Editorials

In the grand scheme of things, selecting the design for Alabama’s license plates is a low-rung priority on Goat Hill. Gov. Bob Riley, who does the selecting, has meatier items on his schedule than fretting over the state’s ubiquitous plates.

It’s not governmental heavy lifting.

Nevertheless, what was he thinking?

It’s not often that this page offers whole-hearted disagreement with one of the governor’s decisions. Like college football, he’s been good for this state. But his decision to pick a beach scene for Alabama’s new license plates is a mild head-scratcher, especially since Riley — a Clay County man born nowhere near Alabama’s beaches — is fully aware that there are an awful lot more Alabamians who live far away from the white sand than near it.

Don’t take this the wrong way: The design is picturesque and attractive. Visually, at least, there’s no doubt that it’s an improvement over the staid, mundane look of the “Stars Fell on Alabama” plate that it will replace beginning in January. No quibble there.

But this is the same governor’s office that often joins with the state’s tourism bureau to preach the sermon of Alabama’s recreational diversity — from Gulf Shores to the green of the Tennessee Valley, from the state’s varied and vast historical sites to the undeniable beauty and ecotourism here along Mount Cheaha.

Tourism-wise, Alabama is not a one-trick pony. Nor should it be advertised that way.

Granted, Riley’s decision was couched in sound financial terms. He had two options to pick from — a beach scene and a mountain scene — and he pulled a Jerry Maguire; he followed the money. Normally, that’s not a bad idea.

“The governor said, ‘Let’s do the design that will generate the most revenue for tourism,’” Lee Sentell, the Alabama Tourism Department director, told The Star. He also pointed out that the beaches in Baldwin and Mobile counties account for 30 percent of the state’s tourism revenue.

Thus, the decision was made. The beach scene got the gig.

Still, it’s more than a bit odd that Riley is branding Alabama as a beach state, even though only two Alabama counties have beaches — far less, obviously, than Southern states Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Texas. For the thousands of Alabamians who live among the state’s Appalachian Mountain foothills, it would have been nice if the governor had shown us a little love.

Of course, Calhoun County does have Anniston Beach Road. In that sense, Riley may have been right, after all.