Birmingham Blues

Patricia Todd held a press conference today at the base of the statue of Dr. King that stands in Kelly Ingram Park in downtown Birmingham. She’s kept quiet for several weeks now, waiting for the state Democratic Party to do the right thing, address the issues raised in the contest of her election as State Representative for District 54, and remove all doubt that she won fairly. That hasn’t happened.

Today she called on the Alabama Democratic Party to dismiss the election contest.

“I cannot stand by as one person – Dr. Joe Reed – attempts to hold the Alabama Democratic Party hostage just because he doesn’t like the outcome of the race in District 54. Dr. Reed has been closely involved in the racial slander that played such a role in my opponent’s campaign, trying to pit white voters against black. Despite his direct involvement in the Hendricks campaign, he demanded to be placed on the contest committee, and to appoint two other members of the five-person committee. Yesterday in Montgomery, when it became clear that he was not going to control the process, he made sure the hearing would not take place. This is not fair, and I will not stand by as Joe Reed attempts to steal this election from the voters of District 54.

Therefore, I am calling on the Alabama Democratic Party to dismiss the election contest. First of all, I have contended from day one that the contest is without merit, and I stand by that contention. With specific regard to Dr. Reed’s involvement, the media and the public should be aware that Alabama state law requires that the person contesting an election pay the contest fee – in this case, that would be Ms. Childress. But the fee was not paid by Ms. Childress; it was paid by Dr. Reed. This is a clear conflict of interest by a party official, and taints the entire process.”

Sources in the party have told Patricia that there were three checks involved in the attempt to pay the $3,000 contest filing fee. First, a check from Ms. Hendricks’ account bounced, then came a check from Alabama Democratic Conference (Dr. Reed’s organization), and finally the fee was paid with a cashier’s check drawn on RegionsBank.

Kelly Ingram Park is a lovely place, lush and green, with a direct line of sight to Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and the Civil Rights Institute. I thought it was particularly appropriate that Patricia spoke in the shadow of the man who dreamed of a day when we would no longer judge people by their skin color.

Okay, state party officials – it’s your move.

al.com coverage

UPDATE: Here’s the full text of Patricia’s statement:

Statement by Patricia Todd
Representative-elect, Alabama House District 54
August 16, 2006

Thank you for coming today. Iwould like to read a prepared statement, after which I will be happy to answer any questions. Since the voters of House District54 elected me in the runoff on July 18, myopponent in the runoff and her surrogates have done their best to cast aspersions on mycampaign, and to question the legitimacy of the voters’ decision to make me their representative. These efforts have been personally hurtful to me and my supporters, but more importantly, they have been extremely divisive and destructive to the community, attempting to exploit the racial divisions that have held our city and our state back for so many years.

In spite of the hurtful and divisive rhetoric that has been used by my former opponent, and on her behalf, I have remained quiet during the process resulting from the filing of a contest to the election by Ms. Hendricks’ mother-in-law. I have been quiet because it certainly is within Ms.Childress’ rights to challenge the election, and because I believe in democracy and due process. I believed that the DemocraticParty would deal with this issue fairlyand expeditiously, and I did not want to be party to further damaging our community by fighting the contest in the news media, as my former opponent and the powerful interests who support her have attempted to do.

So why am I speaking out today? I’m speaking out because I love the Democratic Party and what it stands for. I believe in the principles of the party, its commitment to stand for the disadvantaged, the underprivileged and those who are underserved by government at all levels. I campaigned in every corner of District 54, asking all of the
district’s voters to give me the opportunity to address issues like alleviating poverty, improving public education, raising the minimum wage, securing funding for mass transit, and providing affordable housing for all citizens.

What I found in my campaign is that voters want someone who will stand up for them, and fight to improve the quality of their lives. They don’t care whether their representative is black, white or brown, as long as that representative gets results. I was privileged to receive the support of more than one of every four black voters in District 54, people who believe in Dr. King’s dream that people be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. They and everyone who voted for me deserve to have their votes count, and today I begin the fight to make certain that happens.

I cannot stand by as one person — Dr. Joe Reed — attempts to hold the Alabama Democratic Party hostage just because he doesn’t like the outcome of the race in District 54. Dr. Reed has been closely involved in the racial slander that played such a role in my opponent’s campaign, trying to pit white voters against black. Despite his direct involvement in the Hendricks campaign, he demanded to be placed on the contest committee, and to appoint two other members of the five-person committee. Yesterday in Montgomery, when it became clear that he was not going to control the process, he made sure the hearing would not take place. This is not fair, and I will not stand by as Joe Reed attempts to steal this election from the voters of District 54.

Therefore, I am calling on the Alabama Democratic Party to dismiss the election contest. First of all, I have contended from day one that the contest is without merit, and I stand by that contention. With specific regard to Dr. Reed’s involvement, the media and the public should be aware that Alabama state law requires that the person contesting an election pay the contest fee — in this case, that would be Ms. Childress. But the fee was not paid by Ms. Childress; it was paid by Dr. Reed. This is a clear conflict of interest by a party official, and taints the entire process.

I have spent my entire adult life working for civil rights and justice for all people. I have stood by and listened as my former opponent and her supporters — including the Mayor of this city and other elected officials — have painted me as a racist who somehow had the intention of becoming a Republican after the election. Clearly, they neither know nor care about me and my record of community services and my legislative priorities. I am a Democrat, and will be a Democrat as I go about my duties in the legislature.

It is past time that we come together to address the real issues facing our community and our state. Start with the fact that 76 percent of all children in Birmingham Public Schools live in poverty. That is an issue that affects us all — black and white, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican — as we work to improve our community and give hope to those who have been hopeless for too long. In closing, I call again on the Alabama Democratic Party, on my supporters and those of my former opponent, and on all in Birmingham and Alabama who believe it is time to move beyond divisiveness and begin building a better future.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 16th, 2006 at 5:04 pm and is filed under District 54. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.