The Tuscaloosa News has published an editorial about the recent sea change in City government. “Four years ago, incumbents waltzed back into office with nary a loss. This year, every incumbent that drew opposition went down in defeat. Not only was it an interesting turnabout from 2009, but it ran contrary to the results from this year’s Tuscaloosa City Board of Education races. Well-funded challengers faced the incumbent board members, and all but one lost. The results of that lone loss were very close and are being challenged.”

D’oh!

The citizens were fed up with the way the City has been run. They were  tired of the special, big money interests being allowed to run roughshod over the downtown area. They’re disgusted with the power of political action committees. They were beginning to wake up and see how people such as Richard Shelby and Mike Echols are pulling the strings of local politicians, no one perhaps more than the Mayor Walter Maddox.

The last time the City had such a turnover was in 2005 when three candidates decided not or run for a seat on the council.  Jason Morton reported in the Tuscaloosa News that former Council President Jerry Plott, who was one of the three not vying for re-election in 2005, attributed the loses of incumbents to their failure to press the flesh. “He said he doesn’t believe it was the policies or decisions of the incumbents that led to their defeat but rather that “the challengers did what they had to do to win, and that’s knocking on doors.

Yeah, right!