The Birmingham News endorsed Gaynell Hendricks in the District 54 race, but it seems at least one editorial writer there is fed up with the sore loser attitude and power games of Hendricks and her backers. Tom Scarritt compares this contest to the debacle in the 1986 Democratic primary for governor, when Charlie Graddick received more votes, but party leaders found a loophole to hand the nomination to Bill Baxley. Then we ended up with Guy Hunt for governor; this time we could end up with severe rifts in a diverse district that needs to pull together.
Patricia Todd defeated Gaynell Hendricks in the July 18 primary runoff election by 59 votes. The people have spoken. There is no reason to believe the outcome is anything but an honest expression of the preference of voters who went to the polls. It is time to move on.
However, Hendricks and her supporters are contesting the election, trying to find some technical loophole that might allow them to win before a party committee the victory they were unable to win in the field.
Hendricks says she is paying for the contest. However, Reed did deliver a check to the Democratic Party to pay for the contest if Hendricks’ check did not arrive on time, Jerome Gray, field director for the ADC, told a News reporter. The hearing on Hendricks’ challenge was delayed when members of the panel failed to show up.
Close elections court contests. Candidates who believe that elections were not carried out according to the rules have a right to have the vote reviewed. The intervention of a party heavyweight, though, appears once again to pit the party hierarchy against the voters….
…Reed’s position, he wrote, “involves the art of politics and, foremost, our group interests. We should always determine that – and not let others highjack or undermine our agenda.”
This newspaper endorsed Hendricks because of her record of civic involvement and her position on such issues as transit and access to health care. The voters chose Todd, a white candidate who also is well-qualified. The party should not highjack or undermine that choice.