Wise drops out of Jefferson County Commission race
Jeff O. Wise said he was underfunded and understaffed in his bid for the District 5 seat on the Jefferson County Commission.
“I’ve always been the underdog,” he said Sunday.
Thursday, the underdog bowed out. Wise dropped out of the race to fill the unexpired term of Steve Ammons, who stepped down recently to take the job of CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance.
Wise’s decision to drop out leaves only Alabama Supreme Court Justice Mike Bolin and developer David Silverstein in Tuesday’s election.
“I was fighting an uphill battle there to some degree,” the 65-year-old said. “With three candidates in the race, I didn’t want to diminish the Republican vote.”
Wise is throwing his support behind Bolin.
“I am endorsing my fellow Republican Mike Bolin to be our next District 5 commissioner,” the former candidate said. “After talking with Mike today, I feel confident that he is the best person for the position at this time. Mike shares my conservative values and will do an outstanding job for us.
“I entered this race because I want to see our county and our communities reach their full potential,” Wise continued. “Next Tuesday’s special election for county commissioner is vitally important to the future of Jefferson County and I will be voting for Mike Bolin.”
Wise said he was late getting out of the gate on his campaign.
“We got a late start because I was out of the country,” he said.
Wise said he had been in meetings all day Thursday, including with Bolin.
The election to fill the open seat is nonpartisan.
Bolin’s prior runs for judicial office have always been as a Republican.
Silverstein’s campaign has said he is a nonpartisan candidate.
“He’s supported Republicans as well as Democrats in the past and believes in electing the best person for the job,” campaign spokeswoman Claire Brickson said.
State campaign finance records show Silverstein has given money to both Democratic and Republican candidates’ campaigns, though more frequently to Democrats, and he has donated to the Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee. Silverstein also voted in Democratic primaries in at least 2020, 2018 and 2017, Jefferson County voting lists show.
Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in District 5.
Alabama’s prison population sees troubling growth in latest DOJ report
For the first time in nearly a decade, U.S. prison populations are trending up. Alabama's numbers are a part of troubling gains across the Gulf South.
A narrowing Republican presidential field will debate in Tuscaloosa Wednesday
Four candidates will be on stage at the University of Alabama for their last scheduled meeting before the Iowa caucuses kick off the presidential nominating season next month. Former President Donald Trump, the race’s clear front-runner, will not be among them.
Place, Erased: A virtual listening session with the Gulf States Newsroom; RSVP now
Join us as we listen to the recent series about towns transformed by major environmental shifts and talk with the reporters about what they learned.
Tuberville is ending blockade of most military nominees
Tuberville’s blockade of military promotions was over a dispute about a Pentagon abortion policy. The Alabama Republican said Tuesday he’s “not going to hold the promotions of these people any longer.”
Man featured in ‘S-Town’ podcast shot and killed by police during standoff, authorities say
Joseph Tyler Goodson was shot by officers after he barricaded himself inside a home and “brandished a gun" at officers early Sunday, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said. Bibb County Coroner Patrick Turner said that Goodson was pronounced “brain dead” Tuesday night at a hospital.
The next Republican debate is in Alabama, the state that gave the GOP a road map to Donald Trump
The state that propelled George Wallace, a Democrat and four-term governor, into national politics is now dominated by Republicans loyal to Donald Trump, another figure who leans heavily on grievance and white identity politics.