Senator Jabo Waggoner Contact information

James Thomas “Jabo” Waggoner Jr. was born on January 8, 1937, in Birmingham, Alabama. He is an American politician who is a Republican member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 16th District since 1990.

Education: Waggoner received his B.A. from Birmingham Southern College and his J.D. from the Birmingham School of Law. His time in law school inspired him to enter politics.

Personal Life: Waggoner is the son of former Birmingham City Commissioner J. T. Waggoner and an Ensley elementary school teacher. He graduated from Ensley High School. Waggoner lives in Vestavia Hills with his wife, Marilyn, and they had four children, Scott, Mark, Lyn, and J. T. III (“Jay”), who was a standout member of the Auburn Tigers baseball team.

Career: Waggoner is president of Birmingham Business Consultants, LLC. He serves on the boards for United Cerebral Palsy, the Metropolitan Development Board, Better Business Bureau, Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, and Pinnacle Bank. He served as head coach of the Birmingham Touchdown Club and was president of the Birmingham Tip-Off Club.

Political Career: He assumed office in the Alabama State Senate in 1990. He was the Minority Leader from 1999 until the Republicans gained a legislative majority in November 2010 for the first time since Reconstruction, upon which he became Majority Leader. Previously he was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1966 to 1983 as a Democrat. He switched parties the following year to run unsuccessfully against U.S. Congressman Ben Erdreich in the Birmingham-based 6th district in 1984, receiving 40%. In May 2019, he voted to make abortion a crime at any stage in a pregnancy, with no exemptions for cases of rape or incest.