Ann Bedsole, who broke political barriers in Alabama Legislature, dies

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Ann Bedsole, a trailblazer in Alabama politics who became the first woman elected to the Alabama Senate, has died. She was 95.

The Alabama Republican Party on Tuesday announced Bedsole’s death.

Bedsole served 16 years in the Alabama Legislature. In 1978, she became the first Republican woman elected to the Alabama House of Representatives. Four years later, she became the first woman of either party to be elected to the Alabama Senate.

She ran for governor in 1994 but lost the Republican primary to Fob James who was seeking another term after serving as Alabama’s governor from 1979 to 1983.

“Ann Bedsole opened doors that had never been opened for women in Alabama politics,” Alabama Republican Party Vice Chairwoman Joan Reynolds said.

“She broke barriers with grace, courage, and conviction, and she did it at a time when few women were ever given the opportunity. Her leadership helped build the Alabama Republican Party into what it is today, and her legacy will continue to inspire conservative women across our state for years to come.”

Bedsole said female lawmakers were initially treated as a curiosity when she joined the Alabama Legislature. She said her first year in the Alabama Senate that a committee attempted to meet in the men’s restroom to avoid having her there.

“I was really tempted to just walk in there,” said Bedsole told The Birmingham News in 2002. She said she never “had a moment’s trouble” after that first year but continued to lament the lack of women in the 140-member Alabama Legislature.

During her time in office, Bedsole sponsored legislation that created the School for Math and Science, a statewide magnet school in Mobile. She was a co-sponsor of legislation to establish Forever Wild, a program that sets aside land for conservation.

Known for her sharp wit, Bedsole savaged what she called the state’s habit of electing “dumb people.”

She wrote in her autobiography that when she entered politics in her 40s it was with a determination to make the state better.

“When we set out, we wanted nothing less than to bring a new political force to Alabama. We all felt Alabama could reach its potential if we could elect candidates who believed in its greatness,” Bedsole wrote in “Leave Your Footprint.”