Local Politics

I'm afraid I haven't paid a lot of attention to local politics here in Montgomery during my eleven years in the city. FTR was a statewide show, and it would be a rare event for a local race to be a topic up for discussion. But at a dinner I attended last night, there was a lot of talk about a story in The Montgomery Advertiser Saturday morning. The story told of one of the candidates for Montgomery Mayor quitting as a State Trooper 23 years ago following accusations that he offered to let two women go without being arrested for DUI, in return for sexual favors. Willie Cook admits the story is true, but suggests it suddenly being on the front page of the Advertiser is a Karl Rove type stunt. At the dinner ---attended by another of the candidates for Mayor, by the way--- the timing of the story was as much a point of conversation as the incident itself. After all, Cook was elected twice to the Montgomery City Council, even though there were rumors about the incidents at the time. The Advertiser didn't need to depend on sources...all of the documents on the incident were available in the Personnel Department files. The Advertiser reports it was an anonymous caller who tipped them off right after Cook announced his candidacy. Did it deserve the "top of the fold" banner headline treatment? There was no real consensus at the dinner, nor any clear opinion whether the story would end Cook's hopes for being elected. Tuesday is the deadline for candidates to enter the crowded non-partisan race.