At Yellow Hammer, we do our best to bring you inside Alabama politics in ways that no mainstream media outlet can. In keeping with that mission, we are introducing a new feature entitled “The Power & Influence 40.”

This 40-person list will feature the most powerful and influential players in Alabama politics including elected officials, lobbyists, consultants, staffers & political insiders from every corner of Alabama state politics.

We enlisted a team of legislators, lobbyists, consultants and a myriad of Alabama political insiders to help assemble this list. We debated whether or not to separate elected officials and non-elected officials. We discussed the differences between power and influence. We even factored in the individuals’ ability to influence compared to the frequency with which they actually exert their influence. It was a surprisingly complicated process that led to many interesting discussions and a some spirited debates.

However, in the end, The List really comes down to this: Who in Alabama politics can turn ideas into reality — and conversely, who can squash that same process for others.

Our only limitation was restricting it to only Alabama state politics. So, you won’t see any of our Congressional delegation on The List.

Here’s the schedule of when we will release the names:

Monday, Feb. 20: Names 40-31
Tuesday, Feb. 21: Names 30-21
Wednesday, Feb. 22: “Players to Watch,” a list of individuals who did not make the Power & Influence 40 but are up-and-comers to keep an eye on.
Thursday, Feb. 23: Names 20-11
Friday, Feb. 24: Names 10-6
Monday, Feb. 27: I will release the Top 5 live on the Matt Murphy Show (Birmingham – 100 WAPI) & discuss the list as a whole.

So let the speculation begin…Who will make the list? Who will be left off? Who is on the rise and whose star is fading? Let us know on Twitter and Facebook or in the comments.

We hope this feature will spark a lot of debate and we look forward to hearing your thoughts!