By Virginia Martin | birminghamwatch.org
Some Birmingham-area voters will be going to the polls Tuesday to select a Democratic nominee to run for the Alabama House of Representatives District 52 seat, which recently was left vacant after former Rep. John Rogers resigned and pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges.
Six Democrats are running for the seat: Dedra Campbell, Kelvin Datcher, Eric Major, LaTanya Millhouse, Eyrika L. Parker and Frank Woodson. If none of the candidates gets more than half of the votes, there will be a runoff between the top two votegetters on July 16.
One Republican is running for the seat – Carlos Crum. Since he had no challengers for the Republican nomination, there won’t be a Republican ballot in Tuesday’s election.
The general election on Oct. 1 will pit Crum against the Democratic winner.
One polling location change has been reported by the Jefferson County Board of Registrars. The voting site at Miles College remains on campus but has been moved to the student center from the gym.
House District 52 covers parts of Birmingham, including the Glen Iris, Powderly, Southwest Birmingham and West End communities; along with sections of Homewood, Mountain Brook, Bessemer and unincorporated Jefferson County. See the map here.
You can determine whether you’re in House District 52 by looking up your name on the Secretary of State’s website.
BirminghamWatch’s Voter Guide for the race also includes candidate profiles on the candidates, a compilation of the candidates’ statements on why they should be elected and the issues that are most important to them.
Rogers has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. The charges stem from a kickback scheme that involved giving $400,000 from the taxpayer-funded Jefferson County Community Service Fund to the Piper Davis Youth Baseball League and then, along with his assistant, receiving $200,00 of that money back.
According to the plea deal, Rogers will serve 14 months of home confinement and an undefined length of time on supervised release, and Rogers agreed to pay $197,950.45 in restitution along with his two alleged conspirators, according to his plea agreement.
Two others previously pleaded guilty in connection with the case. Rep. Fred Plump, a Democrat from Fairfield who was executive director of the league, resigned from the Legislature and pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges in June 2023. Varrie Johnson Kindall, Rogers’ assistant and companion, pleaded guilty in February to conspiring with Rogers and Plump to defraud the fund.
Plump’s seat in the Legislature was filled by Travis Hendrix after a special election in October 2023.
Updated at 12:08 p.m. on June 17, 2024 p.m.
