Secretary of State Shuffle

Former Secretary of State Jim Bennett is slated to be back on the job at the beginning of August. Gov. Robert Bentley has appointed Bennett, who served as secretary of state in the 1990s, to replace Beth Chapman and serve through the 2014 election cycle.

Chapman, who was elected to the post twice and not able to run again, announced in early July that she would resign before her term ended and take a post as a political

consultant with Alabama Farmers Federation.

Bennett was first appointed Secretary of State in 1993 by former Gov. Jim Folsom and then elected to two terms at the post, where he worked for campaign finance disclosure, Bentley said. He was president of the National Association of Secretaries of State in 1999 and 2000.

He served as the state secretary of labor under Gov. Bob Riley and again under Bentley until he retired in 2012.

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A graduate of Jacksonville State University and the University of Alabama, Bennett worked as a reporter for the Birmingham Post-Herald and as a public relations person for the Alabama Labor Council, AFL-CIO; for Birmingham-Southern College, and for Brookwood Medical Center.

He first served in state government as a Democratic in the House of Representatives in 1978, representing Jefferson County.


Text by Nedra Bloom

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