By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News
Today I’ve visiting withe Greg Reed, the new President Pro Tem of the Alabama Senate. If you’re reading or listening, you probably don’t need reminding that Reed recently succeeded Del Marsh, who is stepping away from the Senate’s top leadership role after more than ten years. And part of what makes this interesting is Del’s tenure of service. If you think about it, the last ten year of Alabama Politics has seen a lot of upheaval: a governor resigned, a speaker was convicted, a chief justice was removed from office, to say nothing of other myriad investigations and semi scandals. In many ways, Del Marsh remained the constant within state government. Now, he gets to step away from the pressure of the pro tem role and focus on a few pet issues in the last two years of his term.
Stepping into that top role is Greg Reed. He’s no stranger to leadership. Reed has served as majority leader for the last six years, a job that requires plenty of skill in managing the needs and desires of senators. You could say he has been waiting in the wings as Marsh worked out what he wanted to do.
What I saw on the floor that first day of the session was really something. In Marsh, you had a guy who was kind of itching to turn that resignation letter into the desk. In fact, some of his former staff and I were joking about it in the gallery. And once the speeches were done, including a really interesting one from Sen. Waggoner, and the applause faded away, Marsh seemed like a burden had been lifted. Reed stood a respectful distance from the front waiting as the process moved forward, occasionally making tweaks to his remarks. When he took the podium, he wasn’t nervous at all, but rather composed and prepared. And that’s the way I would describe the new Senate President Pro Tem. He’s prepared. He brings correct change.
In my previous life, it was my job to help prepare and train politicians to speak better, connect better, or just generally communicate better. Observing the way Reed communicates it is obvious he prepares a great deal and thinks carefully before he speaks. It’s a rare enough quality in a politician. If someone is too buttoned up that can be a problem, but Reed is able to connect with sincerity, which is so important.
He has a monumental task ahead of him. This session is going to be tough. I’ve heard people say they’d be surprised if the Legislature isn’t forced to take an extended break after this week given how easy and outbreak would be in the State House. Every one of his members, Republican and Democrat, have bills they want to pass and issues they want to talk about. That takes time, which the Senate might not have much of, and the demands from each member will grow as the election year approaches.
It’s a significant challenge, but Reed seems well equipped for the challenge.
Here’s our interview, In the Weeds with Greg Reed.

 
Todd Stacy: Hey, Senator, congratulations on being named and unanimously voted President Pro Tem of the Senate. 
Greg Reed:  Todd, I appreciate it so much. Great to visit with you, buddy. I am excited and privileged, honored to be in this role. You know, serving the people of my district and serving the people of Alabama is a great honor. And so being elected pro tem of the Senate by my colleagues, as you said, a unanimous election is something that not only is a great honor for me, but gives me a lot of determination to continue moving forward, doing the best I can with the resources available and being able to lead this body. We’ve got a lot to do. We’ve got some challenging circumstances, but we’re up to the task. The men and women of the Alabama legislature are back.