Government

The Way Things Used to Be: Officials Recall Bessemer’s Heyday While Approving Incentives to Lure in Amazon

Rep. Allen Farley, R-McCalla, recalled days gone by in Bessemer when he spoke to the Jefferson County Commission Thursday morning before commissioners approved their incentive package to lure Amazon to the area. “I can remember walking through downtown Bessemer when we had a Loveman’s, Pizitz (department stores) and everybody was working,” he said, conjuring images of U.S. Steel, U.S. Pipe and Pullman Standard, then one of the nation's largest producers of railway cars. “Then things started shutting down and Bessemer started suffering.” But Bessemer can see a brighter day on the horizon as commissioners signed off on Amendment 772, which is their part of the equation to bring an Amazon advanced robotics fulfillment center to Powder Plant Road in Bessemer. “This is going to put Bessemer back like it was 50 years ago,” Farley said. “We’re going to have families that are going to be growing. We’re going to have families moving to Bessemer instead of moving away from Bessemer. “This is huge.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Primary Court Races

Results in Jefferson County court-related races

by Cheryl Slocum

Incumbents Prevail in Legislative Primaries; Others Face Opposition in General Election

Incumbent Alabama lawmakers prevailed in primary voting in Jefferson and Shelby counties Tuesday, with five Democratic lawmakers essentially winning re-election because they have no opposition in November. Local Republican incumbents won their party’s primaries, but all face Democratic challengers in the Nov. 6 general election. The area’s only open seat, House District 54, is the only local legislative contest headed for a runoff and the only one with an independent challenger in the general election. Read more.

by Jackie Romine Walburn

Jefferson County Sheds Close Federal Oversight of Employment Practices

Federal District Judge Lynwood Smith ended the federal receivership in Jefferson County in a move county commissioners hailed as a sign of the county’s improvements in employee and hiring practices. The receiver was put in place in response to a consent decree over employment practices in 1982. “Today, we are one step closer with the ending of this receivership as being in compliance with the court’s order,” Commissioner Sandra Little Brown said at a press conference. The long-standing case now moves into a monitoring period, during which the court will systematically review the continued progress of the county’s hiring and promoting practices. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Local Legislative Races

Results in the legislative races for the Jefferson-Shelby counties area.

by BirminghamWatch

Shelby County Primary Vote Results

Results from Shelby County's Tuesday.primary

by Starnes Publishing

Two Jefferson County Commissioners Going to a Runoff in Fight to Keep Their Posts

Two of three incumbent candidates for the Jefferson County Commission were pushed into runoffs in primary elections Tuesday. District 2 Commissioner Sandra Little Brown and District 1 Commissioner George Bowman must fend off challengers in July. Brown found herself in a virtual dead heat against Birmingham City Councilor Sheila Tyson. And Bowman made it into a ruoff but trailed Birmingham City Councilor Lashunda Scales in his race. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

It’s Not Always About the Money (Except When It Is)

Spending the most money does not always get you the most votes, but the biggest spenders were the big winners in Tuesday’s gubernatorial primary elections. Kay Ivey, the sitting governor and former lieutenant governor who has reported spending more than $4 million in her bid to win a full term in the top job, easily won the Republican nomination in Tuesday’s primary. Ivey handily defeated three challengers, each of whom spent less than she did. Walt Maddox, Tuscaloosa’s mayor since 2005, bested five other contenders in Tuesday’s primary to win the Democratic nomination without a runoff. He has reported spending more than $827,000, the highest amount in the Democratic gubernatorial primary field. In all, about $10 million has been spent on the governor’s race so far. Ivey’s support came from far and wide. She led the GOP field in 61 counties, while Maddox took a deep dive in the state’s most populous counties on the Democratic side. Read more. BirminghamWatch covered results of this week’s primary elections from the top of the ballot to the bottom. Read the stories: Ivey and Maddox Win Nominations, Will Go Head-to-Head in November Two Jefferson County Commissioners Going to a Runoff in Fight to Keep Their Posts Merrill Snags SOS Nomination, AG Race Going to a Runoff After Day of Light Voting With Superintendent’s Help, JefCoEd President Re-Elected in Hotly Contested Race Incumbents Prevail in Legislative Primaries; Others Face Opposition in General Election Jefferson County Court Races Shelby County Vote Results

by Tom Gordon

Merrill Snags SOS Nomination, AG Race Going to a Runoff After Day of Light Voting

Big wins, a few surprises and a lower-than-expected turnout marked Tuesday’s elections for statewide offices in Alabama. State election officials had predicted a 30 percent turnout for the primaries, but only about 24 percent of the electorate across the state went to the ballot box, according to unofficial vote tallies with 66 of Alabama’s 67 counties reporting. Incumbent Secretary of State John Merrill was among the big winners in state races Tuesday, securing the GOP nomination by a landslide. Merrill will face a political newcomer, Democratic nominee Heather Milam, in November. Supreme Court Associate Justice Tom Parker won the Republican nomination to the chief justice seat, and the attorney general’s race is going to a runoff between two former holders of that office. Read more.

by Paul South

With Superintendent’s Help, JefCoEd President Re-Elected in Hotly Contested Race

In the past decade or so, campaigns for seats on the Jefferson County Board of Education could best be described as sedate. In fact, contested races have been rare. But on Tuesday, in a campaign that was anything but quiet and waged largely on social media, incumbent board President Oscar Mann prevailed in a race for Place 3 against challenger Jake Ware. Read more.

by Robert Carter