Opinion: What Is Left to Govern Us When Facts No Longer Bind Us?
In his 'This Matters' column, Bill Britt draws on Thomas Paine to warn that self-government erodes once facts, law and shared principle stop holding real authority over public life.
A look at Alabama’s few competitive State House races in 2022
While all 140 seats in Alabama’s Legislature are on the ballot Tuesday, few are truly contested. In the House, just 25 of 105 districts have both a Republican and a…
Insiders Sort the Winners and Losers of Alabama’s Primary Night
The morning after Alabama's June 1 primaries, political veterans across the Mobile Bay area tried to explain Robert Bentley's surge, Artur Davis's collapse and the defeat of a sitting attorney…
Council Votes 5-2 for Sales Tax Increase, Ending Six Weeks of Political Theater
Mobile's council approved a one-cent sales tax increase on a 5-2 vote. An analysis of how Mayor Sam Jones got what he wanted, what Gina Gregory extracted in return, and…
After the 2006 Vote, Mobile County’s Parties Take Stock of a Mixed Night
Democrats celebrated nationally and cheered statewide but stumbled in Mobile County. Party figures and consultants dissected losses by Gary Tanner, Chip Herrington and Pat Lindsey and asked what the results…
Does Mobile Still Have an Establishment? A Debate About Power in a City That Lost Its Headquarters
As a new Republican county commission promised tense days for Mobile's old guard, longtime observers asked a harder question at the close of 2004: does the city still have an…
Insiders Weigh a Racially Divided Mayor’s Race, and a Long-Shot Fix for Annexation
In December 2004, Mobile political insiders privately weighed the risks of a Peavy-Jones mayoral race dividing the city along racial lines, and floated a retail development as an annexation icebreaker.
To Dow or Not to Dow: The Mayor’s Long Shadow Over the District 2 Runoff
As Ralph Buffkin and Stephen Nodine headed toward a June 2004 runoff, both raced to distance themselves from Mayor Mike Dow. A look inside four mayoral elections explains why.
The Rain Came Down: How a Soggy, Sleepy Primary Reshaped the District 2 Commission Race
Rain, a holiday weekend and plain apathy held turnout to 16.2 percent in the June 1, 2004 Mobile County primary, an outcome that pushed newcomer Ralph Buffkin into a runoff…