Both challengers involved in a recent mayoral election debate targeted what they said were shortcomings in Mayor William Bell’s administration, while Bell fired back with attacks on their records, or lack thereof.
Given his famous 6-foot-9 height, it’s not surprising that Sen. Luther Strange has an affinity for basketball, which he played in his younger days. So when it came time to address his supporters in Homewood after winning a berth in a Republican primary runoff election for the Senate seat he was appointed to earlier this year, Strange used an analogy with roots in hoops. “Eight on one has kind of been the game so far,” the incumbent said. “Now it will be one on one. And I like the odds in a one-on-one basketball game.” But there won’t be a wooden court or squeaking sneakers in his next contest. Strange finished second in Tuesday’s GOP primary behind Roy Moore, the two-time chief justice of Alabama who was removed from office both times after defying state laws and judicial regulations. Read more.
Aug. 15, 2017 — Mayor William Bell had a Confederate monument outside Birmingham City Hall obscured by a wooden barrier Tuesday night while efforts are made to remove it. But the state’s attorney general quickly sued the city and the mayor, saying the move violated a state law passed in the spring that says monuments more than 40 years old cannot be altered without approval from a new commission. The topic of removing the statute was brought up during the Tuesday morning City Council meeting. Council President Johnathan Austin had called on Bell to remove the monument and others like it in Birmingham, calling them “offensive” and saying they “celebrate racism, bigotry, hate and all those things that the South has been known for. Read more.
In its last regular meeting before next week’s municipal elections, the Birmingham City Council spent most of its time Tuesday directing key concerns on a variety of subjects toward Mayor William Bell. The most notable of those discussions were about the still-unpassed FY 2018 budget and an unfulfilled construction contract. Read more.
Voters across the state go to the polls today to cast what in most counties is a one-race ballot. The issue is nominating Republican and Democratic candidates to run for the privilege of filling the U.S. Senate seat vacated when former Sen. Jeff Sessions was appointed U.S. Attorney General. Former Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange
As Alabamians go to the polls Tuesday for a special U.S. Senate primary election, the state has the most registered voters in its history, including a record-setting roster of new voters. “It’s unprecedented,” Secretary of State John Merrill said last week. The state’s tally of 3,283,573 registered voters represents a peak for Alabama, which has 3.7 million residents of voting age. Of the 3.28 million, 773,727 are new voters who registered in the past two-plus years since Merrill took office in January 2015. But, even as Alabamians were registering in record numbers, a voter “refresh” conducted by the Secretary of State’s Office in early 2017 has resulted in some confusion about voters being moved to inactive lists and concerns that the voter refresh will become a voter list purge. Read more.
The Road to the Capitol Has Been a Strange Trip, No Matter Who Wins Aug. 14: In Their Own Words: Alabama Senate Contenders on Their Campaigns (Montgomery Advertiser) Aug. 14: In Alabama’s Senate Race, Contenders Fight Over Who Is Trump’s Biggest Fan (Reuters) Aug. 14: Despite Trump’s Support, Alabama Senator Struggles to a Primary Finish
The nine Republican and seven Democratic candidates in Alabama’s U.S. Senate special election have raised almost $5 million to spend on Tuesday’s party primaries. Republicans have compiled just more than $4.5 million, with incumbent Luther Strange raking in $2,914,746 in his bid to retain the seat. Strange’s latest fundraising report with the Federal Election Commission
Aug. 10, 2017 – On Thursday morning, WBHM and the Birmingham Business Journal held a mayoral debate that featured three of the 12 candidates in the race – incumbent William Bell and challengers Chris Woods and Randall Woodfin – a restriction that drew criticism from the candidates who were not invited to take part. According to WBHM, the candidates were selected to participate in the debate based on polling data, specifically, a WBRC Fox 6 News poll that sampled 214 registered Birmingham voters. In the poll, 54 percent of likely voters cited Bell as their first choice, with Woods at 17 percent and Woodfin at 14 percent. Some candidates who were not included in the debate took to social media to express their frustration. “They use the same flawed data polling that FOX 6 use don’t waste your time!” (sic) wrote candidate Frank Matthews on the event’s Facebook page. Philemon Hill, another candidate, wrote on Facebook that the debate was skewed in Bell’s favor, calling it “a bought event” that was “a controlled environment so Bell can feel comfortable.” He also took issue with the event’s scheduling – at 8:30 a.m. on the first day of school for Birmingham City Schools. “Holding a mayoral forum at the same time … education can’t be a priority for any involved party,” he wrote. Gigi Douban, the news director at WBHM, called such claims “ridiculous,” noting that “setting benchmarks for participants is common practice,” and saying that focusing on candidates who had polled at over 10 percent allowed for a “more substantive discussion of the issues.” Read more.
Aug. 10, 2017 – Jay Morgan applauded as Commissioner David Carrington voiced his disapproval of an effort to get zoning in The Cotswolds subdivision amended to permit the construction of a pair of houses on land that was designated to be left undeveloped. “He said they need to play by the rules,” said Morgan, who lives in the subdivision on Sicard Hollow Road near Liberty Park. “These developers … they were not playing by the rules. They started building the driveway and didn’t even have a building permit. That’s why we have rules and regulations.” Carrington ultimately moved that the matter be carried over for no more than six months to allow, among other things, for all parties to be duly notified. Read more.
