MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan is hiring another rival from the 2010 campaign, and this one is famous for his campaign ad.
View full sizeRancher Dale Peterson, of Birmingham, Ala., speaks with supporters Feb. 12, 2011, at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, as he came to CPAC to become a write-in candidate on the CPAC presidential candidate straw poll. Alabama Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan is hiring 2010 campaign rival Peterson to serve as his confidential assistant at an annual salary of $72,686.
McMillan is bringing Shelby County businessman Dale Peterson on board to serve as his confidential assistant at an annual salary of $72,686, Deputy Commissioner Brett Hall said.
McMillan defeated Peterson in the Republican primary in 2010. A year ago, McMillan hired the Democratic nominee for agriculture commissioner, Glen Zorn, to be his assistant commissioner. Zorn had held the position previously under a Democratic agriculture commissioner.
Hall said McMillan felt there was a need for someone at the department with a business background. Hall said there has not been a confidential assistant before, and the hiring must be approved by the state Personnel Board at a meeting Jan. 16.
Peterson became an Internet sensation in 2010 with a YouTube campaign ad in which the tough-talking candidate rode a horse, toted a gun and promised to run the "thugs and criminals" out of state government. After finishing third in the Republican primary, Peterson endorsed McMillan in his Republican runoff victory over Dorman Grace. Last year, he served as chairman of the agriculture advisory committee for Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain.
"I didn't know John from Adam's house cat before the campaign," Peterson said Friday. But he said they became acquainted during the campaign, and McMillan asked him to come aboard in a position that will be the equivalent of a deputy commissioner.
"I told John, 'I'll stoke the furnace and you steer the ship,'" Peterson said.
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