Riley Needed Federal Approval for Appointment, Ruling Says
Catching up on a story that the Parlor has been watching with interest…
A three-judge federal panel has ruled that Gov. Bob Riley needed Justice Department approval before naming a replacement to the Jefferson County Commission, but the judges did not immediately remove the governor’s appointee.
Riley has lost a similar case in Mobile, pending appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Riley’s appeal on the Mobile case in March.
Riley’s appointee to the Jefferson County seat, George Bowman, must step down Feb. 5, the day of the special election, unless Riley appeals. If Riley appeals and Bowman does not win the special election, Jefferson County could have two county commissioners filling one seat until the appeal is heard. (There are our two trains going down two tracks.)
Candidates for the Feb. 5 special election are Birmingham City Councilman William Bell along with
Orville Ifill, former Jefferson County Commission public information officer; George Bowman, who was appointed in December by Gov. Bob Riley to fill the seat vacated by Larry Langford, now the Birmingham mayor; Fred “Coach” Plump of Fairfield, a retired Birmingham firefighter; Kamau Afrika, a political consultant; and real estate agent and former state Rep. Eric Major.
Edward Still is an attorney for the plaintiff in the case that brought the ruling, and he has related court documents available here and here.
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