Government

In Their Own Words: Birmingham School Board Candidates Answer BW Questions, Talk Improvement Goals and Difficult Decisions

A majority of seats on the Birmingham Board of Education still are up for grabs in the Oct. 3 runoff election. BirminghamWatch asked the 10 candidates in runoffs for five seats a series of questions about their intentions toward the new school superintendent, the possibility of closing schools, their goals for city school graduates, improvements they’d like to see in city schools and the role they think the mayor and City Council should take in relation to the schools. Races on the runoff ballot are Districts 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8. Read what the candidates have to say about the issues in their own words.

by Jackie Romine Walburn

Moore Gets More: Former Alabama Chief Justice Defeats Luther Strange in Republican Senate Runoff

Luther Strange had almost everything that a candidate could ask for in the race to retain his seat in the U.S. Senate. Besides being the incumbent, the former state attorney general had the endorsement of President Donald Trump, something he mentioned to voters repeatedly in the week leading up to Tuesday’s GOP runoff election. He also had millions of dollars in advertising support from the Senate Leadership Fund, controlled by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, as well as the National Rifle Association’s political action committee. Both PACs flooded Alabama television and radio stations with commercials, and they were omnipresent on the internet as well. But Roy Moore had more. In particular, he had more votes. Read more.

by Robert Carter

U.S. Senate Election Results

Roy Moore has beaten out Luther Strange in the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. With about two-thirds of the polls reporting, Moore led Strange 56 percent to 44 percent. Strange conceded the race and called Moore to “wish him the best,” he said during a speech at his after-election gathering. Moore in a victory speech that sounded much like a sermon gave the credit for his win to God. He said he will support President Trump even though Trump did not support him – provided that Trump’s actions are constitutional. “We want to bring our country back to its greatness, and we can and we will,” Moore said. Moore will face Democratic nominee Doug Jones in the general election Dec. 12.

by Virginia Martin

JeffCo Commission Closing Its Books on Time and on Budget

Sept. 26, 2017 – Jefferson County Commissioners will have a brief meeting Wednesday to deal with a “good” problem, according to Commission President Jimmie Stephens. Wednesday’s meetings, arranged during today’s committee session, will be conducted to close the financial books as the fiscal year comes to a close. “Really, that’s a good problem to have because

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Birmingham City Council Passes Non-Discrimination Ordinance

Sept. 26, 2017 – The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to approve a human rights ordinance that was first proposed more than four years ago. In a 7-0 vote, the council passed the City of Birmingham Non-Discrimination Ordinance, which would put into place protections against discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or familial status. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

At the Polls

Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday Registration and Polling Place: Verify your registration and polling place, and check the status of your provisional or absentee ballot at the Secretary of State’s AlabamaVotes.gov site. You also can verify your registration status via the state’s new smartphone app, the or on the mobile

by Virginia Martin

Candidate Profiles and Campaign Contributor Lists

      Roy Moore         Luther Strange

by Virginia Martin

No Crossover Voting

For the first time in Alabama, crossover voting is banned for both parties. Under a law passed this spring, voters may not jump from voting in one party’s primary and the other party’s runoff. If you voted a Republican ballot last month or if you did not vote at all, you may vote in Tuesday’s

by Virginia Martin

U.S. Senate Republican Runoff Voter Guide

Despite national attention, a presidential visit and millions spent on political ads and recorded phone calls – or maybe because of an electorate weary of political finger-pointing and name-calling – a low voter turnout is predicted for today’s U.S. Senate Republican runoff. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said he expects 12 percent to 15 percent of voters will go to the polls, down from the 17.62 percent of state voters who cast ballots in the Aug. 15 primary. The series of special called elections – set to select a replacement for the U.S. Senate seat vacated in February when Jeff Sessions became U.S. attorney – pose a special challenge for predicting voter turnout. “You can’t really know what to expect based on what’s happened in the past” with a one-race special election, Merrill said. “There’s no modern precedent to draw from,” he said. Merrill noted the rarity of special elections called in off-election years with one race on the ballot. He also pointed to a new state law that bars voters who cast ballots in the Democratic primary last month from voting in the Republican runoff. Normally, voter turnout “is more impacted by whether Alabamians feel compelled to vote for specific candidates or in support of specific issues,” said John Bennett, deputy chief of staff and communications director for the Secretary of State’s Office. But, this has not been a normal race. Read more.

by Jackie Romine Walburn

Strange Out-Spends Moore in Senate Race 3-to1

Luther Strange has raised and spent almost three times as much campaign money as Roy Moore has as they approach Tuesday’s Republican primary runoff for the U.S. Senate. But the amount of money Strange has collected in his effort to hold on to the Senate seat he was appointed to fill earlier this year is only part of the story. Much of the GOP establishment in Washington has coalesced around Strange and has contributed and spent additional millions of dollars on his behalf. Reports filed by the candidates with the Federal Election Commission show Strange collected $3.87 million for the race through Sept. 15. Moore reported raising $1.41 million. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens