MONTGOMERY Ala.
The emotion-charged German title “fuhrer,” usually associated with Adolf Hitler, has created a furor between Democrats and Republicans that could be a buildup to the next race for governor.
The Republican leaders of the Legislature are demanding that Joe Reed, the associate executive secretary of the Alabama Education Association, apologize or be fired for comparing state junior college Chancellor Bradley Byrne to a fuhrer, a title used by Hitler.
Reed said he won’t apologize.
“This is nothing but an effort to boost Bradley Byrne’s campaign for governor two years from now,” said Reed, who also serves as a vice chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party.
House Minority Leader Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, said the letter was not intended to boost Byrne. “But Mr. Reed probably did more to boost his candidacy than anything we could do,” Waggoner said.
House Minority Leader Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, said the letter was simply about what words are inappropriate in the debate over how to address problems in Alabama’s junior college system.
