Posted by I had opportunity to talk to Bobby Bright this afternoon. (I could not reach him before this earlier post went up.)
He confirmed that he is 95% sure he will run. What would it take for him to know that he is 100% in? He would have to be convinced that no one else was going to run that had the passion and commitment to the district. He spoke of his roots in Dale County (son of a sharecropper, 13 brothers and sisters) and about his family and schoolmates that still lived there. Regarding the Wiregrass, he said, “I’m from there. That’s my home. That’s my roots. If anybody thinks I won’t represent that area, they better think twice.”
As for his appearance last night in Dothan, he said that the 2nd Congressional District Municipal Association was formed four years ago, and wanted to set the record straight that he had attended three of its four meetings. Last year was the only year he missed. (A source told the Parlor that this was Bright’s first appearance before the group.) He was in attendance, not campaigning as some candidates were, but because that is a group he has been a part of since the beginning.
Would he run as a Democrat or a Republican? He wouldn’t bite. “I’m not a party man. I’m a strong independent thinker. Sometimes parties don’t like that.” The answer would be “whichever party allows him to be independent and not a rubberstamp for their interests.”
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Danny, did you ask Bright how he can represent a district he doesn’t even live in.
Alabama law does not require you to live in the district to register to run in only to be a resident of the state. But true, Bright does live in the Wynlakes community of Montgomery which is in CD-3.
Terry you are correct but politically it will dog his campaign the whole time he runs.
He will get crucified by other candidates over the non resident issue. Yes, there is no requirement but who wants to vote for a guy that doesn’t even live in the district? Give me a break! As for what party will not make him rubber stamp their thinking???? Then he better run as a republican. Dems in Congress will make him tow the party line.
Agree with the non resident issue. I bet he claims another residence that is in district 2 so he can avoid that becoming a problem for him. VERY INTERESTING that he said he was not at the event last night campaigning “like other candidates.” I can assure you that Harri Anne Smith was there passing out bumper stickers and poll results that she paid for. The source that told Danny this was Bright’s first time attending the event was likely a Smith supporter. Bright is wrong that the group has been around for four years as it has been much longer than that.
This is not New York, we don’t vote for carpetbaggers. Stay in Cong 3
Amen JD. Bright is going to have one helluva issue not living in the district. I agree with the previous post that he may pitch a tent somewhere in district 2 and claim it as his residence. Welcome to district 2…Hillary.
Danny – please ask Bright about living in district 3 and if he thinks that will be an issue as he runs to represent district 2. I would be very interested to hear that carpet baggers answer.
Also, I saw a post on harri anne smith and her desire to be governor including an interview you had with her where she expressed no interest in being in congress. you should pin her down on that since she made that statement just 2 months ago.
“I’m not a party man. I’m a strong independent thinker. Sometimes parties don’t like that.”
Translation: I know running as the hardboiled Democrat that I actually am will absolutely sink any remote chance I have, so I’ll claim some vacuous “independent thinker” label and pretend the morons in the district don’t know any better.
Why so much fuss over the residence? Bright can run for the seat and would be a good candidate. If he is a carpetbagger then so is Jay Love… they only live a few miles apart. At least the Mayor has a history in the Wiregrass and a true connection. And by the way, if you think Repubs don’t tow the party line, what about SCHIP or the pledge Twinkle and Hubbard make the Repubs sign? The fact is Bright has done a good job protecting Montgomery’s military base (hear that Ft. Rucker) and has shown his leadership ability in Montgomery. It’s hard to discount that 58% he got in the last election. He fits the 2nd district well. Why can’t we debate his qualifications instead of such a trivial residency line that is subject to change?
Jesse – get real. Residence is huge. The difference between Jay Love and Bright’s residence? Well, that would be that Love actually lives in the district he wants to represent in Congress.
Does three or four miles make Bright any less qualified? We need to be having a more intelligent conversation.
Tim James could take this race if he wants it and spends his cash to win.
Jesse, three or four miles makes a big difference when those miles put you in Mike Roger’s district. It is a problem for him but it doesn;t mean he can’t over come it. Ignoring it and acting as if it is a non issue will not serve him well though. I would like to hear bright address it. Believe me, other candidates or the press will bring it up.
Jesse, Can you tell us the Republican pledge you speak of? It only had to do with electing Senate and House leadership. It was implied that Republicans would have to “tow the party line” on legislation. That is simply not true.
Bluemoon, re comment 8, I am glad to ask Bright about residency if/when I get a chance to talk to him again. We don’t chat daily since he dropped me from his T-Mobile Top 5 Family & Friends Calling CircleTM, but I’d like to have the opportunity to talk to him about it.
My 2 cents is that if I’m choosing between two candidates, one lives in my district and one lives a few miles out, I’m choosing the one that I think would make a better representative. Residency could definitely be a tiebreaker for me or makes a difference if I have a hard time choosing, but why would I vote for someone that is a lesser candidate and that I believe would make a lesser representative because the one that otherwise represents me better lives a few miles outside the district? (Not speaking about Bright or any other candidate in particular, just saying in general.)
My guess is that residency will be several down the list on the list of criteria for choosing a candidate for most people (not all). Lessee… for many people, party will top the list. Experience will be up there. Stances on issues is up there. People’s perceptions about competence and integrity. After all those things and more that I probably haven’t thought of, if people still can’t make up their minds, then residency probably plays a factor.
As for Harri Anne Smith changing her mind about running for Congress after a couple of months. I’m personally willing to cut some slack on that. I like public officials who speak their minds, and they may be discouraged from doing that if they are castigated when they change their minds. (Would simply be easier to keep quiet all along.)
I agree with Danny that residency will play a role for some voters but it is likely further down the list in terms of what is important. But it is something Bright should be prepared for; and I am sure he is.
Harri Anne Smith has not just made that one time comment about Governor Danny; it is a pattern as is blogged on here by many people. I would like to see her answer such a question as well and how committed she is to stay in the United States Congress if she wins.
I think Bright’s residency is potentially a huge issue. You cna be certain that this opponent(s) will certainly make it as issue.
For the CD 2 voters in Montgomery, I don’t think it will be to much of an issue. After all, Montgomery is Montgomery. But for the Wiregrass folks–especially if Bright’s opponent is from the Wiregrass–I think it could be huge. Bright can claim to be from the Wiregrass all he wants, but if he is running against a candidate who didn’t leave the area as an adult and has strong name ID, I think he will find it to be very much an issue.
Residency, other than being a resident of the state, isn’t a legal issue in a congressional district race, but it surely has been brought up repeatedly here. Where have all these people been in the past? Section 47 of the Alabama Constitution says, “Senators shall be at least twenty-five years of age, and representatives twenty-one years of age at the time of their election. They shall have been citizens and residents of this state for three years and residents of their respective counties or districts for one year next before their election, if such county or district shall have been so long established; but if not, then of the county or district from which the same shall have been taken; and they shall reside in their respective counties or districts during their terms of office.”
In spite of what the constitution says, we have Senator Wendell living in his Montgomery mansion which is clearly in Senator Larry Dixon’s SD25 while he represents SD30 by claiming residency in a Post Office box in Luverne. Go figure!
Ooops! I left off Senator Wendell Mitchell’s last name.
Don – read the posts. it has clearly been said here that there is not a residency requirement legally. But it will be a very big issue in the election when bright lives in Congressman Rogers’ district (district 3)yet wants to run to represent district 2. I totally agree with susab that montgomery voters will not care but the wiregrass will be all over that and he is not well known down here. he can talk about his roots all he wants – it ain’t gonna work that way””
I hope the citizens of the Third Cong District don’t flee the district in the same numbers they fled Montgomery under Bright’s rule. Too much crime, too little protection, but they have a baseball team.
Stephen, I read every post. If you read mine correctly you’ll see that I’m only wondering why so many people are talking about residency when it’s only possibly a political issue, but I’ve heard only one or two people over the past few years talk about residency when it IS, and has been for years, a LEGAL issue of Senator Mitchell’s unconstitutionally holding the office of state senator.
I agree with Don on Mitchell. Its a joke. But I am sure he claims a trailer or something is his residence that is actually in his district.
[...] The Montgomery Advertiser reports today that he is considering a run, but he told Danny at Doc’s Political Parlor that he’s 95% sure he’s in. He also emphasized his roots in Dale County (the Wiregrass) and did not commit to a party identification. [...]
JT, it’s more than a joke. It’s dishonest and very probably unconstitutional. Sure, I’ve been told that Mitchell owns a rather run-down house in Luverne but he doesn’t live in it. Isn’t a person’s residence where they actually live? This was brought up during the elections last November but apparently the people in District 30 don’t care, probably because Mitchell delivers enough dollars from the rest of us taxpayers to the district (but that’s an entirely different issue that also needs to be corrected).
Things such as this are just more cause for the public to have no confidence in our government and hold it in very low regard if not ill-repute, not just because of what Mitchell does, but also because no one in government will challenge him or take him to court.
For 4 years I’ve worked to do whatever I can to help make Alabama the 25th state to have an Initiative and Referendum process (see http://www.doctoriq.com) so that, in the words of Teddy Roosevelt, “if the representatives fail truly to represent the people on some matter of sufficient importance to rouse popular interest, then the people shall have in their hands the facilities to make good the failure”. Before the elections last November along with some other concerned citizens we questioned as many candidates as we could as to whether or not they would support bringing I&R to Alabama both during their campaign and afterward, if elected. A gentleman named Tyrone, sent me a copy of the email he sent to Senator Wendell Mitchell on July 29 with Mitchell’s response dated August 12, 2006, which said in part, “I will support initiative and referendum, both in the campaign and afterwards when re-elected.”
Has anyone ever heard, or heard of, Senator Mitchell even whispering the words “initiative and referendum”?
Is residency all that the people of District 2 are worried about? Are any real issues important and is there any idea of those considering to run how well they will be on the issues for the district and Alabama and the country?
To me, the residency issue is a pretty weak argument for those that seem to be more anti-Bright than for the best interests of the District. I know there are issues that are district-wide, and it doesn’t need to be a Wiregrass vs. everyone else race.
This is not a race for the Mayor of the Wiregrass, Montgomery, or anywhere else. There are serious regional, state, and national issues at stake. May the best representative for the District, Alabama, and the country win regardless of where they live or what their political ideology is.
Im up here on the Tennessee stateline so would someone be kind enough to tell me where the name “wiregrass” came from?
As far as Bright goes. Look given the make up of that district if he runs as a Dem the chances are 90% or better that he will lose. Hillary will be beaten like a drum in this state next year and that will have a negative impact on virtually all of the Democrats running next year at this time.
wiregrass is actually a type of grass or weed that grows around here…so i am told. in terms of bright running as a dem – u are right – with hillary at the top of the ticket and district 2 being a republican district it is an uphill battle and he knows it. yet, he could easily win the dem primary and could get some dem financing to run a decent general election race and he would likely hope harri anne smith who i consider a weak candidate to be the republican nominee. if he runs as a republican he may worry that republican primary voters may reject him based on his previous affiliation with the democratic party. so, i can understand why he is unsure of what party to run in right now. and in terms of residency – it will nt be a big issue but it will come up and he needs to be ready to deal with it
dan t, a description of wiregrass is @ http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4h/Wiregrass/wiregras.htm. I’m north of the wiregrass area of Alabama between Montgomery and Wetumpka, but apparently this is a wild grass common to certain areas of southeast Alabama, southern Georgia, and the Florida panhandle.
You make assumptions about people’s political prospects in certain districts at your peril.
I think that is why Harri Anne wanted to have her poll done by the time she met with the Wiregrass Backroom Republican Committee to Dismantle Social Security and Medicare. She wanted to show them that not only would she be willing to vote like an unreconstructed pre-New Deal Herbert Hoover Republican, but that she COULD WIN, and promote their radical agenda.
So, until someone posts a poll of Bright’s positives and negatives, I am inclined to think that the mayor of the largest city in the area, and the only major media market in the area could probably fare pretty well, party preference be damned.
wiregrassguy’s post is the most whacked out one I have read recently. that post had nothing to do with harri anne smith and bobby bright but everything to do with being a democrat and anti republican. get real.
Bobby Bright wants Montgomery to be another Birmingham. He is well on his way with 41 murders.
Bright doesn’t live in the Cong 3 District, but then the new mayor of Birmingham, Larry Langford doesn’t live in Birmingham. Laws are for losers.
Lets see, he has his shady land deal Baseball Stadium. But shady land deals (can we say Seiglemans home sale) are just part of doing business in Montgomery.
JT — way to respond with ad hominem attacks, and zero substance. I hope this is a preview of things to come in the campaign.
Wiregrassguy…you poor soul. If yu are so paranoid that you refer to the group in Dothan as an anti social security and medicare group and you refer to a radical agenda…then you make my point with your own words that you really don’t know what is going on. I can assure you that social security, medicare and a radical agenda were not a part of their discussions. Granted, i wish substantive issues like the future of entitlement programs would have been discussed with Senator Smith. If they were, the result would have been different from that committee as I feel she would have been lost. You are giving the Dothan group and Senator Smith too much credit if you believe they have a radical dismantle of entitlement programs up their sleave.
…there discussions and their decision was much more superficial than you believe…
That’s what Repubs do, or try to do, so I am sure they have something up their sleave, buddy.
You seem keen on making the group appear benign.
Ok – I agree it is a vast right wing conspiracy. Tell it to someone else Hillary…I mean Wiregrassguy.
and your last comment made my point. It is not about smith or the wiregrass group to you – its about anyone that may identify as republican.
Checking back in. Still no actual issues raised here. Good to know that the petty politics will prevail when we need real leadership on serious issues facing the district, Alabama, and the country.
The new mayor of Birmingham is not really a resident of Birmingham. It can be done.