A12 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018 THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS AL.COM

2018 midterm elections Who will get your vote?

Governor

WALT MADDOX (D) (R)(I*) Website: waltmaddox.com Website: kayivey.com

Under the quarter-century spell of , never got to have a youth- Kay Ivey, thrust into the job as governor as Robert Bentley got his mugshot made, ful New South governor. Excited supporters of Walt Maddox might tell you that he’s the assured the public of her determination to steady the ship of state. It is that image — a con- one. fident hand upon the helm — that informs her campaign to earn the state’s highest office The 45-year-old Democratic nominee offers a platform that his campaign calls a New in her own right. Covenant between public servants and the public that they endeavor to serve. It many Her message is straightforward and firmly told: She’s grew up on a cattle farm and knows respects, Maddox says, it’s a honest talk about kitchen table issues. how to work, she respects community values, she guards the public till, she’s an unflinch- The state, he says, is trending toward crisis, whether it’s too few quality jobs, clogged ing conservative, and under her watch the state economy is roaring. urban highways, lagging K-12 schools or tenuous rural health care. In a campaign video, she says, “There was a storm, and dark clouds hung over state gov- “You look at where we are in every quality-of-life ranking,” Maddox told The Associated ernment, and we were called to act. And I’m proud to say today that we have made it out of Press. “We are at or near the bottom. That needle has not moved in 45 years.” the darkness and we have brought progress and prosperity back to the state of Alabama.” Gov. Kay Ivey, his opponent, isn’t just ducking debate, she’s ducking reality, he sug- Ivey, 74, overwhelmed three rivals June 5 to claim the Republican nomination in the first gests. round of voting. She’s run the campaign of an odds-on favorite to win Nov. 6, appearing to “What Governor Ivey and the people around her that run state government don’t under- pay no heed to calls for public debates. (Reporters and her opponent are the only ones to stand is this election isn’t about parties, it isn’t about right versus left. It’s about right ver- raise the subject, she says.) sus wrong, and they’re on the wrong side of history,” he told reporters in August. Ivey, who studied to be a school teacher, got her start in state politics in 1979 in the Some key Maddox priorities boil down to tapping into sources of revenue previously administration of Gov. . She lost in her first try for state office in 1982; she won believed to be politically taboo. For example, he’d expand Medicaid, promote an educa- the next four, twice each to the offices of treasurer and lieutenant governor. tion lottery, seek a gaming compact with the Poarch Creek tribe, and pursue an infra- Ivey, in her appearances, highlights her “Strong Start, Strong Finish” initiative to meld structure rebuilding program that would probably involve a fuel tax increase. Pre-K learning, K-12 schools and workforce development into a “seamless educational jour- Meanwhile Maddox, the Tuscaloosa mayor since 2005, says that city’s revival after the ney.” 2011 tornadoes could be a template for renewing communities statewide. She happily speaks about jobs numbers and manufacturing gains. During her tenure, In an interview with CBS 42, he told the story of a conversation with his wife, Stepha- she says, the state boasts the most jobs in its history, and its lowest-ever unemployment nie, that helped seal his decision to run. They were talking that day about the family’s two rate. “We’ve celebrated announcements and groundbreakings with companies like Google kids, and about the future that they’d inherit. and Facebook and Boeing, and with some growing companies, too, like Kimber firearms “We thought, ‘You know what, if we look at Alabama, we look at where we are,’ ” he said, and Autocar,” she told the summer conference of the Economic Development Association “‘if we are going to have an Alabama that they want to live in, we’ve got to draw a line in of Alabama. “Y’all, momentum is on our side.” the sand.’”

Lieutenant governor

WILL BOYD (D) WILL AINSWORTH (R) Website: willboydforalabama.com Website: ainsworthforalabama.com

Florence pastor Will Boyd is keeping the energy high as he takes his case to voters to “It’s a new day for Alabama!” proclaims Will Ainsworth’s campaign website. be their lieutenant governor. And there’s no doubt about his stances on the issues: His Ainsworth is a state lawmaker, but he’s run from the get-go as an outsider candidate website features a platform offering 87 specific goals and policy positions. for lieutenant governor who’s not beholden to the system for his career or his sense of self- On the February day that he declared his candidacy, Boyd said that he’s the candidate worth. who “will fight for a stronger economy, truly affordable healthcare, and quality public He endured a fireworks-billed primary to win the Republican nomination, defeating education for all.” one of the best-known names in state politics. (And he delivered the most memorable ad Boyd, 47, won the Democratic nomination without opposition. Describing himself as a thus far in the 2018 election season: “Honey, what do you see up there?”) “practical progressive” in a written interview with the Alabama Policy Institute and Yel- Ainsworth, 37, a successful outdoor sports entrepreneur and former youth pastor, first lowhammer News, he also stated, “While my campaign motto is ‘Leading Alabama For- won election to his Statehouse seat in 2014. He’s campaigning as a “proud Christian con- ward,’ my aim is to be ‘number one at serving as number two.’” servative” who’ll focus on job-building and stand resolutely against public corruption. Boyd is seasoned in politics, having served as a city council member in Illinois, then “Career politicians might not wear masks and break in during the night, but they’re just running for the U.S. Senate both in that state and, in 2017, in Alabama. as dangerous,” he says in a Facebook video. “They’re bought and paid for by special inter- Boyd also is an author and former college dean, and among several degrees holds a ests, and they’re stealing from us.” bachelor’s in engineering from the University of South Carolina. Ainsworth gained a measure of national visibility in the spring when, in the House, he In a video interview last year, expounding upon his call for “People Over Politics,” he introduced a bill to allow certain teachers to carry or access firearms in the classroom. said, “Sometimes Republicans have good ideas, sometimes bad. Sometimes Democrats The bill followed the Florida school mass shooting. have good ideas, sometimes bad. … We can find that there are commonalities, though, in He told CBS42, “I want your viewers to know, I’ve got three kids in the public schools. our parties, in our ranks of friends, that will cause us to work together as a people.” Nobody has more skin in the game than myself.”

Attorney general

JOSEPH SIEGELMAN (D) STEVE MARSHALL (R) (I*) Website: siegelman2018.com Website: stevemarshall.gop

The son of former Gov. opens his campaign website video with a proud Gov. Robert Bentley elevated Steve Marshall to the job of attorney general in early 2017. nod to his parents. “I grew up in a home where professionalism and commitment to the Now, Marshall asks voters to keep him there. public good were what mattered most,” he says. “It seems like we’ve gotten away from The Republican nominee projects a no-nonsense style in his messaging, telling of his that.” determination to confront the opioid plague and uphold gun rights. He champions his At 29, Joseph Siegelman is running as the working family’s candidate, laying claim conservative credentials, pledging to prosecute illegal immigrants and stymie “federal to a message not often heard in races for attorney general. He pledges a ferocious bat- overreach.” His website features “Endorsed by the NRA” in big letters. tle against opioids, in particular to the “large out-of-state corporations” that “poison our But in a campaign video, it’s the state’s recent legacy of public corruption that gets the loved ones” while reaping billions. most time among issues. “As a prosecutor, I’ve enforced the ethics laws in courtrooms in He also says in interviews that he’ll bring a nonpartisan spirit to his work. He told this state. I’ve held those who violated those ethics laws accountable and sent them to CBS42, “I think this is the one office where if you have a D beside your name or an R beside prison,” steely Marshall says in the video, declaring the corruption to be “simply unac- your name, it shouldn’t matter because to do this job right you have to be an indepen- ceptable.” dent.” Siegelman, the managing partner with The Cochran Firm-Birmingham, is making Marshall, 53, trounced Troy King in their July GOP runoff, a contest that drew wide his first foray into state politics. He won the Democratic nomination in the June 5 party attention as Marshall and his children also coped with the suicide of his wife. primary by collecting 54 percent of the vote. Marshall, a longtime district attorney in Marshall County, is a former Democrat who Interestingly, it’s not often noted that Don Siegelman also served as attorney general, changed parties in 2011. The governor who put him in that DA’s job by appointment back from 1987 to 1991. It was in those years that Joseph was born in Montgomery. in 1991 was Don Siegelman, the father of his Nov. 6 opponent, Joseph Siegelman. THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS AL.COM SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018 A13

2018 midterm elections

Secretary of State

HEATHER MILAM (D) JOHN H. MERRILL (R)(I*) Website: milamforsecretary.com Facebook: facebook.com/JohnMerrill

The first point of Heather Milam’s platform is one that comes up often in her messag- John Merrill says he gladly gives his cell phone number to the citizens whom he meets, ing: Empower voters. “Whether you are in Marshall County, or Talladega County, or Lee putting it on his business cards. “If you need to get in touch with me — With me! — you County or Madison County, we just want our humanity recognized and identified,” she need to do so when it’s convenient for you,” he told a women’s group in Cullman County. says in a video on her website. “That’s why voting is so personal to me. It’s because it’s “If that’s not your expectation for the people that represent you at the municipal, county, your voice, and it’s the only thing we really have in a democracy. And people want to talk the state, the regional, federal level, you change your expectation.” about it, people care about it, and I’m going to fight like hell for it.” Merrill, 54, the Republican nominee for secretary of state, seeks a second term. He Milam, 39, the Democratic nominee for secretary of state, easily won the June 5 pri- takes pride in the long history of the office, which was established even before the state mary. was, and describes it as being more efficient under his watch than ever before. Her background, in brief: She started the Birmingham-based newspaper Weld, she’s On the business side, Merrill says that business document filings and incoming checks trained new entrepreneurs, and she now teaches business at the University of Montevallo. are being processed on the same day that the office receives them, and no later than the Other important points on Milam’s platform are to provide transparency, protect voter next business day. files, and make the office more accessible to citizens. On the elections side, Merrill says that 1.01 million voters have registered during his On a fund-raising website for her campaign, Milam writes, “I will infuse the Secretary tenure, and that his office has resolved 92 percent of all election-related complaints sub- of State’s Office with the high seriousness it deserves.” mitted by citizens “I’m ready to go to Montgomery and be solution-oriented, and be a new face in the city Two key goals in years ahead are (1) to introduce computer tablet polling books in every of Montgomery. I think that they need some new energy there,” she told WVTM 13 in Bir- county, to speed voter check-in and eliminate avenues for fraud, and (2) to ease the pro- mingham. “Some new fresh energy is going to be a real challenge to the old status quo. I’m cess of absentee voting, while also requiring applicants to submit photo IDs. prepared for that.”

Chief Justice

ROBERT “BOB” VANCE JR. (D) (R) Website: judgebobvance.com Website: parkerforjustice.com

Robert “Bob” Vance Jr. ran hard against Roy Moore in 2012, and turned heads even in Tom Parker has been heralding his political conservatism since the April day he losing by pulling 48 percent of the vote. Trying again for the chief justice job as the Demo- announced his chief justice candidacy. “Alabama is a conservative state,” Parker declared cratic nominee, he returns to that battle of 2012 in the opening paragraphs of his website then. “We revere the Constitution and the Rule of Law. And I believe our courts are the statement of his goals and purpose. battleground for our God-given rights as free people.” “Over the past several years, we have seen the rise of politicians who have tried to An associate justice on the court since 2005, Parker toppled incumbent Lyn Stuart to divide us rather than bring us together,” his statement reads. It goes on: “A judge must not win the Republican nomination for chief justice in June. see the world as ‘us’ and ‘them.’ … In short, a judge must be there for everyone.” Parker, 67, is a familiar face in Christian conservative circles in the state, and enjoys a Vance, 57, is a longtime circuit court judge in Jefferson County. In his campaign, he long association with James Dobson’s Focus on the Family. He was founding director of emphasizes that the chief justice is also the court system’s head administrator. the Alabama Family Alliance, now the Alabama Policy Institute, a research and policy “Alabama needs someone who will advocate for the courts. Someone who will work to hub that advocates for limited government and free enterprise. solve the courts’ funding problems as they currently exist,” Vance told a meeting of Cull- As a veteran ally of Roy Moore, notably during his Ten Commandments wars, Parker man Democrats. He also enjoyed a stroke of political good fortune in 2017 — in the form has often spoken up for him. On his website, Parker also makes clear his enduring opposi- of free national visibility — as news networks brought him onto their shows to discuss tion to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling that legalized gay marriage. Moore’s soon-to-fail bid for the U.S. Senate. And Parker says he gladly stands with President Donald Trump. Parker told WSFA12 in Many voters will remember Vance’s father, Robert S. Vance, also a Birmingham judge. Montgomery, “I want to provide leadership in the Alabama Supreme Court at this time to In 1989, the elder Vance was killed by a bomb hidden in a package delivered to his house. hopefully be a player in restoring the constitution through new conservative majority on The bomb-maker was an embittered wanna-be lawyer, Walter Leroy Moody. The state exe- the U.S. Supreme Court.” cuted Moody this year at age 83.

Supreme Court Associate Justice, Place 4

DONNA WESSON SMALLEY (D) (R) Website: smalleyforsupremecourt.com Website: jayforalabama.com

Donna Wesson Smalley, running for Place 4 Supreme Court associate justice, stresses Jay Mitchell’s website gets right to the point: He’s a conservative, a constitutionalist the word “experience” in her messaging. and a Christian. “I have 40 years of experience in actually practicing law,” the Democratic nominee “Alabama needs Supreme Court justices who will block liberal challenges,” Mitchell writes on her website. She later continues, “Now more than ever, we need true leaders, says in an ad that riffs on his days as a 6-foot-7 basketball player at Birmingham-Southern. with experience in the trenches.” “I believe in God, the family, the constitution and enforcing the law, whether liberals like “My opponent was 2 years old when I started practicing law,” she told a Democratic it or not.” town hall event in August. Mitchell, 42, is partner in the Birmingham law firm Maynard, Cooper & Gale who’s Smalley, 63, a practicing attorney in Jasper, pledges to assert her independence in making his first run for public office. He convincingly won the Republican nomination for assessing the merits of the cases before her. Place 4 associate justice, receiving 71 percent of the June 5 vote. At a Mobile fundraiser, she said, “If you get 12 good and true citizens in a jury box, I’ll Mitchell is member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal think-tank that holds take them any day of the week. Sometimes they rule against me, sometimes they rule for much sway in national Republican circles. He serves on the board of Cornerstone School me. But I guaran-dog-tee-you most of the time they’re right. They know what’s going on. in Birmingham, a nonprofit Christian school with a mission to serve inner-city students. And I don’t want some people that have never practiced law for a living, that are living a In a commentary celebrating Constitution Day, Sept. 17, Mitchell wrote, in part, “In comfy life in an ivory tower at the Supreme Court in Montgomery, deciding that the jurors recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has made its own law — by ignoring or minimiz- didn’t know what they were doing.” ing the text of the Constitution in favor of the justices’ own policy views and ideas of what Some voters may be aware of Smalley’s sister, Debbie Wesson Gibson. She’s one of the they would like the Constitution to say. This judicial activism flouts the rule of law, makes women who says that Roy Moore pursued a romantic relationship with her when she was a a mockery of our Constitution, and undermines the sovereignty of the American people.” teen and he was in his 30s.

CONTINUED ON A14 A14 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018 THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS AL.COM

2018 midterm elections

State auditor

MIRANDA KARRINE JOSEPH (D) (R) (I*) Website: mirandajoseph.com Facebook: facebook.com/ZeiglerWasteCutter

Miranda Joseph, running for state auditor, isn’t wasting any time digging into the Jim Zeigler heightened the profile of the state auditor’s office with his scrutiny of Gov. state’s books. “The 2017 annual audit report states the Department of Corrections had a Robert Bentley’s dubious expenses and ethics wrongdoings. In Zeigler’s campaign for a perfect audit. However, the ‘Lost Report’ shows the department had three pistols stolen. second term, he makes clear that he’ll be pursuing new quarry. How can they have a perfect audit?” she tweeted in September while campaigning. Through the summer, he’s openly questioned highway department spending priorities, Joseph, 33, the Democratic nominee, is making her third try for the auditor’s office. and undertaken litigation claiming that the state violated its own bid laws in buying soft- “Just as we sit at our kitchen tables to save and watch our pennies, our government ware for its accounting system. should do the same with our tax dollars,” she says on her website. “Why are Montgomery politicians fighting against Jim Zeigler?” says his first cam- Joseph is expending significant campaign effort at the state’s grassroots, attending all paign ad. “Because Zeigler is a state auditor who fights corruption and wasteful spending. manner of local events, even handing out potato chip bags and water bottles emblazoned Zeigler stands for us, the taxpayers.” with her name. She’s hammered on the state’s recent plague of public corruption. Zeigler, 70, won the Republican primary June 5 with 56 percent of the vote. Eight “Folks are fed up with individuals who have betrayed the public trust, and with those months earlier, he’d raised a lot of eyebrows when he compared Roy Moore’s reported pur- individuals who are more concerned with self service than public service,” she says in a suit of teenage girls to the relationships of Biblical figures such as Joseph and Mary. campaign video. Zeigler served on the Public Service Commission in the ’70s, winning the job at age 24. She makes sure to note to voters that she’s a certified internal auditor, and that her He then toiled in the political wilderness, running and losing several times until his audi- opponent is not. Her Facebook page highlights the video remarks of one of her volunteers tor victory in 2014. His wife, Jackie, is a member of the state school board. who says: “When you need an electrician, you don’t call a plumber.” “I wear it as a badge of honor when I am left out of things by Montgomery insiders,” Zeigler tweeted in August.

Public Service Commission, Place 1

CARA Y. MCCLURE (D) JEREMY H. ODEN (R)(I*) Website: iamcaramcclure.com Facebook: facebook.com/jeremyoden

Cara McClure sends the message that Alabama can “elevate the quality of life for all” by Jeremy Oden describes himself on Facebook like this: “A Trump conservative and a uplifting the poor, the underrepresented and the marginalized. tried and tested public servant.” “Make a plan to vote now! Don’t sit this one out!” McClure, the Democratic challenger Indeed, Oden, 50, has plenty of experience in the public arena. He’s an ordained minis- for Public Service Commission Place 1, declares on her website. ter and former state lawmaker and banker whom Gov. Robert Bentley appointed to a Pub- McClure’s campaign says utility rates are unfairly high, and accuses the PSC of hiding lic Service Commission vacancy in 2012. behind closed doors and being too cozy with corporate interests. “We will put the public Oden attained a full term to the Place 1 seat in the 2014 election and won a tough back in the Public Service Commission. That’s a promise,” she said in a tweet. Republican primary battle in June in his bid for re-election. In another tweet, she labels the PSC as a “secret society,” that’s also “the most import- Oden has been a vigorous advocate for the coal industry and Alabama coal jobs, ant agency nobody knows about.” accusing the Obama administration and environmental activists of orchestrating “an McClure, 48, has become known in her Birmingham community for her social activ- onslaught of attacks against our way of life.” On Facebook, he says, “Proud to be part of the ism. She founded Black Lives Matter Birmingham and led a Mother’s Day campaign to PSC team delivering cheaper energy to all Alabamans.” He’s heralded Alabama Power Co. bail black mothers out of jail and reunite them with their families. rate reduction following Republican tax cuts earlier this year. In an interview with Glamor magazine, she said she’s determined to represent, “those “In a family, in your home, what do you pay every month? … That’s my job: to keep that who don’t have a voice or seat at the table.” energy as cheap and reliable as possible,” Oden said in a 2014 interview with the PBS show “We need leadership with hope, we need leadership that is connected to the grass- Capitol Journal. “When it comes down to it, I want the cheapest production and the most roots,” she told Democratic Party supporters at a May event. “We need leadership that reliable production of energy that we’ve got. And that’s when I go over there to that light understands what it means to choose between food and utilities. Because it is expensive fixture or that light switch, I cut it on and that light’s going to come on.” to be neglected by the people who are supposed to represent us.”

Public Service Commission, Place 2

KARI POWELL (D) CHRIS “CHIP” BEEKER JR. (R) (I*) Website: electkaripowell.com Facebook: facebook.com/chipbeeker2014

Kari Powell’s campaign declares that big utilities gouge Alabama rate-payers and that Chris “Chip” Beeker’s Facebook page says that he knows first-hand about the impor- the present Public Service Commission is letting it happen. tance of reliable energy to the state’s economy. In his younger days, he worked at two of Powell, the Democratic challenger for PSC Place 2, is running on a platform of “Lower Alabama Power Co.’s generating plants, Barry and Gorgas. Bills,” “Clean Energy” and “Open Doors,” the latter involving her pledge to conduct public Beeker, 70, running for a second term to the Public Service Commission Place 2 slot, regulatory hearings. handily won the Republican nomination in June. Powell, 36, describes herself on her website as a mom, a graphic designer, an experi- He’s a timber company owner and farmer, and former two-decade-long member of the enced marketer, and a committed volunteer who’s active in social justice causes. (Her blue Green County Commission. campaign T-shirts feature a clever line: “Powell to the people.” Beeker is campaigning as a stalwart conservative and robust supporter of President Don- “My message is clear. I’m fighting now and, once elected, a new fight begins. A fight for ald Trump. “Some of the things that he has previously done with the EPA to allow people to fairness and transparency at the Alabama Public Service Commission. The current com- get back into the coal industry is very exciting to me,” Beeker, in an August interview with missioners are not fighting for Alabamians, but for their Big Business Buds!” she writes on Yellowhammer News, said of the president. her Facebook page. In a 2014 news conference, Beeker, denouncing Obama administration clampdowns In campaigning, she repeatedly emphasizes that in Alabama, one of the poorest states, on coal, said that God had put the coal in Alabama. “Who has the right to take what God’s the electrical rates are among the nation’s highest. given a state?” he said. Powell says that the present PSC is beholden to “fossil fuel interests” and imposes Beeker pledges “fiscal responsibility” and to ensure that Alabama enjoys “the most reli- obstacles to solar energy and other renewable energy sources. able and affordable energy possible.” In an August campaign video, she says in a speech to College Democrats, “It is a prob- In 2017, Beeker also made a point to emphasize the PSC’s role in regulating the trucking lem when the Public Service Commission actively blocks clean energy. It is a problem industry, writing a commentary on the subject published by the St. Clair Times. Referenc- when we lose good jobs to our neighboring states because of our inability to embrace the ing a Merle Haggard song, he wrote: “I recognize that ‘the white line is the lifeline to the clean energy economy.” nation.’’

The amendments

There are four statewide amendments on the general election ballot. Here’s an explanation of each:

AMENDMENT 1 AMENDMENT 2 AMENDMENT 3 AMENDMENT 4 Ten Commandments displays Rights of the unborn trustees Filling vacancies

This amendment opens the way for This amendment declares that the This amendment pertains to the struc- in the Legislature displays of the Ten Commandments on state, as a matter of public policy, rec- ture of the University of Alabama Board This amendment says that if a seat in state property and property owned or con- ognizes the rights of unborn children, of Trustees. It says: (1) there will be two the Legislature becomes vacant on or after trolled by a public school or public body. specifically their “right to life.” And the trustees from each congressional district, Oct. 1 of year three of a four-year term, The amendment, however, expressly pro- amendment makes clear that the state’s as the six districts presently exist. Thus the seat will remain vacant until the next hibits the “expenditure of public funds” to constitution provides no right to an abor- the number of trustees wouldn’t change general election. At present, the gover- defend its own legality. tion, or to any public expenditure for an if the number of congressional districts nor must call a special election, expend- The amendment notes that Ten Com- abortion. increases or declines; (2) the state super- ing public funds to fill the seat until the mandments displays must adhere to intendent of education will be removed next general election, even if it’s just a few established constitutional requirements, from automatic membership on the months away. such as being exhibited along with histori- board; and (3) trustees will no longer have cal or educational items. to retire after turning age 70. THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS AL.COM SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018 A15

Local contested races

JEFFERSON COUNTY

Teresa T. Linda Phillip Jackie Pulliam (R) Hall (D) Brown (R) Anderson- (i) Smith (D)

Joe Knight J.T. Small- (R) (i) wood (D) CIRCUIT COURT: PLACE 16 CIRCUIT CLERK Republican incumbent Teresa T. Pulliam had her own Democratic candidate Jackie Anderson-Smith is a cur- private law practice for 14 years before she was appointed to rent member and former president of the Jefferson County COUNTY COMMISSION: DISTRICT 4 the circuit court bench in 2005 by Gov. . She was Board of Education. She hopes to focus on voter registra- Republican incumbent Joe Knight has held this seat elected in 2006 and re-elected to the bench in 2012. tion. since he was first elected in 2010. His Democratic chal- Pulliam grew up in Huntsville and is a 1980 magna cum “One of the critical roles of the clerk’s office is the over- lenger is J.T. Smallwood, Jefferson County’s tax collector laude graduate of Birmingham-Southern College. She grad- sight of voter registration and voter education,” she told since 2002. uated from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1983 Birmingham Watch. “I will work to elevate this platform Knight, a private practice attorney, says he’s running on and began her legal career as a prosecutor in the Mobile Dis- through creation of new programs that touch communities his record. He says he’s “proud to have helped transformed trict Attorney’s Office, moving to the Jefferson County Dis- at the grassroots level.” the commission into an efficient governmental unit in wake trict Attorney’s Office in 1986. Republican hopeful Phillip Brown is chairman of the of bankruptcy and layoffs.” Democratic challenger Linda Hall’s candidacy has been Alabama Minority GOP’s Birmingham chapter and was Smallwood says he “brings a common sense approach up in the air for weeks now. Just this past week, Fayette elected in 2012 as the State Chairman of the ALMGOP and is to solving problems, which was honed while being a small County Circuit Judge Samuel Junkin ruled her not eligible now serving his third two-year term of office. business owner,” according to his website. to run because of residency requirements. A lawsuit filed A Jefferson County Circuit Court jury ruled Oct. 3 that last month by a Jefferson County voter stated Hall, a pri- Brown was guilty of conspiracy to remove church money vate practice attorney for the past 20 years, lives in Shelby and acting wrongly as a trustee of the Sandusky Church of County — which isn’t part of the 10th circuit — and hasn’t Christ. He was also found guilty of libel. Damages against lived in Jefferson County for the required 12 months. Brown were assessed at $231,000, according to Circuit Junkin, however, did not issue an injunction — at the Court records. request of the plaintiff — that would have prevented Hall’s Brown said the ruling wouldn’t affect his run for office. votes from being counted. “I plan to run and see what the voters do on Nov. 6,” Brown said. “We’ll let them decide.” Mike Danny Anderton (R) Carr (D)

DISTRICT ATTORNEY Republican Mike Anderton, 62, is looking to hold onto the seat he was appointed to by Gov. Kay Ivey in November 2017. Leslie Alaric He previously served as Jefferson County deputy assis- Schiffman May (D) Eddie Martha tant district attorney from 1984 to 1987 and Jefferson Moore (R) Brown (R) Bouyer (D) (i) County district attorney’s office’s division chief from 1987 to 2017. This is his first time seeking elected office. Democratic challenger Danny Carr, 45, served as CIRCUIT COURT: PLACE 27 BOARD OF EDUCATION: PLACE 2 interim DA for the first 11 months of 2017 after the man Democratic candidate Alaric May brings more than 23 Democratic incumbent Martha Bouyer first won elec- elected to the position, Democrat Charles Todd Henderson, years experience to the table. The attorney is currently a tion to the board in 2014, then re-election in 2016. Her goals was charged and found guilty of perjury. special circuit court judge and a special district court judge, include working to ensure all schools are safe and secure, With 17 years of prosecutorial experience behind him, and he’s a member in good standing to seven bar associa- increasing the number of pre-K programs and boost student this is Carr’s first time running for political office. He touts tions. retention and graduation rate. crime prevention, safer streets and communities, and com- “May said one of the main responsibilities of the Circuit Republican challenger Eddie Brown recently retired munity trust with law enforcement, as well as victims’ Court criminal judgeships is punishment, and sentences as director of support operations for the Jefferson County rights. should be evaluated in each case based on the crime, the Board of Education after 41 years at the board. As an Anderton says he seeks first and foremost to make Jef- impact on the victim and the defendant’s circumstances. insider, he says he understands the strengths of the board, ferson County a safer place for all residents. He says he But he said the judgeship’s primary focus should be preven- as well as the areas that need attention. He and all three of believes in upholding the law equally for everyone across tion,” according to Birmingham Watch. his children are graduates of Jefferson County schools. the board without regard for race, creed, status or any other Republican candidate Leslie Schiffman Moore was factors. the assistant district attorney in the Jefferson County DA’s office, Bessemer Division, from October 2000 through Jan- uary 2017, specializing in child physical and sexual abuse LOCAL AMENDMENT NO. 1 and child death cases. (One case garnered the longest sen- In 2017, the Homewood School Board and Homewood tence in Bessemer system history — 822 years — according City Council passed unanimous resolutions to ask the Leg- to her website.) islature to pass a constitutional amendment exempting She followed that up from February 2017 through April Homewood from the Lid Bill, which prevents most cities in 2018 as assistant DA in the Birmingham district. Alabama from adjusting their local ad valorem taxes with- Mike Mark Her goals include stopping the school-to-prison pipeline, out legislative approval. The amendment passed earlier Hale (R) (i) Pettway (D) and developing and shoring up programs to help stop opioid this year and must now be ratified by the voters of Jefferson addiction. County. A “Yes” vote basically removes state control over Homewood’s tax base, allowing the city to seek an increase SHERIFF in property tax rates through a citywide referendum. Prop- Republican incumbent Mike Hale, 67, ran successfully erty tax funds go toward the school system. Keep in mind: for sheriff in 2002 and has won re-election every race since. This relates only to the city of Homewood, but voters across He says his priorities include school safety, diversity in Jefferson County still get to vote on it. hiring in promotional practices, and the continued efforts of the Metro Area Crime Center. Democratic challenger Mark Pettway, 54, has been in local law enforcement for 25 years, currently detective ser- Davis Pamela SHELBY COUNTY geant with the sheriff’s office. Lawley (R) Wilson This is his first time running for political office. He says Cousins (D) his top priority is ensuring public safety with a focus on protecting children in schools, community policing, crimi- nal justice reform and law enforcement training. DISTRICT COURT: PLACE 3 Attorney Pamela Wilson Cousins, the Democratic can- didate, bring 26 years of experience in family law, making her “clearly the best and most qualified to serve” in this Family Court judgeship, according to her website. David Susan She says she will “make sure our children are placed in Bobo (R) (i) Lehman (D) safe environments, that child support is calculated cor- rectly, that parents understand documents they are asked to sign and that each parent gets its rightful visitation with BOARD OF EDUCATION: PLACE 2 Tracey Marshell their children.” Republican David Bobo currently holds the seat. He was Crisan Jackson Republican Davis Lawley has served as a special circuit appointed in March 2017 to fill the unexpired term of Kevin McDonald Hatcher (D) judge for the drug court, an assistant district attorney and Morris, who was appointed to the Shelby County Commis- (R) an assistant attorney general in the child welfare division. sion. He ran unopposed in the primary. He has lost a pair of Bobo earned a degree in communication with an empha- recent general elections for district court judge, in 2012 and sis in public relations from the University of Alabama. He CIRCUIT COURT: PLACE 8 2014, falling just short with 48 percent and 49 percent of the has worked for Jefferson State Community College since This is Democrat Marshell Jackson Hatcher’s first vote, respectively. 1994 as director of community and media relations. time running for office. She’s been a practicing attorney for Democratic challenger Susan Lehman is a Realtor in 21 years, adjunct law professor for two, and a former sher- Alabaster. iff’s deputy. She says improving the quality of justice is crit- “All of our children deserve someone who will look after ical to the community. “My service would be fair, my ser- their best interests,” she wrote on her Facebook page. vice would be impartial, and my decisions would be based on the evidence that comes before me,” she told Glamour in i: incumbent May. Republican Tracey Crisan McDonald, an attorney, — Compiled by Brent Conklin, [email protected] has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil lit- Jill Thomas igation. Through her handling of those cases, she says she Ganus (R) (i) Thrash (D) Sources: AL.com archives, candidate websites and Facebook has gained the respect of the legal community through her pages, Birmingham Watch, Homewood Star, Shelby County strict ethics, professionalism and dedicated advocacy on Schools behalf of clients. DISTRICT COURT: PLACE 11 Republican incumbent Jill Ganus was appointed to the seat in October 2017. Before that Ganus served as a district judge in Jefferson County from 2006 to 2013, where she was assigned to Family Court. In that position, she dealt with child abuse and neglect, children in need of supervi- sion, delinquency cases, contributing to the delinquency of minors, termination of parental rights and child support. Democratic challenger Thomas Thrash, an attorney and retired sergeant from the Birmingham Police Depart- ment, says his law enforcement experience will help him be an effective judge. “I want to devote some time to help the community in preventive efforts and promote positive decision-making situations for our youth,” he told Birmingham Watch before winning a three-way race in the June primary.