BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Anthony “Alann” Johnson said his victory Tuesday in a special election for Alabama House District 53 was just the start. “This is a launching pad,” he said. “This is a beginning.” With 23 of 24 precincts reporting, Johnson, a Democrat, earned 68 percent of the vote to beat Republican Willie “W.A.” Casey in a special election to replace the late state Rep. Demetrius Newton Sr.
Because his district will move to Huntsville as part of redistricting, Johnson will only serve until the winners of November’s elections are sworn in. But that hasn’t dampened the effect of the win for Johnson, the executive director of Leadership Jefferson County, an Ordained Minister/Civil Rights Activist and the Titusville Community President.
Earlier Johnson prevailed over Frank Topping and Demetrius Newton Jr. and he beat Arthur Shores Lee 56 percent to 44 percent in a Democratic primary runoff on February 4, while Casey was unopposed in the Republican primary.
On Tuesday, April 1, with 23 of the precincts in, only 2.3 percent of the registered voters in the district, which covers parts of Jefferson County and Birmingham, turned out to vote. Johnson had 320 votes to Casey’s 150.
