Elections Today

Incumbent Bobby Bright is probably getting a stiffer challenge than he bargained for. Rumor has it that he has ambitions beyond the capital city’s mayor’s office. A loss in this election would be a hurtful addition to the resume’ he takes to his next race.

Many residents put their concerns about crime at his feet. Last month’s robbery of the upscale, trendy La Jolla restaurant and its patrons was an exclamation point to the perception that crime is out of control. Bright’s solution to crime? Buy a guy gun (Oops!), learn to use it, and do so.

I hear others are unhappy with the mayor for the way some parts of the city are seeing new developments while others appear to be ignored.

Scott Simmons presents himself as a law-and-order type who will address the crime problems. Detractors have defaced the developer’s campaign signs with the words “slum lord.” You don’t have to go far before you find someone who asks, “If he can’t manage properties, how can he manage a city?”

William Boyd and John Dow are not getting the attention or press that Bright and Simmons are, and many would be surprised if either made it to a run-off.

The Montgomery Advertiser endorsed Bright. People I know that I would guess would support Bright have said, “It’s time for a change.”

My email box said this,

The conventional wisdom on this race is that Bright will win, but by how much and if without a runoff is the real question. If blacks were united around a single candidate, that candidate and Simmons might have been able to squeeze Bright out of a runoff, but that’s not the case.

Going to be interesting. Bright would really like a comfortable win to carry him into his next campaign.

Auburn, Opelika and Lee County voters will decide whether to increase property taxes for schools by 7 mills in a special election today. This issue was mentioned in a previous post as an example of our state constitution’s dysfunction because the proposal had to pass the legislature first. Why should a state senator from Florence or Dothan vote on this bill? Shouldn’t those voting against the wishes of Lee County residents on a matter affecting only Lee County residents have some accountability to the voters of Lee County?

NBC13.com:

[Voters] will have three candidates to choose from: incumbent Brian York, a phone dealer and business owner who has been serving since 2003; former mayor and ex-convict Larry Barton, who served two terms as mayor of Talladega from 1979 to 1987. His third term was cut short when he was convicted of fraud and money laundering.

Then there’s Wes Patterson, a Talladega business owner and newcomer.

Larry Barton also ran against state Sen. Jim Preuitt in last year’s Democratic primary. Barton’s Senate campaign was presumably being funded by the state Democrats who were funding primary challenges against Democratic Senators who had been aligned with Senate Republicans in a minority caucus.

(Those primary challenges did have one success when newcomer Kim Benefield ousted longtime incumbent Gerald Dial in the Democratic primary further north in Senate District 13. The challenges proved key to control of the Senate when the Democrats organized a majority by an 18-17 vote.)