Howell Heflin
WASHINGTON DC – U.S. Senator Doug Jones spoke in the U.S. Senate chamber today to honor the late U.S. Senator and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Howell Heflin. Senator Jones began his career as Staff Counsel to Senator Heflin on the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1979.
“It is my privilege to now hold Judge Heflin’s seat here in the Senate. It is my honor. The fact that I walked off this floor with him as a staffer in 1980 and walked back on in 2018 in his seat has been one of the great honors of my life,” Senator Jones said. “He was certainly my mentor and my role model in many ways, and each day that I am here in the Senate, I strive to continue his legacy.”
Senator Jones continued, quoting Senator Heflin’s retirement speech: “I have endeavored to represent Alabama in a studied, impartial and fair-minded manner. My record certainly merits at least an independent streak. I hope Alabamians know that my decisions were based on what I thought was in the best interest of my state and nation.”
Giles Perkins
“I miss him, Alabama misses him, and I can assure my colleagues who didn’t know him that the United States Senate misses him as well,” Senator Jones said.
Senator Heflin grew up in Colbert County, Alabama, and was elected Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in 1970, where he served for six years. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1978 and represented the state of Alabama in Washington for 18 years. Senator Heflin was a moderate Democrat who supported civil rights and was well-known for his integrity. He passed away in 2005.
Senator Jones used the speech to formally dedicate the conference rooms in his Washington, D.C. Senate office to Senator Heflin and Giles Perkins, Senator Jones’ friend and former campaign chairman who passed away after a years-long battle with pancreatic cancer last December.
Watch Senator Jones’ remarks honoring Senator Heflin here, and his remarks in honor of Giles Perkins here.
Media Release/Caroline Stonecipher/Senator Doug Jones
