Word that former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington
will endorse Democrat Ron Sparks for Governor in a news conference in Birmingham tomorrow shouldn't come as a big shock. If Arrington, the city's first black mayor, was going to endorse anyone in the Democratic Primary, it certainly wasn't going to be Rep. Davis.
Davis beat fellow Democrat Earl Hilliard to win his Congressional seat, and he's part of the younger black leadership. They tend to paint Arrington and Hilliard and company as the old school politicians who won
the civil rights battles but squandered the political power by adopting cronyism. Arrington resurrected his old political machine this past April, calling it the
New Jefferson County Citizens Coalition, indicating he would be getting involved in politics again. The Vice Chair of the group? Earl Hilliard
Junior, son of the man Davis beat.
Davis' best hope was that Arrington would stick to Birmingham city politics and stay out of the Governor's race, but that wasn't to be. As of now--6:00pm the night before the official announcement--not a peep from the Davis campaign, but watch for him to show respect for Arrington's accomplishments while painting the former mayor and Sparks as old school back-room politicians not fit to lead in the new Obama era.
[NOTE: The Arrington picture is from a radio debate during the 1979 runoff election that he won, making him the city's first black Mayor.]
Word that former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington will endorse Democrat Ron Sparks for Governor in a news conference in Birmingham tomorrow shouldn't come as a big shock. If Arrington, the city's first black mayor, was going to endorse anyone in the Democratic Primary, it certainly wasn't going to be Rep. Davis.
Davis beat fellow Democrat Earl Hilliard to win his Congressional seat, and he's part of the younger black leadership. They tend to paint Arrington and Hilliard and company as the old school politicians who won 
the civil rights battles but squandered the political power by adopting cronyism. Arrington resurrected his old political machine this past April, calling it the New Jefferson County Citizens Coalition, indicating he would be getting involved in politics again. The Vice Chair of the group? Earl Hilliard Junior, son of the man Davis beat.
Davis' best hope was that Arrington would stick to Birmingham city politics and stay out of the Governor's race, but that wasn't to be. As of now--6:00pm the night before the official announcement--not a peep from the Davis campaign, but watch for him to show respect for Arrington's accomplishments while painting the former mayor and Sparks as old school back-room politicians not fit to lead in the new Obama era.
[NOTE: The Arrington picture is from a radio debate during the 1979 runoff election that he won, making him the city's first black Mayor.]
After reading Sparks' comments belittling efforts to write a new state constitution, I was frankly, quite and unfortunately shocked.
ReplyDeleteIMO, it's hurt Sparks in my estimation.
So, as for me, my vote is for Harvard.
My hats off to Ron Sparks for promoting the selling of Alabama's agricultural products to Cuba. We need this business!
ReplyDeleteI too, was glad when I heard about Sparks' initiative in that area.
ReplyDeleteAnd I suppose he could make some serious political hay with that... if he would. But I doubt he will.
But then, there's a whole philosophical can o'worms that opens up when one nation sells food to their "enemy," now, doesn't it?
I'd argue for the Christian/humanitarian aspect of that issue. But then as well, I'd hardly consider Cuba an "enemy." They're not an industrialized nation. They sell cigars, sugar and maybe a little rum. What's their armada? A flotsam flotilla?
Their people have suffered long enough under the despotism of communism.
But back to Sparks...
For Mr. Sparks to assert that Alabama's constitution - the lengthiest of any government constitution in the entire world, bar none - and the problems inherent with its faulty, outdated and not-easily-remedied design (lack of home rule, for example, requiring every municipality or county to come begging, hat-in-hand, to Montgomery for permission to do ANYTHING) is so ludicrous and absurd that it pales any other comment which he could make.