Government

Two New Lawmakers to Join Incumbents in Jefferson Legislative Delegation

Incumbent Alabama lawmakers serving Jefferson County all won re-election in Tuesday’s general election voting, and two new members who ran for open seats, will join the Jefferson County delegation. Republican Senate candidate Dan Roberts and Democratic House candidate Neil Rafferty will be a part of a large freshman group in the 2019 Alabama Legislature after 22 House members and 10 senators retired in 2018 or resigned to seek other offices or positions. The addition of Roberts and Rafferty, a Republican and a Democrat, does not change the political party makeup of the county delegation since they replaced a Republican and a Democrat. Read more.

by Jackie Romine Walburn

Election Night in Alabama: Unofficial Statewide Results in 10 Top Races

Number of counties reporting: 67 out of 67 Governor:  Walt Maddox (D) 40.36% Kay Ivey (R) 59.49% Chief Justice: Bob Vance Jr. (D) 42.52% Tom Parker (R) 57.42% Attorney General:  Joseph Siegelman (D) 41.11% Steve Marshall (R) 58.82% Secretary of State: Heather Milam (D) 38.89% John H. Merrill (R) 61.05% Lt. Governor:  Will Boyd (D) 38.65% Will Ainsworth (R) 61.29% Public Service Commission Place 1 Cara Y. McClure (D) 39.48% Jeremy H. Oden (R) 60.46% Public Service Commission Place 2 Kari Powell (D) 39.85% Chris "Chip" Beeker Jr. (R) 60.09% Auditor Miranda Karrine Joseph (D) 39.46% Jim Ziegler (R) 60.46% State Treasurer John MacMillan (R) 97.15% Write-in 2.85% Commissioner of Agriculture & Industries Rick Pate (R) 97.20% Write-in 2.80% All of Alabama's Republicans in the House of Representatives won re-election: Rep. Bradley Byrne is at 63.24%, Rep. Martha Roby is at 61.43%, Rep. Mike Rogers is at 63.74%, Rep. Robert Aderholt is at 79.798%, Rep. Mo Brooks is at 61.06%, and Rep. Gary Palmer is at 69.22%. Democrat Terri Sewell was unopposed and got 97.80%. Check out more results at AlabamaVotes.Gov. 

by Joe Crowe

Parker Recaptures His Seat as Alabama Chief Justice, Winning Against Challenger Vance

Circuit Court Judge Bob Vance Jr. relishes being the other guy, the one who’s not making the headlines. “The problems that we really need to confront need a serious-minded person who can quietly and professionally deal with those problems,” he said at his campaign party in Birmingham. “We don’t need the drama or the theatrics of another Roy Moore. In order to get the job done and deal with the problems we’ve actually got, we need that kind of quiet, professional attitude to deal with them. That’s why I don’t have a problem with those kinds of descriptions.” Unfortunately for Vance, he has another description after his bid for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court – runner-up. With 53 of 67 counties reporting, Vance trailed Republican candidate Tom Parker 639,619 to 374,233, or 63.05 percent to 36.89 percent. Look here for vote results in races for seats on the Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals and Court of Civil Appeals.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Voters Deal out Upsets With Wins by Pettway, Carr

Mark Pettway has won the Jefferson County sheriff’s race. According to Jefferson County results, with 97.7 percent of precincts reporting at 11 p.m., he was leading incumbent Sheriff Mike Hale in the race 51.4 percent to 48.6 percent. Danny Carr has claimed victory in his race for district attorney. He was leading incumbent District Attorney Mike Anderton 56.7 percent to 43.2 percent. Incumbent Jefferson County Commissioner Joe Knight is leading in his re-election race 62.3 percent to challenger J.T. Smallwood’s 37.7 percent. Find results in all the Jefferson County races Read more.

by Virginia Martin

Woodfin Calls for Civility at City Hall; Councilor’s Criticism Continues

Mayor Randall Woodfin called for greater civility between his office and Birmingham City Council on Tuesday, following weeks of escalating tension. The tension culminated with Woodfin and most of his staff being absent from the council’s Oct. 30 meeting. While calling for civility, Woodfin also announced plans to reduce his staff’s presence at council meetings. He said this is an effort to improve efficiency and to spend more time on community outreach. Last week’s absence of Woodfin and his staff drew considerable criticism from councilors, some of whom called it “a slap in the face to the constituents of the 99 neighborhoods.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Ivey leads Republican sweep of statewide races

Gov. Kay Ivey turned back Democratic challenger Walt Maddox on Tuesday and led the Republican ticket to a clean sweep of statewide races in Alabama.  “The people of Alabama have spoken loud and clear: We want to keep Alabama on the right track and keep Alabama working,” Ivey declared before cheering supporters Tuesday night at a Montgomery hotel.  “It is with immense gratitude that I stand before you tonight as the next governor of Alabama. … Tonight, today, together we have made history — the first Republican woman to be elected governor.” Read more.

by Robert Carter and Sam Prickett

Birmingham Council Members Push Back Against Road in Watershed That Protects Drinking Water

The Birmingham City Council appears set to oppose construction of the controversial Cahaba Beach road and bridge project across the Little Cahaba River. The Little Cahaba flows from the Lake Purdy reservoir a quarter-mile upstream from the project to the larger Cahaba River, where the Birmingham Water Works Board takes water for treatment. A majority of council members, meeting as a committee-of-the-whole on Monday, voted to recommend against connecting Cahaba Beach Road off U.S. 280 to Sicard Hollow Road in Shelby County and to the Liberty Park development in Vestavia. The vote included a total of seven council members, President Valerie Abbott among them. A full council vote is set for Nov. 20. Representatives of environmental groups at the meeting said the road is an “unnecessary convenience road for a few” that “should not outweigh the risks to the quality and cost of a main drinking water source for 600,000 people.” The Alabama Department of Transportation and Shelby County engineers are pushing to extend Cahaba Beach Road across a new bridge to Sicard Hollow Road in Shelby County. Representatives of those entities did not attend Monday’s meeting. Read more.

by Hank Black

Don Wallace

Alabama Board of Education, District 4 Don Wallace Party: Republican Age: 52 Residence: Northport Political experience: Elected Tuscaloosa county commissioner, 2004-2012. Professional experience: Owner, Don Wallace CPA PC, 1999-present; adjunct instructor, Shelton State Community College, 2014-2016. Education: Coursework for master of business administration in sports management, Shorter University, 2014-2016; bachelor of science in business, University of Alabama. Civic experience: Member and speaker,

by Virginia Martin

Yvette Richardson

Alabama Board of Education, District 4 Yvette Richardson Party: Democrat Residence: Fairfield. Political experience: Elected to Alabama State Board of Education, 2010; re-elected, 2014. Served as 2015 State Board of Education President Pro-Tem (temporary) Served as 2016 Vice President of Alabama State Board of Education Professional experience: Currently educational consultant, public education teacher, assistant school principal, school principal, director

by Virginia Martin

David Faulkner

Alabama House of Representatives, District 46 David Faulkner Party: Republican Age: 50 Residence: Birmingham Political experience: Member, Alabama House of Representatives, District 46, 2014-present Professional experience: Partner, Christian & Small LLP, 1999-present; General Counsel, Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce, 2004-2014; Associate Attorney, Spain & Gillon, LLC, 1994-1998. Civic experience: Vice president, governmental relations, Mountain Brook

by Sam Prickett