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Moore rallies foes of eminent domain
Citizens Against Immoral Property Taxes
I think it very foolish to trust Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox on eminent
domain issues. Power hungry politicians don't change coats.
Let's take the case of the average politician. How many suffer from pride - hubris? That they think they have the
God-given right to tell everyone what to do by force of law? How many suffer from avarice, or greed, and fill their
pockets with taxpayer money? How many have problems with drinking, drugs and sex - lust and gluttony? How many
are so slothful they would never go near a real job? How many are wrathful and envious?
Many politicians are scapegoats. When they gain political power they use it to project their sicknesses onto other
people. It's why politics is so destructive, since it almost always attracts the sick, who try to change others
through force instead of changing themselves.
When nemesis follows a politicians' hubris, and they get caught doing what they're not supposed to do, all say
they are going to quit what they were doing. The only reason they quit is because they get caught. Do they have
a real change of heart and mind? No, they don't. They just get caught.
Thanks Judge Moore and Mo Brooks for bringing decency and honesty into the political arena.
Citizens Against Immoral Property Taxes
March 10, 2006
Moore rallies foes of eminent domain
Council says it will revise plan and won't sell land to private
developers
By Stephanie Taylor
Staff Writer
TUSCALOOSA | About 150 people stood in the shadow of Tuscaloosa City Hall as storms approached Thursday afternoon
to hear gubernatorial candidate and former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore speak out against government use of
eminent domain.
The rally was held to oppose Tuscaloosa urban renewal plan that calls for the city to purchase private property
and resell it to private developers.
But just hours later, the council passed a resolution saying the city will not do that, and that the plan will
be revised.
“We want to make our position clear to the citizens of Tuscaloosa that the council won't take private property
for private development," Mayor Walt Maddox said.
Council members expect a state law to pass within the month that would prohibit the use of eminent domain for any
purpose other than public use.
Organizers of the rally were aware of the city's plans to take a stance against eminent domain, but decided to
go forward with the rally anyway.
Several people either affected by eminent domain or who opposed it spoke, with Moore concluding the hour-long rally.
Moore said that the current state law addressing eminent domain is weak because it allows it when an area has been
determined “blighted." He said the state needs a constitutional amendment that does not provide an exception
for blighted properties, urban renewal projects and contains an explicit definition of “public use."
“The city's plan should be condemned," he said. It's blighted. Government is not there to give you rights,
government is there to secure those rights. As the Declaration of Independence says, any government that does not
do that should be abolished."
Tuscaloosa $80 million downtown urban renewal plan calls for private development on about three blocks of current
private property.
The city had plans to buy property on those blocks and resell it to developers who would build offices, retail
stores and town homes. Though not as strong as an ordinance, the resolution establishes a policy for the council
to follow.
Its good to get our intentions on the record, said Councilman Lee Garrison. “There is about to be a state law,
and there are other forces around the country that make us think this is the best route to go ourselves."
City Attorney Bob Ennis said that matters of internal policy, such as the one passed Thursday, are passed as resolutions.
Matters such as speed limits or permanent laws are passed as ordinances.
Alliance For Citizens Rights, a property rights advocacy group, organized the rally.
People crowded on the sidewalk in front of Tuscaloosa Furniture, a business that has been family-owned since the
late 1930s and sits on a block that the renewal plan had slated for private office and retail space. Cars and SUVs
with out-of-county license tags and Moore bumper stickers surrounded the block.
Children held signs reading “Do You Want a Revolution?" and “No to Tuscaloosa Nobility" while adults
nodded their heads and shouted, “Hear, hear!"
City attorneys and planners who have worked for years on the downtown urban renewal plan watched from the City
Hall parking lot.
Lieutenant governor candidate Mo Brooks, a conservative Republican, said the state law allowing eminent domain
in the case of blight is flawed to the point of being moot.
“The definition of blight is so large, it is a loophole that swallows the law," Brooks said.
“This is a dog and pony show, where [government] acts like they're doing the right thing, but they're doing the
wrong thing," he said. “Our forefathers fought a war, and that war was over property rights."
Tuscaloosa resident Robert Register took off work Thursday to attend the rally. He said that he is a good friend
of Andy Lavender, owner of A & L Garage, whose property will be used for a plaza as part of the federal courthouse
project.
They've been treated with complete disrespect," he said.
“I see a whole lot of arrogance in this little palace behind me," he said, gesturing at City Hall.
Organizers asked speakers who were political candidates to not use the speaking opportunity to campaign.
Moore had planned to hold a press conference after the rally, but most members of the media had filtered out by
then.
Reach Stephanie Taylor at stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or (205) 722-0210.
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