Ivey Widens Fundraising Gap Against Maddox in Governor’s Race Siegelman Outspends Marshall in the AG’s race, but Marshall Led in Fundraising Last Week Parker’s Fundraising Picks up, but Vance Still Leads in Contributions for the Chief Justice Race Ainsworth Holds Comfortable Fundraising Lead over Boyd in Lt Gov.’s Race
Republican Tom Parker raised more than twice as much as Democrat Robert Vance last week in their race for Alabama chief justice, according to reports filed Monday with the Secretary of State’s Office. Read more.
Republican Steve Marshall raised more money but Democrat Joseph Siegelman far out-spent him last week in their campaigns for attorney general. Read more.
Gov. Kay Ivey isn’t necessarily a big fan of a new state lottery, but she would not get in the way if the Legislature and Alabama voters approved an amendment to the state constitution to legalize the games. That’s the position the Republican, who’s running for election to a full term after succeeding former Gov. Robert Bentley after his resignation, expressed Tuesday to reporters before a speech to the Kiwanis Club of Downtown Birmingham. On the same day, many Alabamians were headed for Tennessee, Florida and Georgia to purchase tickets for a MegaMillions national lottery with a jackpot of more than $1.6 million, plus a Powerball jackpot on Wednesday of at least $620 million. Read more.
Jimmie Stephens went to the ends of the earth in pursuit of development opportunities for the county. The Jefferson County Commission president returned from a recent trip to Japan with a cold and some hot leads toward reeling an international business development into the county. Stephens said his trip Oct. 18-20 to Tokyo for the 41st annual joint meeting of the Japan-U.S. Southeast and Southeast U.S./Japan Associations was all about relationships. Read more.
District 7’s vacant seat on the Birmingham City Council will remain empty for at least another week after the eight remaining councilors failed to agree on an appointment during Tuesday’s meeting. Jay Roberson resigned from the seat on Sept. 10, citing his wife’s new job with Alabaster City Schools. The question of his replacement has loomed large over the council since he announced his departure in August — particularly since two other councilors, Lashunda Scales and Sheila Tyson, also will leave the council in November to take seats on the Jefferson County Commission. Whoever is appointed to the seat will serve until the next scheduled election. Currently, that is slated for 2021, though there have been suggestions that an election may be called next year. Before Tuesday’s meeting, the council had narrowed the initial field of 13 applicants down to five finalists — Wardine Alexander, Raymond Brooks, Charles Crockrom, Lonnie Malone and Walter Wilson. But at Tuesday’s meeting, the council’s vote was evenly split between Alexander and Malone. Read more.
Rhiannon Reese of Crisis Center Birmingham says she doesn’t want to play the blame game about sexual assault kits not submitted for analysis to Alabama’s forensic lab. The clinical director and rape response coordinator of Crisis Center Birmingham was reacting to an inventory that shows that the Birmingham Police Department handled about 87 percent of the sexual assault kits provided by Jefferson County women since 1985 but not passed on for forensic analysis. The inventory was conducted by the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative of the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office. “I don't want to say, ‘Well, this is so and so's fault,’” Reese said. “I know that the people that are doing the investigations right now are not the people that were there, like in the ’80s and ’90s, or even the early 2000s. They weren't the ones who let this happen.”
Amid calls from employees to fire Executive Director Floyd Council, the Birmingham Public Library’s board of trustees voted instead to submit a “corrective action plan” to the embattled administrator. Board members refused to give any details about what that plan would entail, classifying it as a private personnel matter. The board also voted to approve its first-year evaluation of the executive director — the details of which were also not disclosed — with a recommendation “to develop a specific performance improvement plan.” In short, Council — who was not present at the meeting and who has refused to discuss the situation with the press — will keep his job for now. His one-year probationary period, during which the board can fire him without cause, will end before the board’s next regular meeting, on Nov. 13. Read more.
Republican Will Ainsworth continues to hold a lopsided lead over Democrat Will Boyd in fundraising for the lieutenant governor’s race, according to reports filed Monday with the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office. Ainsworth, a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from Marshall County, reported raising $84,850 in itemized cash contributions from Oct. 10 to Oct. 19. He spent $113,764 during that period and has a cash balance of $353,100. Boyd, a Florence minister, reported $660 in contributions during the period. He spent $1,182 and has an account balance of $5,335. Read more.
With the election two weeks away, Gov. Kay Ivey continues to widen her financial advantage over Democratic challenger Walt Maddox, according to reports filed Monday with the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office. Ivey, a Republican seeking her first full term as governor, reported raising $193,291 in itemized cash contributions from Oct. 13 to Oct. 19. Maddox, the mayor of Tuscaloosa, reported contributions of $104,878. The governor has raised $4.34 million since the current election cycle began last year. Maddox has collected $2.03 million. Read more. See the List of Contributors at the One Month Mark.
