Openly lesbian
Alabama candidate Patricia Todd was reinstated
Saturday as the Democratic Party's nominee for a seat in the
Alabama legislature in a vote that turned more on the
race of the candidates than on sexual orientation. The
Alabama Democratic Party executive committee voted
95-87 to reject the ruling of a subcommittee that had
voted to disqualify Todd, who is white, as well
as her black opponent, Gaynell Hendricks, in the
race for the house seat from Birmingham's district 54.
Todd defeated Hendricks by 59 votes in the July 18 party
runoff election.
The subcommittee
had voted 5-0 that both candidates should be
disqualified because they violated a party rule requiring
candidates to file a campaign finance disclosure
report with the party chairman. Party chairman Joe
Turnham said Saturday that no candidate has filed a
disclosure report with the party since 1988. "I am relieved
this is over so I can get to work helping the people
of my district," Todd said after the meeting. She said
she was not discouraged by the opposition to her
nomination. "This was a healthy democratic vote," Todd
said.
"Finally, the
voters have prevailed," said Chuck Wolfe, president of
the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, which backed Todd in her
primary race. "We are enormously proud of the courage
and tenacity Patricia showed throughout this ordeal
and equally proud of her supporters in Alabama and
beyond who stood by her unfailingly. The Victory Fund and
its network of donors have worked to ensure Patricia
had a level playing field and a fair chance to show
that a qualified, committed public servant can win the
trust of the voters regardless of her sexual
orientation. We have no doubt her career in the legislature
will reflect the same determination and skill she
showed in her campaign."
There is not a
Republican candidate in the district 54 race, which means
Todd will almost certainly become the state's first openly
gay legislator. But one Hendricks supporter,
Birmingham activist Frank Matthews, said he expects
there will be a write-in candidate in the race in the
November 7 general election.
The committee
vote pitted vice chairman Joe Reed, a powerful black
political leader, against other party officials. Reed had
written a letter to black leaders in Jefferson County
before the July 18 runoff asking them to support
Hendricks so that a black would be elected from the
district, which has a black majority. The vote fell mostly
along racial lines. Committee members were asked to
stand to show their vote, and no whites were seen
standing to vote to uphold the subcommittee report,
while a small number of blacks stood in support of Todd.
(AP, with additional reporting by The Advocate)
