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(Montgomery, Alabama) Patricia Todd, who
only a few days ago was set to become the first lesbian to sit in the Alabama
legislature has had her primary victory pulled by a party committee. And,
her challenger has been disqualified by the same committee.
The committee said that both
women had violated a party campaign rule - a rule no candidate
has followed since 1988.
The chair of the committee, Amy
Burks, said that it will now to be up to the party's executive
committee to determine whether the committee decision will be
upheld and select a new nominee. The executive committee
is scheduled to meet on Saturday in Montgomery.
Todd (pictured) defeated
Gaynell Hendricks in the primary. There is no Republican
challenger.
But Hendricks' mother-in-law
filed an appeal filed with the Democratic Party claiming that
Todd timed the filing of her campaign finance report with the
Secretary of State's office shortly before the deadline to
keep voters from learning she was supported by the Victory
Fund, a Washington DC-based organization that helps the
campaigns LGBT candidates.
Todd received $25,000
contribution from the Victory Fund.
The complaint also alleged that
Todd made payment of nearly $13,000 to two primary opponents
who later endorsed her in the runoff against Hendricks.
The committee discounted the
original complaint - instead ruling in a 5 - 0 decision that
she had violated a party regulation that finance reports be
filed five days before a primary with the party chair five
days before the primary election.
The committee, however, also
found that Hendricks also had failed to file with the chair in
time.
In fact, no candidate in the
state has followed the rule, the Associated Press
reports. The difference in this case is that no
challenge had been made in any of the other races.
Although Hendricks has
maintained that the outcome of the primary likely would have
been different if Todd had openly disclosed her campaign money
had come from a national gay group Todd believes sexuality was
not the reason behind the challenge.
Todd, who is white, believes the challenge was
mounted because Hendricks, who is African American, has the backing of powerful
Blacks in the party.
Todd has never made a secret of the fact she is a
lesbian. She is associate director of AIDS Alabama.
The winner of the primary does
not face a Republican challenger and is assured a seat in the
legislature.
The Victory Fund Thursday night
issued a statement saying it will continue to fight for Todd
before the executive committee on Saturday.
“Patricia got the most votes
in two separate elections—the primary and the runoff—but
party bosses didn’t like the outcome, so now they want to
simply handpick a candidate," said president Chuck Wolfe.
"What happened today in
Montgomery was unfair, undemocratic, un-American and unwise.
Democrats in Alabama have been through this before, and they
have suffered for it. When party power brokers insist
they know better than the voters, the voters stay home.
Alabamans who care about democracy should be outraged, and
Democrats everywhere should tell party leaders to reject the
tired politics of yesterday and listen to the will of the
people, especially those who have already spoken—twice,”
said Wolfe.
The Victory Fund has endorsed
77 candidates nationwide this election cycle - more than it
has ever endorsed in any previous election.
©365Gay.com 2006
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