“Rumors and Rumblings” is a weekly feature that runs each Wednesday. It includes short nuggets of information that we glean from conversations throughout the week. Have a tip? Send it here.
It’s been a slow week in the rumor mill coming off of the holiday weekend… and it’s all been made worse by the fact that Yellowhammer is in the process of relocating from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham. Nothing seems to make folks more upset than R&R not being ready when they fire up their computer on Wednesday morning…my apologies & thanks for reading.
There may be additional rumors & rumblings added as the day goes on…
1. Last week we gave you the lay of the land in House District 34. A pack of candidates was poised to jump in the race to succeed Rep. Elwyn Thomas who was recently appointed by Governor Bentley to be Executive Director of the Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission.
Those candidates were:
James Bryson – Mayor of Highland Lake, Alabama
John Dobson – former District Judge, current head of the Blount County adult drug court
Jim Murphree – former Democrat State Representative who Elwyn Thomas defeated in 1998
Donny Ray – Executive Director, Blount-Oneonta Chamber of Commerce
David Standridge – Blount County Probate Judge
Tim Whitley – Farmer, former president of the Blount County Farmers Federation
Over the last week, third party polling showed Blount County Probate Judge David Standridge with a commanding lead among likely voters. The polling indicated that Standridge has strong favorables among Republicans and also showed him outpacing the competition by a large margin on issues such as integrity, values and job creation.
2. I’ll be speaking in Birmingham on Thursday to the Summit Investors Group. Their political action committee, Summit PAC, hosts regular luncheons and meetings that enable investors to support pro-business political candidates. Well known Birmingham businessman and philanthropist John Sellers chairs the group. If you’re interested in bringing me in to talk to your political group or civic organization, drop me a line here.
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