08/28/2006
Committee Restores Election of Patricia Todd
By a vote of 95-87, Patricia Todd's election to the Alabama legislature was restored on Saturday, officially making her the first openly gay official ever elected in that state. Todd will represent a largely black district and the vote for her reinstatement was mostly split down racial lines. According to the Birmingham News, eight black members of the committee voted to give Todd the nomination, with one black member, Montgomery Rep. Alvin Holmes, speaking out for her during a heated debate:
"Selective prosecution has been done to black people in Alabama more than any other person in this state. Unless someone can show the 59 votes Todd received were illegal votes, there's no way you can deny her the seat."
Todd's election came into question after a Democratic panel after Joe Reed, a power broker within the Democratic party, unhappy that a white candidate had won in a black district, tried to overturn Todd's election by using a campaign finance report bylaw that hadn't been used in 18 years.
Before the vote, which took place as uniformed police officers stood by, Todd's lawyer Bobby Segall warned the members of the panel: "You're the judges today, but I promise you, you're being judged. You're going to be judged by history, you're going to be judged by the continued health of this party and most importantly, you're going to be judged by your own conscience."
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Posted 8:46 AM EST by Andy in Alabama, Democratic Party | Permalink
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Way to go Patricia! The Democrats dodged a bullet. If these are the folks who are supposed to take back the country for us, this debacle was not encouraging.
Posted by: mark m | Aug 28, 2006 9:11:12 AM
Ms. Todd was NOT elected to office. She won the Democratic primary. While she is likely to be elected because she is running unopposed, she is not a member of the legislature yet. It's August, not Novemeber. Also, the vote was split down RACIAL lines, not party lines. This was the Democratic primary so everybody voting was a Democrat. I expect better.
Posted by: Jonathan Wallach | Aug 28, 2006 9:37:06 AM
Yes, I meant to say "racial" rather than "party" lines. That was typo. It's generally agreed, however, that Todd will be the representative since she's running unopposed.
Posted by: andy | Aug 28, 2006 9:56:45 AM
Andy: Great recognition of reality with your choice of words. I admit to being shocked that the party accepted the will of the people. The margin in this vote was about as slim as the primary. It's frightening that five people voting the other way could have meant Ms. Todd would not be the candidate. The Democratic Party is definitely weaker for this kind of attempted chicanery.
Posted by: JT | Aug 28, 2006 10:49:08 AM
Unopposed or opposed, I just WANT this lady in the seat!!!!!!!! I believe she is perfect for the job and from all accounts I have read about her, she isn't the type to blow bullshit and smoke up the voter's asses. Who cares if her district is predominately black or white--I find it absurd in 2006 if anyone thinks her being Caucasian renders her incapable of fully representing this district! For the record, I am an African-American and Democrat, and openly gay.
Posted by: Kermit | Aug 28, 2006 10:56:28 AM
So pleased and relieved at this result.
Posted by: David | Aug 28, 2006 12:23:40 PM
I am not Jewish but why is it that the majority of the Jewish population is on our side most of the time while other minorities continue to try to slam us?
Posted by: Craig | Aug 28, 2006 3:22:10 PM