Rain Saturday did not deter hundreds of voters who lined up to vote their absentee ballot in person at the downtown Jefferson County courthouse. It was the last Saturday the two courthouses in Birmingham and Bessemer were to be open for absentee voters before Nov. 3’s election. Read more.
Assistant Tax Assessor, Bessemer Division of Jefferson County Brandon Herren Republican Age: 39 Residence: Hueytown Political experience: Ran unsuccessfully for deputy treasurer in 2016 Professional experience: Systems administrator and Realtor; holds real estate and insurance licenses. Civic experience: Member of Masonic Lodge 617 and participates in charitable events. Education: Graduate of Hueytown High School; attended
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin says the proposed sale of several city-owned parking decks is an opportunity to lessen the economic damage done to the city by COVID-19 — including bringing back furloughed public library employees. Woodfin said in an interview with BirminghamWatch that the city received an unsolicited offer from Birmingham Economic Development Partners LLC — a group founded last month by Shipt founder Bill Smith, according to paperwork filed in Jefferson County Probate Court — to purchase six of the city’s 11 parking decks for a total of $41 million. If the sale is approved by the City Council, the city could receive that money in one lump sum in 60 days — which could go a long way toward offsetting the $63 million budget shortfall caused by COVID-19. Among other things, Woodfin says, the money would go toward reinstating library employees who were furloughed as a result of severe budget cuts. Read more.
Help is on the way for remote learners who have had little to no access to Wi-Fi. Meeting in Bessemer Thursday, the Jefferson County Commission amended the Cares Act Coronavirus Relief Fund subgrant agreement with the Jefferson County Board of Education to award an additional $4,648,600 to expand broadband capacity to reach students taking classes virtually. Read more.
District Court Judge, Jefferson County, Place No. 7 Bentley Patrick Republican Age: 53 Residence: Political experience: Appointed by Gov. Robert Bentley to Circuit Court judgeship in March 2015; ran for a full term in November 2016 but lost in general election. Appointed by Gov. Kay Ivey to District Court in April 2019 and is seeking
District Court Judge, Jefferson County, Place No. 7 Ruby Yvette Davis Democrat Age: 39 Residence: Birmingham Political experience: None Professional experience: Founding attorney, The Davis Law Group, Birmingham, 2013-present. Civic experience: Board of directors and former chair, Birmingham Jefferson Transit Authority; Executive Leadership Committee, American Heart Association; board member, Ursula Smith Dance Academy. Education: Doctor
Alabama voters have until Oct. 29 to apply to vote by absentee ballot. The state already is seeing record-breaking numbers of voters applying to vote without having to go to the polls on Nov. 3. Read more.
Much of the focus this election season has been on the presidential race or Alabama’s U.S. Senate contest. But voters will also see six statewide constitutional amendments on the ballot. The language of these amendments can be pretty convoluted. Each year the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama offers analysis of the amendments. Senior research associate Thomas Spencer broke them down. Read more.
Candidates in contested races are profiled. List will be updated with information on uncontested candidates. President and Vice President of the United States Joseph R. Biden Kamala D. Harris Democrat Donald J. Trump Michael R. Pence Republican Jo Jorgensen Jeremy “Spike” Cohen Independent United States Senator Doug Jones Democrat Tommy Tuberville
