy of public service
Lesley Vance, as constituents (and reporters) generally learned about him pretty quickly, was one of the most accessible public servants around.
Whether he was in his legislative office in Montgomery or at his mortuary in Phenix City, it was not uncommon for him to answer his own phone. (Anybody who thinks that's not uncommon for elected officials, at any level, should give it a try.) And if you couldn't reach him right away, he'd generally get back to you before the end of the day, whether he knew he might be on the proverbial hot seat or in the most flattering political limelight.
Vance, 76, died Tuesday after a career in public office that spanned more than 50 years. A former Russell County commissioner, 27-year county coroner and, for the last 20 years, District 80 representative in the Alabama House of Representatives, Lesley Vance held the confidence of his community's and his district's electorate for a span of time that must be seen as an unbroken series of public votes of confidence.
"He never lost an election as far as I know," recalled Phenix City Council member Jim Cannon.
"He had Russell County and Phenix City in his heart," said Phenix City Mayor Eddie Lowe after learning of Vance's passing. "In his position, he wanted what was best for our area and he showed that. Look at his record and you can see."
Though Vance would almost certainly have won reelection to the House, Cannon said the longtime lawmaker, chairman of the powerful House Finance Committee, had suggested that he might not run again.
Now Gov. Robert Bentley will have to call for a special election to fill the vacant House seat.
Vance's funeral is scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m. at Summerville Baptist Church in Phenix City. Cannon has already offered an especially fitting obituary for his longtime friend: "He could identify with the little man, the common man or governor of the state."
The slander bunker
An online "hacktivist" outfit claims to have released names and contact info of political figures it says are members of the Ku Klux Klan.
Among the dignitaries it claims to have "outed" is Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.
The name with which this source identifies itself: Anonymous. Of course.
That's pretty much the nature of the nameless, faceless beast that spews perpetual poison from its digital bunker in our wired and wireless world. It's part of the price, we suppose, of being "connected."
Isakson's office released the (regrettably) obligatory statement that the claim is "absolutely false" and that "Senator Isakson has never been affiliated with the KKK." In a rational world, it would take something a lot more credible than "Anonymous" to elicit any response at all.
This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Vance leaves 50-year legacy of public service."