Flotte’s Notes on
An Unofficial Encyclopaedia
of Mobile & Baldwin Counties
Promoting local history, culture, outdoors,
businesses, attractions, food, people, and places
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Upcoming
Elections
·
Two
Mobile Mayor
and City Council
·
The elected government of
·
Municipal Elections are held every 4 years, and are
non-partisan. The last elections were held on September 13, 2005.
Mayor: Sam Jones (2005-present)
City Council District 1: Fred
Richardson (1997-present) (Vice-President)
City Council District 2: William
Carroll William Carroll (2005-present)
City Council District 3: Clinton
Johnson (1985-present)
City Council District 4: John Williams
(2007-present)
City Council District 5: Reggie
Copeland (1985-present) (President 2001-)
City Council District 6: Connie Hudson
(2001-present)
City Council District 7: Gina Gregory
(2005-present)
·
Mobile City Council
District Map
·
Mobile City Organizational Chart
·
Councilman Fred Richardson created a controversy when he
wrote a letter on city stationary asking the school board to reinstate a Murphy
High student who had been expelled for videoing the assault of a Murphy teacher
·
Council members
Connie Hudson, Gina Gregory, William Carroll and John Williams voted for a
moratorium on electronic billboards. Fred Richardson, Clinton Johnson and
Reggie Copeland turned it down. The measure needed five votes to pass. The
decision was a victory for Lamar Advertising, the biggest billboard player in
·
Mobile City
Councilman Clinton Johnson wanted about $900,000 transferred to a drainage
project in his district. But Councilwoman Connie Hudson wanted more information
about the expenditure and asked to delay the vote for a week. So Johnson
decided to delay every new resolution for a week. Johnson held up votes on 11
new resolutions that covered items such as funding for emergency bridge
repairs, weed mowing and buying out flooded houses in Johnson's own district.
The City Council has to have unanimous consent from all seven members to vote
on resolutions during the first meeting they are introduced, meaning that any
council member can force a week-long delay. Council President Reggie Copeland
said was the first time he could remember that a council member delayed the
entire agenda. "I'm not acting like a kid taking his marbles and going
home," Johnson said. "I'm acting like an intelligent councilman.
Sometimes you have to give the goose what the goose gives to the gander."
– PR 4/16/08
·
There are 3 county commission
districts and seats.
o District 1: Merceria Ludgood
was elected Oct. 2007.
o District 2: Stephen Nodine Nodine is a former
o District 3: Mike Dean is a former two-term state
legislator and
·
Juan Chastang, a Republican, was appointed by Gov. Riley to the
District 1 seat vacated when Sam Jones was elected mayor of
o
Under a 1985
local law, Mobile County Commission vacancies were supposed to be filled through
special elections. In 1988, however, the Alabama Supreme Court deemed the law
unconstitutional on the grounds that it conflicted with a broader statewide
statute which gave that appointment power to the governor.
o
After Riley
named Chastang to the commission in November 2005,
state Rep. Yvonne Kennedy of
o
After giving up
the District 1 seat, Chastang lost an October special
election to Democratic lawyer Merceria Ludgood by about a 4-1 margin.
o
The U.S. Supreme
Court in a 7-2 opinion written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg overturned the
lower court decision and said Chastang "may seek
reinstatement to the commission" to serve out the term ending this
November. Riley hadn't decided whether to seek to put Chastang
back in the job of representing a historically Democratic district.
o
Before the
appointment occurred, Democrats and Republicans argued in state court whether
the vacancy should be filled by special election or gubernatorial appointment.
A 1985 state law said a Mobile County Commission vacancy would be filled by
special election, but in 1988 the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that law was
unconstitutional because it conflicted with the general law that gubernatorial
appointments fill all vacancies. In
2004, the state passed a new law allowing counties to have special elections to
fill such vacancies, as long as a local law is passed to establish the
elections. When Jones left office in
2005, local Democrats argued that the 2004 law meant a special election should
be held to fill the seat, as dictated by the 1985 local law. Riley, however said the 2004 state law did
not revive the previous local law, and he still had appointment power in
o
One of Chastang’s first major acts in office was to push the
commission to kill a plan to build a park on county-owned property on
·
Board president
Fleet Belle was appointed in 2006 to fill the unexpired term of former member
David Thomas, who was impeached. He is
the founder and leader of Rock of Faith Missionary Baptist Church, which also
runs Rock of Faith Day Care & Learning Center.
o Lagniappe found that at least eight liens have been
filed personally against Belle since 1985, and 16
against his church and daycare in that same time period. Revelations about
Belle’s personal finances come at a time when the school system he plays a key
role in running is facing harsh fiscal times “I would call upon the other
school board members to remove him from financial decisions,” Wade Perry, local
director of the Alabama Education Association teacher’s union said. “It would
appear Rev. Belle runs the school system like he runs his finances,” Perry
said. – Rob Holbert, Lagniappe, 5/18/08
o
Angelite Foster, a senior
citizen in public housing, signed a complaint against Belle’s runoff opponent Levon Manzie stating he was late
filing his statement of economic interest with the Alabama Ethics Commission
and that he submitted the wrong finance form for to
the Probate Court. Fleet followed up two days later with his own complaint
against Manzie. Foster said school board attorney
Frank Taylor helped her write the filing.
§
Lawyers with The
Atchison Firm have contributed $2,250 to Belle's campaign. One lawyer in the
firm, Donald Beebe, is representing Belle's brother, William Bell, a
§
§
The Mobile
County Education Association asked for an investigation into allegations that Taylor,
school board attorney, may have been used to draft the complaint and has
endorsed Manzie in the runoff. "I believe you
owe it to the taxpayers to make absolutely sure that no taxpayer money or
resources have been used to help Fleet overcome his abysmal record on the
school board," MCEA director Wade
Perry wrote to Nichols. –
PR 6/16/08
o
The Alabama
Ethic Committee passed the decision on Manzie to
Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis, who referred it to the Mobile County
Democratic Executive Committee, who said that likely Manzie
will remain a candidate. Belle said that he plans to appeal
·
Detailed South Alabama
House Map
|
Yvonne Kennedy |
Democratic |
|
1982 |
|
|
James O. Gordon |
Democratic |
Saraland |
2006 |
|
|
James Buskey |
Democratic |
|
1976 |
|
|
Victor Gaston |
Republican |
|
1982 |
|
|
Jamie Ison |
Republican |
|
2002 |
|
|
|
Republican |
Semmes |
2006 |
|
|
Joseph C. Mitchell |
Democratic |
|
1994 |
|
|
Jim Barton |
Republican |
|
2006 |
|
|
Spencer Collier |
Republican |
|
2002 |
·
Rep. Spencer
Collier (R-Irvington) now works in investigations for the law firm Cunningham,
Bounds, Yance, Crowder &
Brown LLC. – PR 2/2/08
|
Vivian Davis Figures |
Democrat |
|
1997 |
|
|
Rusty Glover |
Republican |
Semmes |
2006 |
|
|
Ben Brooks |
Republican |
|
2006 |
·
Rusty Glover, Republican
o Sen. Glover voted FOR the 62% raise the legislature voted
itself on 3/19/07
o
Sen. Glover
sponsored a Senate resolution claiming that
o
Alabama
State Legislature - Senator Rusty Glover; Project Vote Smart -
Senator Rusty Glover (AL); Follow the Money - Rusty Glover 2006
2002
campaign contributions
·
Ben Brooks, Republican,
is a practicing attorney in
o
Senator Brooks
voted no and promised to return the money from the 62% raise the
legislature voted itself on 3/19/07
o
Alabama
State Legislature - Senator Ben Brooks; Project Vote Smart -
Senator Ben Brooks (AL) profile; Follow
the Money - Ben Brooks 2006
campaign contributions
·
Vivian Davis Figures,
Democrat,
was elected in 1997 to serve the remaining term of her late husband, Senator
Michael A. Figures, who was the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. She was
re-elected without opposition in 1998 and 2002. Figures received her B.S.
degree in Management Science from the
o
She has announced that she running for the United States
Senate seat currently held by Republican Jeff Sessions. An August 28, 2007 Survey
o
Figures voted for
the 62% raise the legislature voted itself on 3/19/07
o
Alabama
State Legislature - Senator Vivian Davis Figures official government website Project Vote Smart -
Senator Vivian Davis Figures (AL) profile Follow the Money - Vivian
Davis Figures 2006
2002
1998
campaign contributions Vivian Davis Figures 2008 US Senate campaign website
|
Joe Faust |
Republican |
Fairhope |
2004 |
|
|
Steve McMillan |
Republican |
Bay Minette |
1982 |
|
|
Randy Davis |
Republican |
Daphne |
2002 |
Alabama Senate District 32 (
·
Alabama Senator Trip
Pittman was elected in 2007
·
Alabama 1st
Congressional District covers
·
Alabama
1st Congressional District Map
·
Congressman Jo Bonner
(R) was
elected in 2002. Bonner was the
chief of staff for his predecessor, Sonny Callahan. He was born in
o
In the House, Bonner has earned a consistent voting
record and has made few waves as a party loyalist. Perhaps most notable
dissention was his opposition on on-shore LNG terminals for
o
Jo Bonner’s Group Ratings: National Journal: Economic:
87% Conservative, Social: 76% Conservative, Foreign: 96% Conservative.
Americans for Democratic Action: 0. American Civil Liberties Union: 0. Chamber
of Commerce of the
o
U.S. Congressman Jo Bonner official Houses
site. Jo
Bonner at the Biographical Directory of the
o Congressman Bonner
received a 27% (unfavorable) rating
in 2006 from Citizens
Against Government Waste. His lifetime score is 55%.
o
Rep. Bonner was ranked #382 (of 435) in the Congressional
Power Rankings by Congress.org
o
Interview with
Rep. Bonner regarding earmarks on Fox News (YouTube)
o Bonner won a coveted seat Thursday on the House
Appropriations Committee in 2008. – PR 2/15/08
§
His appointment
was opposed by watchdog groups Citizens Against
Government Waste and Taxpayers for Common Sense. Bonner is now a co-sponsor of
a resolution that would create a committee to study avenues for earmark reform
and touted his backing for a moratorium on earmarking.
·
Former
o
Herbert Leon "Sonny"
Callahan (R), 1985-2003: Sonny Callahan was born in 
When retiring
representative Jack Edwards requested that Callahan run for his seat as a
Republican, Callahan switched and was elected in 1984. - Wikipedia
§
When the Republicans won control of Congress in 1994,
Callahan became the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on
Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs. Callahan had voted
against numerous foreign aid bills before taking his chairman post and he
remained skeptical of foreign aid.
§
After leaving Congress, Callahan founded Sonny Callahan and Associates, a
lobbying firm that he currently heads.
§
He is an investor in the
§
Braxton Counts was also General Counsel for the Alabama
State Docks (1995-1999). Because he is the son of Linda Lee Counts, then-Gov.Fob
James' first cousin and a close friend of First Lady Bobbie James, the
appointment was controversial. James also signed an agreement to hire Counts as
one of the lawyers to sue oil companies on charges that they shorted the state
on millions of dollars in severance taxes. William E. ``Ebb'' Counts, the
younger brother of Braxton Counts III, was reportedly given an extra year to
fulfill a $156,000 sand-buying contract by the State Docks in 1997. Counts was a partner with Tim James in his plan to develop
Bayou La Batre. Counts is also
chairman of the board of Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
§
Thompson Engineering, engineer of record for the
o
William Jackson (Jack)
Edwards (R) 1965-1985
o
John McDuffie (D) 1919-1935. McDuffie was born in River Ridge in
·
Senator Jeff Sessions
(R): Sessions was born in
o
In 1986, Sessions was nominated for a federal judgeship
by Reagan. The nomination was killed by the Senate Judiciary Committee. One of
those voting against him was Democratic Senator Howell Heflin