Bonner on leaving House, new job
Former Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, gave a wide-ranging interview to Mobile Fox-affiliate WALA’s Bob Grip, during which he discussed background on his decision to leave Congress.
Bonner revealed that even without the offer to be the University of Alabama system vice chancellor of economic development and government relations, he wasn’t 100 percent sure he would have sought reelection in the upcoming 2014 midterm election.
Bonner told grip that the job with the UA System in Tuscaloosa wouldn’t have waited for him until the end of 2014 when his term in Congress would have expired.
He also said that his sister, University of Alabama president Dr. Judy Bonner, had no knowledge of his offer to work for the university system from system Chancellor Robert Witt until the very last minute.
“The truth is, my sister didn’t know about the conversation that Dr. Witt and I had had, until a couple of days later,” Bonner explained. “The gospel truth is while she was excited when I called her and told her, she had absolutely nothing to do with me getting the job.”
Bonner said he had had conversations with all the hopefuls looking to fill his vacated seat and emphasized the hardships involved with job, including travel and all the various expectations of the officeholder within the district.
Bonner also told Grip he would be relocating from Mobile to Tuscaloosa for his vice chancellor duties in the near future.
