Government

Here Are the Biggest Contributors to the Gubernatorial and Chief Justice Campaigns

More than $6.5 million has been raised in the past 18 months or so to fund campaigns for the governor’s office in Alabama. Most of it has been raised on the Republican side, with Gov. Kay Ivey netting $4.49 million in her first run for a full term. Democrat Walt Maddox, now mayor of Tuscaloosa, has collected $2.08 million in cash for his race. Following are contributions of $5,000 and up to the campaigns of Kay Ivey and Walt Maddox, through Oct. 29. Read more.

Jefferson County Judicial and County Office Races on the Ballot

Jefferson County Judicial and County Office Races on the Ballot Jefferson County Races on the Ballot   Jefferson County Judicial Races on the Ballot  

Jefferson County Judicial Races on the Ballot

Jefferson County Judicial Races on the Ballot Jefferson County Probate Judge, Place 1 Alan King   Probate Court Judge, Place 2 Sherri Coleman Friday   Jefferson County Circuit Clerk Phillip Brown Jackie Anderson-Smith   Jefferson County Deputy Circuit Clerk, Bessemer Division Karen Dunn-Burks   Jefferson County District Court, Place 3 Pamela Wilson Cousins Davis Lawley

Jenn Gray

House District 45 Jenn Gray Party: Democratic Residence: Irondale Political experience: None. Professional experience: Self-employed; previously worked in pharmaceutical formulations at Southern Research Center. Education: Graduated from Shades Valley Resource Learning Center; bachelor’s in chemical engineering, UAH; Ph.D. in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of California, San Francisco, 2005. Civic experience: Board of trustees, Alabama

E. Richard “Dickie” Drake

Office: Alabama House District 45 Party: Republican Age: 72 Residence: Leeds Political experience: Elected, Alabama House of Representatives special election, 2011; re-elected in 2014; member, Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee and Judiciary Committee; member, Jefferson County Republican Executive Committee. Professional experience:  Retired U.S. Air Force chief master sergeant after 42 years of military service; served in Operation Desert

Jabo Waggoner

Senate District 16 Jabo Waggoner Party: Republican Residence: Vestavia Hills Political experience: Elected to Alabama House of Representatives seat, 1966, 1974, 1978 and 1982; unsuccessful run for U.S. House District 6, 1984; elected to Alabama Senate District 16, 1990-present. Civic experience: Member of Homewood Church of Christ; serves on the following boards: Executive Committee of

2018 General Election Voter Guide: Alabama Voters Face Nov. 6 Election with Few Statewide Races Predicted as Close

Alabama Democrats are hoping to put at least a small dent in Republicans’ stronghold on all three branches of state government in the Nov. 6 general election. With continuation of the GOP’s grip on the executive, legislative and judicial branches all but assured, the Democrats’ best hope to win a statewide office seems to lie in the race for chief justice, where Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Bob Vance faces Republican Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker. “Other than that race, I don’t see anything happening for Democrats,” said Larry Powell, a longtime political consultant and professor of communication studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. That was before Vance began an aggressive ad campaign last week, attacking Parker’s close affiliation with twice-ousted Chief Justice Roy Moore. Democrats hoped Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox would put up a strong challenge to Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican who was elected lieutenant governor four years ago and became the state’s chief executive when Robert Bentley resigned as governor last year after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations. Powell said had he expected Maddox to try to ignite enthusiasm for a state lottery as the strong theme for his campaign. That’s what Don Siegelman did in 1998, when he became the last Democrat to be elected governor. But Powell said that never developed as a consistent theme. While Ivey campaigned on her ability to bring new jobs to Alabama, Maddox criticized her refusal to agree to a debate. Powell said the Democrat suffered from a lack of focus. “I thought they were going to hammer the lottery as the main issue, that they would jump all over the lottery as a focus,” he said. The ballot includes 20 statewide races, with Democrats challenging Republicans in nine of them, along with four statewide constitutional amendments and one local amendment each for Jefferson and Shelby counties. Across the state, voters also will be choosing their legislators, judges, court officials, county commissioners, board of education members, sheriffs, district attorneys and other officials, including members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The BirminghamWatch General Election Voter Guide is your resource for investigating how you will mark your ballot Tuesday. Read more. More Stories in the Voter Guide

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Here Are the Biggest Contributors to the Gubernatorial and Chief Justice Campaigns

Familiar Battles Appear on Voter’s Ballots in the Form of Proposed Constitutional Amendments

Felicia Stewart

State Representative, District No. 46 Felicia Stewart Party: Democrat Residence: Mountain Brook Political experience: None. Professional experience: Consultant, LGBTQ component fund, Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, April 2017-present; territory manager, Entellus Medical, April-October 2016; sales representative, Stryker Neuro, Spine ENT, 2013-2016; vice president sales, Texas / sales manager, The Stewart Organization, 2007 -2013; color systems

Jackie Anderson-Smith

Office: Jefferson County Circuit Clerk Party: Democrat Residence: Birmingham Political experience: Member, president and vice president of the Jefferson County Board of Education. Professional experience: Planner with the Jefferson County Workforce Investment Program; Health Access Director for Cooper Green Hospital; member and past president of the Alabama School Board Association; member, the YMBC Civic Club

Mike Hale

Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale Party: Republican Age: 67 Residence: Clay Political experience: Jefferson County sheriff since 1998 Professional experience: Sheriff. Captain in the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, where he commanded every division; chief of police, Pell City; security manager, St. Vincent’s hospital. Civic experience: Chair of the Alabama Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches board;  board member