Posted by Eight candidates have filed to run in our capital city mayor’s race. Byron Berry, Jamel Brown, Michael Briddell, Willie Cook, Jon Dow, Jay King, Scott Simmons and Todd Strange turned in the paperwork, but Berry and Brown may not have the 340 certifiable signatures of Montgomery voters required to qualify.
In reports filed Monday, Todd Strange has raised over $309,000. Michael Briddell is a distant second in fundraising at $10,600. Former Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright has endorsed his Briddell, his former executive assistant, to be his successor, but fundraising advantages like that allow Strange to jump on the air first with ads like these two.
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Strange without a runoff, imo
yeah, this one may be over before it starts.
Can’t see it being over without a runoff considering that there are six candidates in the race. Scott Simmons should take some votes from Strange as would Briddell. Willie Cook should take a large percentage of the black vote regardless.
I agree with #3 -the dynamics seem to make a run off inevitable, and a black mayor likely.
how many people did folmar beat without a runoff?
I believe that’s doubtful, Flack. Simmons no longer has the anti-Bright, pro-Folmar vote to bolster his one-issue, clown candidacy and neither of the African-American candidates are viable. Just because you want to be mayor doesn’t mean you can be.
Willie Cook, for goodness’ sake, should’ve considered the ramifications of his past, or at least the ramifications of having it drudged up in the public eye again. How is he a city councilman to begin with???
Strange in a walk. Good for Montgomery. Good for Alabama.
He sure as hell didn’t beat the last one.
Do not underestimate the number of people who loathe Todd Strange, even many of his republican “friends” They will go into the voting booth and vote an alternative. He is known to be a shallow, egotistical and insecure person who lives every minute to impress others. He thinks far more people respect him than the truth would bear out. He has the emotional maturity of a 16 year old. There is a quiet group of his Country Club friends working to see him defeated. He does not even have a clue!
This field is astonishingly weak. There is no credible black candidate in a majority black city, Simmons is a two time loser and Strange has been a lackluster county commissioner. Where are Quinton Ross, a telegenic and smart young black Democrat and Martha Roby, a young city counculwoman who has won crossover support from blacks in her district?
I agree that it’s a bit odd not to see Ross throw his hat in the ring. I imagine Strange must be a pretty darn good backroom dealmaker to be able to keep Ross out of the race and to convince Anzalone to come aboard.
I agree that Martha would have neen strong, but she has some “bread in the oven” that required her attention elsewhere for the time being.
I don’t know if the logic about Ross is sound. He has a combative reputation that developed rising amongst the education ranks of Montgomery, and it’s doubtful he could’ve cultivated any of the business support that was behind Congressman and former Mayor Bright.
#10: unless Ross didn’t want in for some other reason
If I’m not mistaken Ross wasn’t exactly clear of the 2 year college controversy. He worked at Trenholm State and I’m not exactly fresh on the details. I’m sure it’s not to hard to find though. No charges have been filed.
#8 – I guess “quietly working” doesn’t mean “giving money to any of his opponents”?
I can’t imagine why any intelligent person would be willing to run for public office…especially mayor of a dying ‘city’ like Montgomery. Looks like we’ll play a few more rounds of determining the lesser evil until the whole area collapses into itself. I guess moving a few miles north would be a whole lot easier.
You know, that’s a pooh pooh way to look at it, independent. In reality, it’s a great honor to follow in former Mayor Bright’s footsteps to continue resurrecting a town that fell victim to the same urban decay that almost every other metropolitan area in the U.S. did.
So yeah, it probably is easier to head north into a second rate developer’s dream of strip mall heaven, so please take all of your Timberland boot wearing Abercrombie fanatics with you and have nice time eating at one of your abundance of chain restaurants.
I bet it’ll be great sifting through the history books trying to figure out which strip mall came first, huh? Nothing like nostalgia.
Oh, and I hope you all enjoy the occupational tax we’re about to slap on your asses as well. Too bad there’s nowhere to work a couple miles north.
Dear Anonymous (if that is in fact your real name),
I enjoyed your description of Montgomery as ‘urban decay’ and think you should recommend it as the city’s new tourism slogan. It would also be a great name for an alternative rock band, by the way.
I also appreciate your concern for my dining experiences. I actually do enjoy the variety of restaurants in Prattville, especially since so many are failing in Montgomery. My biggest regret in that area is Prattville doesn’t have its own Hooters…yet.
I actually don’t shop at the other stores you mentioned, but I also don’t look down on others who do shop there. Just because you don’t have nice things shouldn’t make you hate others who have made life choices which allow them to own what they want.
As for the occupational tax, that legislation failed. Miserably, in fact. You should actually check out some other areas in the River Region; I think you’d be surprised how many jobs exist outside of Montgomery (since that’s where so many of the businesses are going). Or doesn’t the bus go there?
Saying that Prattville is nothing but a series of strip malls is about as ignorant as claiming that Montgomery is nothing but a city of criminal thugs. Neither statement is true, and neither is beneficial to anyone.
Thanks for your opinions (but I’d appreciate if you were less hateful). I hope you vote and our city gets a competent mayor. I know of at least one who is a candidate! (Hint: It’s NOT the high school dropout who claims to be a minister and dances like a fool at the mall.)
Well thanks for the civics and humanitarian study guide, independent. Yep, urban decay, I figured you might have heard of it. Although, failure to venture outside the Elmore County line in your whole life will lead to that sort of vocabularic shortcoming. I’m certainly not looking up to the frequency with which you drones shop at American Eagle and Abercrombie, I’m just stating that all of you would be safe in a police lineup since it appears your mothers dressed all of you and no one can tell any of you apart until we initiate a spelling contest.
Hey, Ruby Tuesdays has new diningware and cutlery, but I guess you noticed it at the family reunion..so this isn’t really news to you. And Hooters, it damn sure would fit in over there except for finding any women to work it. Does Prattville have any of those?
Tons of jobs outside Montgomery. Just remember what your grandfather should have told you. It’s better to shower before work than after. And waiting tables at the new Olive Garden isn’t really a career. Do tell on all of the businesses that are leaving Montgomery.
And as far as any aggressiveness towards your “preferred community” (to the Reds), remember, you struck the first blow with this comment here: “a dying ‘city’ like Montgomery”. Which is prety much the status quo commentary from a jack-leg wasting energy resources and time justifying their insignificant existence commuting from a second rate town to their occupation. And is obviously out of touch with the current state of affairs in Montgomery. I bet we need to get government off your back too, huh?
And as a pseudo-disclaimer, I realize none of this commentary is beneficial to anyone…much less Montgomery. But you ought to be more judicious when speaking of others’ hometowns…and apparently it’s your own, so what gives? Being part of the solution beats being part of the problem, independent.
Todd Strange should win because he is the best candidate. Those against him are against the fact Montgomery is although slowly making progress. There is no worthy black candidate. Briddell has only been in Montogmery 10 years and has not been real active in the community to have a community base. Cook has some name recognition but come on “Yes We Can 2″ as a slogan. He in no way shows any smarts, hope, or vision to try an hijack that slogan. Ross has really leveled off after looking pretty good after first being elected.
My heart continues to weep for our city. Less than ten percent of the population actually took the time to vote, and the winning candidate raised over ten dollars per person who voted for him. He publicly credited his victory to the decision to hire a professional campaigning team. I believe that as long as this position can be bought, Montgomery will not be able to pull itself out of its spiraling descent. Save a place for me in Prattville!