Jul. 5--Who now?

Top officials with the Alabama Education Association and some other prominent Democrats have looked for an alternative to the current candidates for governor, but some of their first picks are out.

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb announced Wednesday that despite encouragement she will remain in her position and not run for governor.

Powerful state Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, briefly considered a run after some encouragement, but said he will seek re-election to the Senate.

Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. sparked the search for an alternative when he announced he would seek re-election and not run for governor.

So, for those still searching, what Democrat out there can raise money to compete with U.S. Rep. Artur Davis and Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks?

There can't be too many, if any, at this point.

Unless there are some names escaping me, the Democrats might have their candidates for governor.

And if they want to win back the governor's seat in 2010, which will be tough, they might want to stop searching and start mending fences.

Davis or Sparks would be a lot friendlier to the agenda of AEA and other Democratic interest groups than a candidate such as Republican Bradley Byrne, who slammed the teacher's union during his campaign kickoff and pointed out an employee of the organization.

Sparks on the trail

Some Sparks supporters have e-mailed the Montgomery Advertiser in recent weeks asking why they had not seen any activity from the agriculture commissioner. They were concerned about the lack of activity.

Sparks announced major portions of his platform Thursday. He talked about a lottery, taxing and regulating gambling, creating a disaster relief fund for agriculture, removing the state sales tax on groceries, and repealing annual property appraisals.

Meanwhile, Davis continues to announce more advisers and staffers.

One of the new senior advisers is David Mowery of Mowery Consulting Group LLC, who managed the successful campaign of U.S. Rep. Bobby Bright and Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange. Bright was the first Democrat to win in the 2nd District in more than 40 years.

Joey Ceci of Main Street Strategies in Huntsville also signed on with the Davis team. He managed the campaigns of U.S. Reps. Bud Cramer and Parker Griffith, both Huntsville Democrats.

"When it comes to winning elections in Alabama, Joey Ceci and David Mowery are at the top of the ladder," Davis said in a statement. "Both Joey and David have a proven track record of winning hard-fought races in parts of our state that have been trending Republican.