Head Democrats in Ala. Restore White Nominee
Nothing like a story that makes our sterotypes and prejudices swim around vigorously to remind us they are indeed there...
By Zachary A. Goldfarb
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, August 27, 2006; Page A04
A battle over race that had divided Alabama's Democratic Party came to an end yesterday when the party's executive committee reinstated a white woman as its nominee to represent a historically black Birmingham district in the state legislature.
The nominee, Patricia Todd, is a lesbian and, because she faces no opponent in November's general election, is in line to become the state's first gay legislator.
On Thursday, she had been disqualified by a party panel for failing to comply with a technicality that candidates had disregarded for years.
"I'm just relieved," Todd said yesterday. "The democratic process worked today."
Yesterday's decision has its roots in a June primary in which Todd received more votes than four other candidates, all of whom were black. In a July 18 runoff, she defeated businesswoman Gaynell Hendricks by 59 votes.
Allies of Hendricks then challenged Todd's nomination, arguing she had not met a deadline set in the party's bylaws for the filing of campaign finance disclosure forms...
Among those opposed to Todd's candidacy was Joe L. Reed, the state party's vice chairman of minority affairs. He called on voters to elect another black person to replace George Perdue, who has represented the district for more than two decades.
The vote "was largely on racial lines," but "there was some crossover," said Jim Spearman, the executive director of the state party and a Todd supporter.
"More than anything, it has been about the fact that this was a historically black district in downtown Birmingham," he said.
Yet the issue of her sexuality was not absent, Todd said.
"It was definitely there in the weekend before the runoff," she said. "There was a smear sheet that was distributed in the black community that was very homophobic and called me a lot of names. . . . There was an attempt to suggest to black voters I was a gay activist and that was my agenda."
Link Here
By Zachary A. Goldfarb
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, August 27, 2006; Page A04
A battle over race that had divided Alabama's Democratic Party came to an end yesterday when the party's executive committee reinstated a white woman as its nominee to represent a historically black Birmingham district in the state legislature.
The nominee, Patricia Todd, is a lesbian and, because she faces no opponent in November's general election, is in line to become the state's first gay legislator.
On Thursday, she had been disqualified by a party panel for failing to comply with a technicality that candidates had disregarded for years.
"I'm just relieved," Todd said yesterday. "The democratic process worked today."
Yesterday's decision has its roots in a June primary in which Todd received more votes than four other candidates, all of whom were black. In a July 18 runoff, she defeated businesswoman Gaynell Hendricks by 59 votes.
Allies of Hendricks then challenged Todd's nomination, arguing she had not met a deadline set in the party's bylaws for the filing of campaign finance disclosure forms...
Among those opposed to Todd's candidacy was Joe L. Reed, the state party's vice chairman of minority affairs. He called on voters to elect another black person to replace George Perdue, who has represented the district for more than two decades.
The vote "was largely on racial lines," but "there was some crossover," said Jim Spearman, the executive director of the state party and a Todd supporter.
"More than anything, it has been about the fact that this was a historically black district in downtown Birmingham," he said.
Yet the issue of her sexuality was not absent, Todd said.
"It was definitely there in the weekend before the runoff," she said. "There was a smear sheet that was distributed in the black community that was very homophobic and called me a lot of names. . . . There was an attempt to suggest to black voters I was a gay activist and that was my agenda."
Link Here
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 5:29 PM
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