Patricia Todd
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rep. Patricia Todd | |
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Member of the Alabama House of Representatives
from the 54th district |
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| In office 2006 – present |
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| Preceded by | George Perdue |
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| Born | July 25, 1955 Richmond, Kentucky |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Jennifer Clarke |
| Residence | Birmingham, Alabama |
| Website | patriciatodd.net |
Patricia Todd is an American politician from Alabama. A Democrat, she is a member of the Alabama House of Representatives representing District 54 in downtown Birmingham. She took office in November 2006.
Todd narrowly won the Democratic primary run-off on July 18, 2006 over opponent Gaynell Hendricks by a margin of 59 votes – 1,173 to 1,114. She faced no Republican opponent in the general election.
She is the associate director of AIDS Alabama and is the first ever openly gay elected official in the state of Alabama.[1]
[edit] 2006 election controversy
Her run-off victory was challenged by her opponent's mother-in-law, who claimed that Todd had received "illegal votes" and had filed a campaign finance report late.[2] That report contained information – a $25,000 contribution from the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and payments to two of her primary opponents – that opponents charged could have affected the outcome.
It was widely reported[3] that the contest centered around the question of race. Todd is white, and the outgoing legislator, like the majority of the district, is black. Many of the state's African-American political leaders were apparently eager to keep the seat in black hands.[4]
A sub-committee of the Alabama Democratic Party (ADP) met to decide the contest and voted 5-0 to disqualify both Todd and her opponent, on the basis of what the ADP Chairman Joe Turnham called an "archaic party by-law".[5] The by-law had not only been superseded by the 1988 Fair Campaign Practices Act but had not been followed by any candidate running for any office since 1988, including candidates for governor. It also emerged that the by-law was in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act and may well actually have been repealed.[6]
Following sustained pressure and newspaper editorials criticising the judgement,[7], the State Democratic Executive Committee voted on 26 August to overturn the sub-committee's ruling by a vote of 95-87. According to press reports, the voting was "mostly along racial lines".[3]
The challenge (like Todd's original victory) attracted national attention, making The New York Times[8] and The Washington Post[9], among other publications. It is also reported that the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Gov. Howard Dean, took a close interest, making no fewer than eight telephone calls to the Executive Director of the Alabama Democratic Party during the morning of the appeal.[10]
With Todd re-instated as the Democratic nominee, hers was the only name on the November general election ballot. A write-in campaign was waged against her but she received almost 93% of the vote, with over 6,400 votes and 523 voters choosing to write in another name.
[edit] References
- ^ Wilcox, Barbara (2006-07-19). Vote points to first out gay Alabama lawmaker. PlanetOut. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/local/15164633.htm (unavailable)
- ^ a b Chibbaro, Jr, Lou (2006-09-01). Lesbian wins challenge to election in Alabama. Southern Voice. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ Beyerle, Dana (2006-08-26). Top Democrats meet. Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ Turnham, Joe (2006-08-24). Alabama Democratic Party Chair Joe Turnham Reacts to House District 54 Subcommittee Ruling. The Alabama Democratic Party. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ http://www.politicsinalabama.com/?p=759 (unavailable)
- ^ http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/base/opinion/115658399686160.xml?birminghamnews?oedit&coll=2 (unavailable)
- ^ Dewan, Shaila (2006-08-25). Issues of Race and Sex Stir Up Alabama Election. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ Johnson, Bob (2006-08-26). Ala. Democrats Reinstate Gay Candidate. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ More On the SDEC Meeting (2006-08-26). Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
