How Do You Spell Crooked?
J-O-E-R-E-E-D. Or at least that should be the spelling if this is true:
House District 54 candidate Patricia Todd today called on the Democratic Party to throw out her opponent’s challenge to their June 18 primary results.
In an afternoon news conference, Todd alleged that Alabama Democratic Conference Chair and Democratic Party Vice-Chair Joe Reed personally paid for the challenge on behalf of Gaynell Hendricks, who Todd defeated by 59 votes in the runoff.
Hendricks’ mother-in-law challenged the outcome on July 28. A hearing to decide the contest was delayed indefinitely yesterday when members of the presiding committee failed to attend.
Todd alleged that Reed, who endorsed Hendricks during the campaign, had demanded to sit on the committee, and when rebuffed by the party, forced two of its appointed members to step aside.
Reed, who is also the associate executive director of the Alabama Education Association, the state teachers union, is a major power broker in the Democratic party.
“I cannot stand by as one person — Dr. Joe Reed — attempts to hold the Alabama Democratic Party hostage just because he doesn’t like the outcome of the race in District 54.Democratic party rules say hearings for election contests must be paid for by whoever filed the challenge. Todd said that regardless of whether Reed or Hendricks paid, the contest should still be thrown out because Hendricks’ mother-in-law has the responsibility of funding it. Hendricks denied the charge and said she would be able to provide documents proving she paid for the contest.
I’ve already explained my disgust with Joe Reed’s racial tactics, and why I think the challenge is meritless. But what really chaps my hide about this story is that, if these facts are true, Joe Reed is opposed to a fair hearing. He is not just alleging that Patricia Todd acted improperly, he is trying to ensure that a biased decision maker will make the ultimate determination. What a crock.
As for the Democratic party in Alabama, with leaders like Joe Reed, who needs enemies?
(Update: Kathy has Todd’s entire statement.)
(Update 2: Dan has collected Kathy’s and my coverage of the entire District 54 situation.)
Explore posts in the same categories: Alabama Legislature, Corrupt Politicians, Elections
The Alablawg 
August 16, 2006 at 5:24 pm
Actually, I only have part of her statement in my post. I haven’t found the whole thing online, so I’m going to scan it and try to post it myself tonight. Thanks for the link!
August 16, 2006 at 6:25 pm
I’ve added a link to the full text of the statement.
August 17, 2006 at 4:39 pm
[…] 7-17: Kathy endorses Todd 7-18: Wheeler says he’ll vote for Todd 7-19: Wheeler first talks about how race entered into the election 7-25: Patricia Todd is officially the winner of the race for House district 54 7-28: Wheeler says Hendricks is considering a challenge to the election results 7-28: Hendricks’ mother-in-law challenges results 8-9: Wheeler goes over what happened during the election 8-15: Kathy says she’ll be going to the challenge hearing in Montgomery 8-15: The hearing is mysteriously cancelled 8-16: Kathy announces Todd is “taking off the gloves” 8-16: Joe Reed apparently had a dirty hand in the cancellation […]
August 25, 2006 at 7:21 pm
[…] This entire situation stinks: it reeks of petty racial politics (Ms. Hendricks in black and the district is majority black), the worst of powerbroker politics (Democratic Vice-Chairman and powerbroker Joe L. Reed is at the heart of much of this) and anti-gay predujudice. If that’s not a trifecta of shame for the Democratic Party of Alabama, I don’t know what one would look like. And, above all else, the ruling violates the democratic rights of the district, as Todd has received the most votes in both the first and second rounds. […]
October 7, 2006 at 8:11 pm
This commentary is rather one sided, starting with “if this is true”…
I don’t know and apparently neither does the author,
so I won’t sling accusations at Todd in return.
But most certainly I will address the “Disgust with Joe Reed’s racial tactics”.
Reed’s racial tactics have been an effort to diversify the Democratic Party
in the state of Alabama for more than 20 years. His work has directly resulted in
unprecedented numbers of black, other minority and poor Americans participating in politics. He has rightfully fought against a small majority of Alabamians making decisions for us all. I applaud Reed’s efforts and suggest that the commentary would warrant more credibility if it included both sides of the story.
October 7, 2006 at 10:36 pm
justify it however you want, joe reed’s actions in the d54 election were racist. he was ready to override the will of the voters for no reason other than that they elected a white candidate. if he believes only black people can represent black people, then he believes in the same principles that were used to justify segregation. the only difference between him and bull connor is that the latter used those principles to harm blacks, whereas the former wants to use them to better blacks.
much better, i think, is to judge ALL people by the content of their character. race should never be the determinitive factor for anything.