Alabama Democrats Under New Leadership As Legal Battles Loom
The Alabama Democratic Party is under new leadership. This past weekend, members of the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) removed party chair Nancy Worley and elected state Rep. Chris England chair instead. Worley sued to stop the meeting from happening, but ultimately the Alabama Supreme Court allowed it to go on. Worley appears ready to continue the fight. Attorney Barry Ragsdale represents the faction that organized Saturday’s meeting where the group elected new leaders. He tells WBHM’s Janae Pierre the legal battles aren’t a major cause of concern.
Interview Highlights:
How likely is it for this legal fight to continue?
“At this point, we don’t know whether or not they’re going to continue to try to fight. It would be ill advised. The courts at this point are clearly on our side. The law is clearly on our side. The National Democratic Party is clearly on our side. And so we hope that this marks an end to the litigation and the fight and the bitterness. But to some degree, that’s up to them.”
Will Nancy Worley’s November 16th meeting go on as planned?
“We don’t believe so, the November 16th meeting was called by Ms. Worley at a meeting that itself was illegal, the October 12th meeting that she attempted to call in violation of the rules and the orders of the Democratic National Committee. But at our meeting that was held Saturday, we unanimously canceled that meeting. There’s no need for it. We have new leadership. We complied with the deadlines that the Democratic National Committee had given us, which means we’re finally in a position where we can actually participate in the National Party as well as the national conventions. So the meeting that she previously called on the 16th in violation of the rules and orders of the DNC has been canceled. And in addition to that, she has been directed not to spend any party funds to hold a meeting or to do anything to try to further her personal effort to hang on to power.”
Where does the Alabama Democratic Party go from here?
“Well, no place but up. You know, Saturday was historic in a number of ways. But I think the most important was for the first time in our history, we elected a black chairman. You know, our party for a long time has been majority African-American, but we’ve never had an African-American at the top of the party. There is nobody better suited to take that mantle for the first time than Representative Chris England. In addition to that, we expanded the state (Democratic) Executive Committee to include folks who had long been excluded by the former leadership of the Party and never had a place at the table. There were tears shed around the room when the openness and the inclusiveness and the diversity of the Party reached a historic level. And so I think at this point we recognize we have a big hill to climb in Alabama. But it is a lot easier to climb with the kind of leadership that we elected on Saturday. And the fact that we have, I think, finally broken the stranglehold of the old guard and the Party. And so we look forward to fielding a full slate of candidates and being competitive and gradually returning Alabama to the status of having two political parties that can compete and give voters a choice.”
How does this move affect Alabama having a Democratic presidential candidate on the ballot next year?
“Well, the good news is because we complied with the conditions and the orders that we received from the Democratic National Committee, we’re back on track to be able to have a presidential primary, to have Alabama Democrats have an opportunity to participate in the primary and send delegates to the national convention. You know, one of the great tragedies, I think, of the way that Nancy Worley and Dr. Reed approached this fight, they literally put at risk the ability of Alabama Democrats to have any role in selecting our party’s nominee to run against President Trump in 2020. And they did that for selfish reasons. Fortunately, other leadership stepped up and we will be in a position to vote on and elect the next nominee and I believe the next president of the United States.”
Note: Several attempts to reach Nancy Worley for comment were unsuccessful.
Alex Ovechkin scores goal #895 to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL scoring record
The Washington Capitals star made history with a power play goal from the left faceoff circle — as Gretzky, who last set the record more than 25 years ago, looked on.
Severe storms and floods batter South and Midwest, as death toll rises to at least 18
Severe storms continued to pound parts of the South and Midwest, as a punishing and slow-moving storm system unleashed life-threatening flash floods and powerful tornadoes from Mississippi to Kentucky.
Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 32, mostly women and children
Israeli strikes on Gaza killed at least 32 people, including over a dozen women and children, local health officials said Sunday, as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu headed to meet President Trump.
Second child dies from measles-related causes in West Texas, where cases near 500
A second school-aged child in West Texas has died from a measles-related illness, a hospital spokesman confirmed Sunday, as the outbreak continues to swell.
Yemen Houthi rebels say latest US strikes killed 2, day after Trump posted bomb video
Suspected U.S. airstrikes killed at least two people in a stronghold of Yemen's Houthi rebels, the group said Sunday.
1 killed in Russian attack on Kyiv as death toll from missile strike rises to 19
One person was killed Sunday as Russian air strikes hit the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, while the death toll from Friday's deadly attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih continued to rise.
