Breakfast at Tiffany's – Because I Do Not Know

Our Friends The Democrats

You halfway expect (OK, maybe more than halfway) that Republicans would go out of their way to find a 30-year-old rule and use it to disqualify what would be the first openly gay member of the Alabama Legislature.

But not the "party of inclusion." You see, it appears, having a black legistator representing a minority-majority House District is more important than allowing a white lesbian -- who received the most votes in both the primary and the runoff -- represent the Democratic Party in the general election.

A Democratic Party committee Thursday night disqualified an openly gay candidate for the Alabama Legislature and the woman she defeated in the primary runoff because both women violated a party rule that party officials said no other candidate has obeyed since 1988.

The committee voted 5-0 to disqualify Patricia Todd, who was attempting to become the state's first openly gay legislator, and Gaynell Hendricks. ...

Committee members said they would issue a formal order Friday morning.

State Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham was "very surprised" by the decision Thursday, said Zac McCrary, a party spokesman. Turnham believes the party's executive committee might change the decision based on an "archaic bylaw," McCrary said.

Attorney Bobby Segall told the committee earlier Thursday that if the party disqualified Todd for not filing a financial disclosure form with the party chairman it would also have to disqualify the party's nominee for governor, Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley, and for lieutenant governor, former Gov. Jim Folsom Jr.

Of course, Baxley and Folsom have already been conveniently certified as winners.

Here's the lengths the Democratic party bosses are going to appease the old-line, out-of-touch, 70-something-year-old black power brokers in Birmingham -- who, by the way, are the reason that city has gone to sh*t and hasn't had anything good happen to it in 20 years.

Another Todd attorney, Ed Still, told the committee that Todd filed her form on July 17, the day before the July 18 runoff. While the filing was in violation of a requirement that the forms be filed five days before the election, Still said the Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that candidates can't be disqualified if they file before the election.

But the attorney for Childress, Raymond Johnson, said Todd should instead be disqualified for violating a 1974 Democratic Party rule that requires Democratic candidates to file financial disclosure statements with the party chairman five days before the election. Democratic Party executive director Jim Spearman testified that as far as he knew, no Democratic candidate had filed a disclosure statement with the chairman since 1988, when the state law requiring financial disclosure was passed.

Spearman said no candidate this year, including Todd or Hendricks, had filed the disclosure form with the chairman.

Todd said she believes the challenge has nothing to do with the fact she is gay, but is about the fact that she is white and won in a majority black district.

"Of course if I was black I don't think they would have contested the election," Todd said. She blamed the contest on Joe Reed, longtime chairman of the black Democratic caucus, who wrote a letter before the election urging black leaders to support Hendricks because of her race and stressing the need for keeping the seat in black hands.

Segall also alluded to Reed's influence in his closing statement to the committee.

"This is about race. Folks are upset that a white woman won in a black district. There are some times you just have to say 'this isn't right,' " Segal said.

Rob, I hope this answers your question.

The Democrat bosses still have a chance to right this wrong and apply the rule fairly. Either all must following the 1974 rule or none do. If Todd isn't reinstated as the Democratic Party nominee, I will not vote for a single Democrat in November, including you and you. (C'mon, Little Jim, it's 2006. Get a Web site, for chrissakes.)

UPDATE: Turnham, the state Democratic leader, seems to understand the impact this reversal could have on his party's legitimacy. He is rallying the troops to overturn the subcommittee's decision.

I am disappointed that the sub-committee took a narrow, impractical view of the obsolete bylaw in question, applying it equally to each candidate. This section of our bylaws is archaic and has not been required by the party since 1988. The fact is that no candidate files with the party, but instead with the Secretary of State as required by the Fair Campaign Practices Act of 1988.

I will be providing full commentary to the State Democratic Executive Committee members on Saturday, which is comprised of Alabamians from all over our state's 105 State House districts. I believe the full SDEC will take a measured and practical view of this order and render a fair decision.

Should the SDEC reject this report from the sub-committee, the contest filed by Ms. Childress would fail and Ms. Todd would be the nominee in House District 54. Should the SDEC uphold the decision of the sub-committee then the SDEC would be charged with selecting a new nominee for District 54. I have previously sent a memorandum to all State Democratic Executive Committee members encouraging attendance and emphasizing the need for rational, respectful decision-making.

Good for him.

URGENT: Contact local Democratic Party leaders and urge them to help overturn this injustice. You can find numerous links here.

BaT's previous post about Patricia Todd is here.

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