Last week, Alabama voters elected Harri Anne Smith to the State Senate as an independent candidate. She defeated her only opponent, a Republican, by a margin of 55.2%-44.8%. She was the incumbent in the 29th district. The Republican Party had refused to let her file in this year’s Republican primary, because she had endorsed a Democrat for Congress in 2008. So, she ran as an independent, and became the first independent elected to the Alabama legislature since 1983.
As a result of the 2010 election, the Alabama legislature next year will have Republican majorities in both houses, for the first time since the 19th century. In recent years, ballot access reform bills have been introduced by Republican legislators, and they have made little progress in legislative committees with Democratic committee chairs.
Will she caucus with the GOP?
If I were her, I wouldn’t.
Neither would I, I also wouldn’t caucus with the Dems.
I made attempts to personally contact this “independent” senator several times regarding ballot access bills. She would never even return a phone call. I hope to have some bills introduced this next session. I am not at liberty yet to discuss them or who will introduce them, but if Libertarians, Greens, and Constitutionalists sit on their “butts” and not help me, then I’ve washed my hands of this route. All of you then deserve to stand out in the freezing cold or scalding sun collecting signatures.
The 29th District has elected an incumbent who has been indicted by the U.S. Attorney of 19 charges and who will most likely not be in attendance during the legislative session due to her scheduled trial. The Ala. Leg. Session runs from March 1 to June 13; however, Harri Anne Smith and her co-defendants begin their trial on April 4. According to news reports, this trial could last months. No one expects Harri Anne Smith to get a “pass” from the judge to skip the trial to attend the legislative session. So the 29th District will not have any representation. In the anticipated worst case senario – Harri Anne Smith being convicted on one or more of the charges and goes to jail – then Governor Bentley will appoint someone else (mostly a Republican) to serve out the remainder of her term. So basically the 55 percent in the 29th District who voted for her, voted not to have any representation in the senate this coming year until the federal trial runs its course.
To Wiregrass Voter. Are you interested in helping me with election bills that would give 3rd parties and independents in Alabama easier access to the general election ballot? If so, let me know via a post on BAN and we’ll get in contact.