Lucy Baxley

Lucy Baxley

Democratic Party

Prior offices

Alabama Treasurer

Successor: Kay Ivey

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Lieutenant Governor of Alabama

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Alabama Public Service Commission President

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Personal

Religion

Christian: Methodist

Contact

Personal website

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Lucy Baxley (b. December 21, 1937) is a retired Alabama politician, having served two terms as state treasurer, one as lieutenant governor, and another as President of the public service commission. Baxley was the last remaining Democrat holding statewide office in Alabama when she was unseated as PSC President by fellow commissioner Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012. After losing to Cavanaugh, Baxley promptly announced her retirement from politics at age 74. In an interview given days after Cavanaugh was sworn in as President, Baxley assured the Associated Press, "I am not distressed about not winning. I am ready to retire. I have worked all my life — from the time I was 19." Baxley said she intended to spend her retirement in Birmingham with her expanding brood of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was succeeded by Alabama State Rep. Jeremy Oden (R), who was appointed to fill the vacancy by Gov. Robert Bentley on November 30, 2012.

Biography

Baxley was born in Pansey, Alabama. Prior to holding public office, she worked as an Executive Assistant for the Houston County District Attorney from 1964-1970, Executive Assistant for the Alabama Attorney General from 1970-1976, Administrator in the Legal Division of the Alabama Highway Department from 1976-1978, and as a Realtor with Johnston, Rast and Hays from 1979-1995.

Education

• Attended, Auburn University, Montgomery

Political career

Public Service Commission President 2008-2012

Baxley served one term as President of the Public Service Commission. She retired from politics after losing to Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh in the 2012 general election. On November 30, 2012, Gov. Robert Bentley appointed Republican State Representative Jeremy Oden to fill Baxley's vacant seat on the commission.

Gubernatorial election 2006

In 2006, Baxley ran against Republican incumbent Bob Riley for Governor of Alabama. Less than a month after Riley was re-elected by a commanding margin, Baxley had a stroke. She blamed it on "the prolonged stress of that campaign."

Lieutenant Governor 2003-2007

After serving her maximum two terms as state treasurer, Baxley ran successfully for lieutenant governor in 2002. She was the first woman in Alabama history to hold the position. As lieutenant governor, Baxley presided over the state Senate, where, as a female authority figure, she had to overcome a certain degree of resistance from the male dominated chamber. She gradually earned their respect, she recalled later, through actions such as insisting the Senators attend a legally mandatory make-up session on the same day as many of them had tickets to a sporting event.

Treasurer 1995-2003

Baxley made her first bid for public office in 1994 as a Democratic candidate for Alabama treasurer. Lacking the funds to support a statewide campaign, Baxley relied heavily on the slogan "We Love Lucy," to carry her to victory, along with name recognition. Her ex-husband, Bill Baxley, was the former attorney general and unsuccessful 1986 gubernatorial candidate. She kept the name after their divorce because it was vital to her political identity.

Elections

2012

See also: Alabama down ballot state executive elections, 2012

Baxley ran for re-election as President of the Alabama Public Service Commission in 2012. She was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Twinkle Cavanaugh, Kathy Peterson and Chip Brown ran in the Republican primary. Since no candidate took 50 percent of the vote, Cavanaugh and Brown headed to a runoff election on April 24, which Cavanaugh easily won.

Cavanaugh defeated Baxley in the general election on November 6, 2012, taking 54% of the vote.

Alabama Public Service Commission President General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Twinkle Cavanaugh	54.2%	1,078,108
	Democratic	Lucy Baxley Incumbent	45.8%	909,323
Total Votes				1,987,431
Election results via Alabama Secretary of State

2008

• General Election
  • Baxley won election in the November 2008 election, defeating Republican candidate Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh.

Alabama Public Service Commission President, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Lucy Baxley	50.3%	1,014,091
	Republican	Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh	49.6%	1,001,643
Total Votes				2,017,933

2002

On November 5, 2002, Lucy Baxley won election to the office of Lieutenant Governor of Alabama. She defeated Bill Armistead (R) and Lyn Curtis Adams (Lib) in the general election.

Lieutenant Governor of Alabama, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Lucy Baxley	51.5%	694,442
	Republican	Bill Armistead	46.8%	630,839
	Libertarian	Lyn Curtis Adams	1.6%	21,884
	Write-in	N/A	0.1%	1,873
Total Votes				1,349,038
Election results via Alabama Secretary of State.

Campaign finance summary

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Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Baxley is married to Jim Smith. They have two children, three grandchildren, with a fourth on the way as well as a great-grandchild as of November, 2012. They were members of Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church in Montgomery during Baxley's career in the capital. When she retired, she and Jim relocated to Birmingham.

See also

• Alabama Public Service Commission
• Alabama down ballot state executive elections, 2012

External links

Suggest a link

• Official campaign website
• Alabama Public Service Commission - President Lucy Baxley
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by '	Alabama President of Public Service Commission 2008–2012	Succeeded by Twinkle Cavanaugh (R)