November 6, 2008
Bright to remain mayor until January
By Sebastian Kitchen
Bobby Bright will have two titles for the next few weeks -- mayor and congressman-elect.
Bright, not many hours after claiming a historic victory to become the next congressman for the 2nd District, said Wednesday that he plans to continue to work as mayor of Montgomery until he is sworn in as congressman.
"I owe it to the people who elected me to give them every hour until I'm sworn," the mayor said.
Bright said he is uncertain exactly when he will be sworn in as a member of Congress. He defeated Republican state Rep. Jay Love by less than 1,800 votes on Tuesday to become the first Democrat since 1962 to win that seat.
As mayor, he said he will work on day-to-day issues and begin to work on the transition to a new chief executive. Bright is in his third term as mayor.
He said he received calls Wednesday from three people interested in running to be the city's next mayor. Bright would not reveal who had called, but said they were looking for his support.
"I will look real hard at that," he said. "I do not want a mayor to come in here and undo what we have done in the last eight to 10 years."
Montgomery does not need a mayor who wants the prestige and does not want to hold the office for the right reasons, Bright said.
The future mayor needs to love the city, he added.
Montgomery residents will head to the polls sometime between February and April to elect a new mayor.
If Bright were to change his mind and resign his post early, the soonest the special election could be held is in February. If the mayor stays in office until he is sworn into the House of Representatives in January, then the latest the election could be held is in early April.
The timing of any special election will hinge on when Bright leaves office, Montgomery City Clerk Brenda Blalock said.
Once Bright steps down -- whether on his own or upon his swearing in -- City Council President Charles Jinright will become the interim mayor. The City Council will call a special meeting to set the date for the special election.
"He's not the congressman until he actually swears in as congressman. He doesn't have to vacate the office until that time," Jinright said.
Blalock said there appears to be misinformation circulating in the community that the candidate with the most votes would be named the winner of the election even if they didn't have a majority of the votes. In fact, there would be a run-off unless a candidate received at least 50 percent plus one vote. The run-off would be held six weeks after the election.
She believes this fallacy is rooted in the memory of former Mayor Emory Folmar winning a special election in a landslide after Jim Robinson resigned in the 1970s.
The method used to determine the special election date mirrors Alabama Code and takes into account the time required for military absentee voting, according to Blalock.
It's also the same method used last year when Joe Reed, chairman of the Alabama Democratic Conference, accused the city of setting the date for the municipal election so that students at Alabama State University could not participate. Reed said the Aug. 28, 2007, election date discriminated against blacks, particularly the students at ASU and wanted the date moved back to Oct. 2.
The Montgomery City Council voted in July to make the method part of the city's official procedure and the U.S. Department of Justice has approved it.
When Bright arrives in Washington, he expects an adjustment period as he moves from the executive branch of government to the legislative branch.
He is looking forward to serving in Congress, but said he would be sad to leave the mayor's office because it has been an enjoyable and challenging job.
There are 16 counties with 92 incorporated municipalities in the 2nd District, which Bright said he will now be looking out for.
Bright's phone has not stopped ringing since he was declared the winner Tuesday night, increasing the Democrats' margin in the U.S. House.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and several other current members of Congress have called Bright, including Artur Davis, Bud Cramer, Jo Bonner, Robert Aderholt, John Tanner and Charlie Melancon.
Aderholt, R-Haleyville, called to congratulate him about 3 p.m. while the mayor was talking to the Montgomery Advertiser.
Bright, who will be one of two new members in Alabama's congressional delegation along with Democrat Parker Griffith, thanked Aderholt for the call and said he would depend on him as he was learning his way as a freshman in Washington.
Media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and The Hill, also sought out Bright for stories.
He went to sleep about 2:30 a.m. and woke up at 5:30 a.m. to prepare for a 6:30 a.m. TV interview, which was followed by several interviews with radio programs.
Bright said he was "fatigued right now, but I'm ready to go."
After those morning interviews, Bright traveled to Ozark. He visited the grave of his sister, Shirley Woodham of Ozark, who died a month ago. He was very close with her and told her he would visit her if she could not make it to election night.
"I lived up to my commitment to her," Bright said of visiting the gravesite.
He believes his sister helped him pull out the close race. During the Republican primary, Woodham e-mailed candidate Harri Anne Smith, a state senator from Slocomb.
Woodham supported Smith in the primary and told Smith she would like her to support her brother if she lost.
Smith, who later endorsed Bright after a contentious runoff with Love, has said the e-mail played a part in her endorsement.
"That could have made a difference in this election," Bright said.
Smith joined Bright in Montgomery on Tuesday night, but most supporters did not see him until after 11:30 p.m. when he came out to claim victory. Bright headed down from a downtown hotel suite where he had been monitoring results to the ballroom. At that time, Love had not conceded and The Associated Press had not called the race in his favor.
Bright said he felt comfortable with the vote totals at about 10:15 p.m. He said he was ready to go down and address supporters, but he waited to ensure "we had the cushion to claim it." The major factor in the delay was one outstanding box in Dothan.
"We knew the numbers and we knew we had won," Bright said Wednesday afternoon.
Staff writer Jill Nolin contributed to this report.
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