Albert Patterson - Political Career

Political Career

Patterson began his political career in 1937 as a member of the Phenix City Board of Education. By 1940, he was also chairman of the Russell County Draft Board. In 1946, he was elected to the Alabama state senate, where he served from 1947 to 1951. While in the Senate, he helped introduce several important bills, including the Wallace-Cater Act, which allowed the use of state and municipal bonds to finance industrial plants and the Trade School Act, which formed many of Alabama's trade schools.

In the early 1950s, Patterson became involved with the Russell Betterment Association (RBA), which was formed to combat the rampant vice and corruption occurring in Phenix City and Russell County. That involvement resulted in Patterson's office being set ablaze in 1952. The RBA had been thwarted at electing its candidates at the local level, so it decided to nominate candidates for statewide office. Since Patterson had held a senate seat, he was seen as the perfect candidate for the office of the Attorney General.

He obtained a plurality in the 1954 Democratic primary, staging a runoff in May with Lee "Red" Porter of Gadsden. In the runoff, early election results saw Patterson gain a seemingly insurmountable lead, leading Porter's Phenix City supporters to allegedly buy and steal votes throughout the state in an effort to keep Patterson from victory. The back-and-forth continued until June 10, when the Executive Committee of the Alabama Democratic Party declared Patterson the winner.