By David Colon

Not many lieutenant governors have ever risen to become governor in New York or elsewhere around the country, despite the recent history of changes in the tri-state area.
Then there is Alabama Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom, Jr. (D).
Back in 1993, Folsom was a two-term lieutenant governor when Gov. H. Guy Hunt (R) resigned after being convicted of misusing campaign funds. Unlike in New York, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected separately in Alabama, and so while Hunt was a Republican, Folsom was a Democrat.
Like Paterson, Folsom is the son of a powerful political figure, Jim “Big Jim” Folsom, Sr. (D), a populist governor elected to two non-consecutive terms in 1946 and 1954. Folsom, Sr. was known for his folksy approach to politics—like the vows to clean up state government illustrated by carrying around a mop and bucket at campaign appearances.
Folsom, Sr. also gained attention for refusing to sign segregation bills and meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr. in secret during the Montgomery bus boycott. That helped lead to his New York connection, having shared a drink with Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (D) in the governor’s mansion during his second term.
Folsom, Jr., or “Little Jim,” as he is known to many Alabamans, moved quickly once he became governor himself, winning a bid for the first Mercedes-Benz plant in America just weeks after taking the oath of office. But he also alienated many in the state by refusing to appeal a court decision ordering the removal of the Confederate flag from flying above the state capitol.
That contributed to his narrow loss in his bid for a full term in 1994 to Fob James, a Republican who went on to serve just one term himself. After the loss, Folsom stayed out of politics for 12 years, keeping a low profile as he pondered his next move.
Then he returned in 2006, ready to run another race. And he picked a campaign for an office he knew well: lieutenant governor. He won, even as Republican Bob Riley was elected the state’s new governor.
And his political resurrection may not stop there: Folsom is being discussed as the possible Democratic candidate for governor in Alabama in 2010.    

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Day 1-Day 442: The Spitzer Legacy

Full coverage on NYCapitolNews.com...

• Spitzer's Wake
• Now Who Would Get the Senate Seat?
• Silda Wall Spitzer’s Effects and Michelle Paige Paterson’s Prospects
• Questions Swirl Over Which Firms Stand on Solid Ground
• In Alabama, a Lieutenant Governor who Became Governor, then Lieutenant Governor Again
• The Next Step for the Career Cut Short
• Once Governor, Always Governor
• Signs of Change
• Bond Issues

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