Run off for Demetruis Newton House seat District 53- Lee and Johnson in Democratic runoff
Two candidates came out on top of a four-person Democratic special primary on Tuesday to fill the House seat of the late Demetruis Newton
Whoever wins this seat will be short-lived. House Seat District 53, formerly held by Attorney Demetrius Newton who recently passed, will be eliminated starting with the 2014 election. The winner of Tuesday’s race will serve out the remainder of Newton’s term.
It was eliminated because of redistricting. In the event W.A. Casey, a Republican, stays in the race, the winner of the 53rd District seat will not be decided until the third week in March. This means the winner will only be in office for approximately three months.
At this period in time, they will have to run against an incumbent, most likely, Juandalynn Givan.
All five candidates in this race are:
Anthony “Alann’ Johnson, who says he will fight charter schools, fight for voting rights, Alabama constitutional reform, Medicaid expansion, transit in Birmingham and find a resolution for Cooper Green. Arthur D. Shores Lee, a former Marine, and grandson of civil-rights attorney Arthur Shores, will advocate for voter rights, teacher pay raises, Medicaid, gun control, economic development and responsible spending.
Demetrius C. Newton, Jr., son of the late congressman, says he is focused on employment, equal rights, community development and funding nonprofits.
Frank Topping will tackle the Alabama Accountability Act and the state’s immigration laws, community development, education and crime.
Willie ‘W. A.’ Casey, a real estate agent and Korean War Army veteran, is unchallenged and will face the winner of the Democratic primary in a special general election in 2014.
All, except Johnson, have never run for political office. We all know Johnson, whenever there is an election he runs. If you recall, he announced in 2012 that he was running for County Commissioner Sandra Little Brown’s seat. This does not mean he cannot win this time, but there are two other candidates with name recognition and the race is wide open.
According to recent polls done by the Lewis Group, Arthur Shores Lee retains a slight edge. Whether or not he retains this edge through December 10 remains to be seen.
