Office: Jefferson County Commission, District 3 Party: Republican Age: 45 Residence: Pleasant Grove Political experience: None Professional experience: Member, Boilermakers 108; owner, Emperial Realty and Auction, 2004-2008. Civic experience: Attends, First Baptist Church of Pleasant Grove. Education: Training as a real estate broker and auctioneer. Main issues: Watson said illegal dumps and litter were important to him when his campaign
Candidates for Jefferson County Commission, Place 1, in the June 5 primary
Office: Jefferson County Commission, District 1 Party: Democratic Age: 60 Residence: Midfield Political experience: Mayor of Midfield, 2004-present (fourth consecutive term); ran for Jefferson County Commission, District 2, in 2008. Professional experience: President, CEO and morning talk show host, WJLD AM1400/FM104.1/WIXI AM 1360 (Richardson Broadcasting Corp.), 1987-present;system technology coordinator, Bessemer City Schools, February 2005-present; teacher, Bessemer City
Office: Jefferson County Commission, District 1 Party: Democratic Age: 50 Residence: Fairfield Political experience: Alabama House of Representatives, District 55, 1998-2006; ran for Jefferson County Commission, 2007; executive committee member, National Conference of Black State Legislators, 2002; former executive committee member, National Conference of Mayors. Professional experience: Business development and government relations consultant with the Global Development
Candidates for Secretary of State in the June 5 primary.
Office: Secretary of State Party: Republican Residence: Albertville Political experience: Marshall County Revenue Commissioner. Professional experience: Programmer and security analyst, Auburn University; contract information systems administrator for IBM, Lexington, Kentucky; systems analyst and programmer, North Slope Borough of Barrow, Alaska; director of senior services, City of Albertville. Civic experience: Whole BackstageTheatre, Guntersville. Education:B.S. in management, Auburn University;
Office: Secretary of State Party: Democratic Residence: Mobile County Political experience: Ran for secretary of state, 2014; Democratic candidate for Congress (First District), 2013. Education: Albert did not respond to the Birmingham Watch candidate questionnaire. Main issues: Albert is making her second run for the secretary of state’s office. Running a low-key campaign, Albert advocates a simplified
Gov. Kay Ivey is closing in on the $4 million mark in contributions to her campaign to win the Republican nomination for governor, according to financial reports filed this week. Ivey raised $143,515 between May 12 and May 18, pushing her total for the campaign to $3.93 million, according her new weekly report. Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle is a distant second in the battle for campaign cash. He reported contributions of $103,825 for the week, raising his total to $2.28 million. Ivey, Battle, state Sen. Bill Hightower of Mobile and Birmingham evangelist Scott Dawson are vying for the GOP nomination. The winner of the June 5 Republican primary will face the winner of the Democratic primary in the November general election. Read more.
Monday is the deadline to register to vote in the June 5 primaries. The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is May 31. Read more.
Six candidates vying to be the next governor of Alabama sat down for interviews with professors and professionals from across the state Wednesday night during a forum sponsored by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. Three Republican candidates – Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Evangelist Scott Dawson and state Sen. Bill Hightower – and three Democratic candidates – former state Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, former state Rep. James Fields and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox – participated in the forum, held at Woodrow Hall in Birmingham’s Woodlawn community. Gov. Kay Ivey, who also is seeking the Republican nomination in the June 5 primary, was invited to the forum, said PARCA director of communications Marci Smith, but the governor declined. Organized by the PARCA Roundtable group of young professionals, the forum featured 12-minute, one-on-one interviews with each candidate by interviewers who belong to or were selected by the Roundtable. After the interviews, the candidates took turns answering questions submitted by the audience. Read more.
