By Barnett Wright | The Birmingham Times
Kelvin Datcher, Birmingham’s deputy director of community development since 2017, on Tuesday won the Special Primary Runoff for the House District 52 seat, receiving 831 votes or 55.18 percent to Frank Woodson’s 675 votes, or 44.82, according to unofficial results.
Turnout was 4.4 percent.
Datcher will be the Democratic nominee to fill the Alabama House of Representatives District 52 seat recently left vacant after former Rep. John Rogers resigned and pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges.
Datcher is likely to claim the seat for the next term. The Republican who had been running for his party’s nomination, Carlos Crum, dissolved his campaign last week. So, at the moment, there is no Republican name on the general election ballot.
“It is humbling and overwhelming at the same time,” Datcher told AL.com at his victory party at Hemings at the Thomas Jefferson Tower in downtown Birmingham. “I’m just so excited to have this opportunity to serve.”
“It’s overwhelming to think that people would trust you with one of the most precious things they could have and that’s their vote to represent them and give voice to their concern, to invite me into their homes to discuss things that are important to them, that impact their family and their future,” Datcher said.
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.
The 54-year-old said he brings the experience needed to build a stronger relationship between Birmingham and state government.
” I really want to make sure that we have great collaboration between our local elected officials, city councilors, mayors and county commissioners and state elected officials,” he said. “The goal is to get them into a room, to spend time together, talk and feel comfortable sharing our own ideas and visions about what makes our community great, then moving together and speaking as one voice when we get to Montgomery.”
In the primary, Datcher received 37.95 percent of the vote and Woodson, a nonprofit executive and president and CEO of CityServe Alabama, received 17.78 percent.
