In Tuscaloosa, home of The Crimson Tide, many out-of-town football fans who were walking to the stadium for the football team’s last home game of the season last Saturday may have noticed the red Kelly Horwitz for School Board election campaign signs that remained in the yards of District 4 residents.

The signs stood in silent protest of an election that was made into a mockery of democracy by University students aligned with the interests of The Machine. Some of the signs had fallen into a bed of Autumn leaves. Many remained upright. Horwitz supporters had refused to remove the signs in their yards. They felt that their votes had been negated by the fraudulent behavior of students who voted for The Machine candidate Cason Kirby.

By leaving the signs in their yards the permanent residents of District 4 were proclaiming that they voted for the only qualified candidate in the race. Many football fans, some of whom even might have been the parents of students who voted in the local municipal race, were scurrying to the stadium and feeling the nip of the November day’s chilly wind. They likely paid scant attention to the defiant election signs.

Of course parents of students who voted in the School Board race may have heard complaints from their children that they had had to fill out affidavits. Instead of compelling the hundreds of students who had questionable motives for voting and dubious residency qualifications to testify under oath in court, Circuit Court Judge James Roberts had allowed the students to fill out forms. Then he dismissed the challenge, never letting any testimony in court about the circumstances under which University students voted in a local school board race to find the light of day. After all many of the students who voted had never even heard of a school board, prior to their following the dictates of The Machine to vote for a former Student Government Association President.

A few days following the Crimson Tide’s football victory a headline in The Tuscaloosa News “Kelly Horwitz appeals school board election challenge to Alabama Supreme Court” may have lifted the spirits of her supporters. Having any success in the Alabama Supreme Court and with its justices, who are all Republicans with Roy ( Ten Commandments ) Moore as the Chief Justice, may be a long shot. But many District 4 voters who have felt that their school board was damaged by the votes of feckless students welcomed the last salvo in a battle for democracy.

In The Tuscaloosa News Stephanie Taylor reported: “In dismissing her challenge, Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court Judge Jim Roberts ruled there were not enough potential illegal ballots to overturn the results. Horwitz filed a notice of appeal Monday morning and issued a statement to the media. ‘It was not an easy decision, nor one that I made lightly,’ the statement read.”During Circuit Court proceedings last month, Horwitz attributed her loss in the Aug. 27 election to organized block voting by members of University of Alabama Greek organizations. Her attorneys have characterized their actions as voter fraud. They claim many those voters were not eligible in the district, or voted after being offered illegal inducements, including free drinks and concert tickets.

“In his ruling dismissing the case, Roberts wrote that Horwitz’s attorneys never presented evidence to prove allegations that students were offered wristbands for free drinks at local bars and other inducements that could render a vote illegal, and therefore invalid. Furthermore, Roberts wrote that he never prevented Horwitz’s attorneys from deposing students to prove those claims. Horwitz’s attorneys disagree. They claim Roberts did in fact bar them from deposing those students, according to a motion filed Monday morning.

“‘Twice in the past 16 years, my district has been embroiled in an election contest raising the same issues – what constitutes “residency” in a municipal election. Twice now, there have been no definitive answers,’ Horwitz wrote in her statement. ‘Every time the residency requirement is ignored, it waters down the votes of those who are proper residents. That is what concerns the long-term residents of District 4 and ought to concern residents of other districts, because the student population is no longer limited to campus or any particular district. These concerns need to be addressed and certainty provided.’

“‘No matter what happens with the appeal, it is just one part of a larger conversation that many Tuscaloosans would like to see happen, and of larger changes that Tuscaloosans want to see take root.'”

It was just a prank after all. The Machine at the University of Alabama, in a district that consists of  80% students, just wanted to flex a little muscle in a local school board race. True. The Machine hardly represents all of the University students or, for that matter, even the Greeks on campus. But Machine dominance over Tuscaloosa’s District 4 was made official by the rulings of Judge James Roberts in the challenge to Machine backed candidate Cason Kirby’s election.

Stephanie Taylor in The Tuscaloosa News article “Judge dismisses Kelly Horwitz school board election challenge; Kirby victory upheld”  reported that Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court Judge Roberts opined: “This court finds that, like any elector, a student voter does not lose his or her obtained domicile because he or she is not physically present in his or her college district due to temporarily leaving for the summer.

“The election contest raised questions of the influence of a group within the University of Alabama’s Greek system called The Machine, which organizes block voting in support of preferred candidates.

“Horwitz’s attorneys said that voters who belonged to certain Greek organizations were pressured to vote for Kirby, but the judge would not accept the evidence they offered. Facebook messages, emails and Tweets submitted as proof of bribery are ‘inadmissible hearsay,’ Roberts wrote in the order dismissing the case.”

Oh, yes, that flaming bag of poop you just stepped in is of no consequence. If you live in Tuscaloosa you’d just better get used to walking around with dog shit on your shoes. You’ll get used to the smell.

Attorney Andy Campbell who represented Cason Kirby in Judge Roberts’ court preposterously proclaimed: “We are also gratified that the court validated the vote and cleared the name of each of the over 350 students challenged on grounds of corruption. As the court found, there was no valid evidence supporting these allegations, only that these students exercised their first amendment rights to vote. It is now time to move forward.” Roberts was an 2011 appointee of Republican Gov. Robert Bentley

At the first School Board meeting, after which Kirby was sworn in, the school staff members smiled and raised their eyebrows after the board left the meeting room for an executive session. They were aware of how ill-prepared the new Chair Lee Garrison and Board member Cason Kirby had been. Unspoken words and knowing glances showed their concern that the coming year could be a very long one. They knew that, without Kelly Horwitz, the school board would be playing “catch-up” for a long time. On the other hand, the students who had voted for Garrison and Kirby because of the candidates’ Machine background could care less about the success of the School Board.

Few election challenges succeed. In this case, because of the blatant behavior by students who were obeying the dictates of The Machine, there had been a fleeting ray of hope that illuminated the cesspool of T-Town politics. But Judge Roberts’ sentiment that bad behavior was not worth even looking into left the politics of Tuscaloosa in a fetid, malodorous swamp where the kiddies self-pleasured themselves in the dark.

Today two candidates were sworn in whose election may have been due to fraudulent voting orchestrated by the The Machine at the University of Alabama. The election for District 4 had been contested by Kelly Horwitz although Cason Kirby was sworn in. The election for the School Board Chair was uncontested since the burden of proof was greater. Contesting an election is rarely successful and legal costs can run in the neighborhood of $100,000.

Should the the election of Cason Kirby be successfully contested, since he was sworn in anyway today, the judge could conceivably declare a vacancy and the 4th District School Board representative would be appointed. In that case the incumbent Horwitz would not automatically resume her service on the board. However it is much more likely that she would be declared the duly elected school board member.

There were  excellent performances by the Tuscaloosa City School’s String Orchestra, two ministers prayed and robed judges swore in the elected members of the School Board and City Council.  On the surface things seemed fine and dandy. But not even pomp and ceremony could erase the role that The Machine had played in interfering with a local school board election that stunk to high heaven.

Newly elected School Board Chair Lee Garrison, who squeaked by with a final vote count of 4,442 votes to 4,220, was backed by The Machine and business interests. He spoke for over eight minutes calling for “sweeping changes.”  This was longer than remarks by the School Superintendent, Council President or Mayor. Many people in the audience appeared inattentive after the first five or so minutes of his rambling comments.  Jason Morton reported in The Tuscaloosa News that the Mayor’s response to Garrison’s statement  was, “I’m ready to learn about (Garrison’s ideas) because they are bold. There’s nothing wrong about putting big ideas on the table.”

Mayor Walter Maddox spoke about the improvements that the City of Tuscaloosa that have been made in the west side of town, including the new Tuscaloosa Career & Technology Academy in which the inauguration took place. It is ironic that it was thought by many that the motive for business interests, who attempted unsuccessfully to unseat all the School Board incumbents, was their dissatisfaction with the Academy having been located in the west side.

Why would students at the University hire a lawyer just before Halloween?  Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, is celebrated  yearly at The Capstone when local children haunt Sorority Row. Candy is distributed by the co-eds to the tiny Trick-Or-Treaters.  On most other occasions fraternity members besotted by love and/or alcohol, football fans or election day limos have frequented the part of the campus reserved for sorority girls. It was suggested that appropriate costumes for the disguised little tikes this year might be an “I Voted” sticker, a beer bottle or a shot glass. Maybe some could even be dressed as Back Street Boys?  Many of the kids may end up with a School Board Member that represents them who was chosen by the Greeks. Why shouldn’t they at least get some candy too?

All Hallows Eve celebrates the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day.  It initiates the triduum of Hallowmas, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers. This year many of the University’s Greek students are apparently feeling martyred.

Attorney Robert Prince is quoted in a  report by Stepanie Jones in The Tuscaloosa News Kelly Horwitz election challenge: Several University of Alabama Greek Organizations hire attorney to represent members.*

“I was surprised the plaintiff chose to list the unprotected names of UA students, some of whom were 18 and 19 years old, when she made her allegations of voter misconduct. Needless to say, that has had a chilling effect on some of them about exercising their right to vote. They, as all qualified U.S. citizens, have the right to freely cast their vote and do it by secret ballot.

“Our petition to intervene on behalf of the listed fraternities and sororities is designed to protect that right, while hopefully shielding them from further personal condemnation.”

Affidavits from 400 or so students are due on Halloween. The notarized 36-question documents were ordered by Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge James Roberts, so that hundreds of students would not be inconvenienced  by having to line up like cattle to testify in the halls of justice.

It was reported in The Tuscaloosa News that:  Horwitz claims many of the voters didn’t meet residency requirements or were illegally influenced by Greek organizations that offered incentives, such as free drinks, to vote for Kirby.

Prince, who filed a motion to intervene on behalf of members belonging to the UA chapters of Pi Kappa Alpha and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternities, and Zeta Tau Alpha, Kappa Delta and Alpha Omicron Pi sororities, also represents Sayre Kearley, an individual whose ballot is being contested.

On the day of the election student voters were only whining about the trouble that they were going through to get a free drink. One Instagram image of a smiling Chi O member riding to the polls in a limousine went viral. The student then made her Instagram account private. Now Greeks are lawyering up because their feelings are hurt. Some students who were asked to fess up about illegally voting in a local school board election so that they could get a free drink or a ticket to a concert have now even sought legal counsel.

Maybe they should take heed of Dr. Seuss who said, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

*According to the campus newspaper Crimson White some fraternal organizations have been removed from the motion.

For over fifteen years Tuscaloosa’s District 4 has been controlled by The Machine at the University of Alabama. In 1997 while still an undergraduate student and married to Student Government Association President Jessica Garrison, Lee Garrison figured out that he could register droves of students. As directed by The Machine they would vote for him in his race for the City Council.. Many probably had previously been unaware that Tuscaloosa even had a City Council. Some were reported as having asked who they were supposed to be voting for as they emerged from the shuttle buses that they were carried to the polling place in.  It is said that the students were rewarded afterwards with free booze at the Jaycee Park building.

Garrison has run unopposed for the Council position ever since, with the exception of 2005. ( A flyer with the picture of him wearing the notorious penis mask emerged in that contest but it did not affect the outcome any more than it did in 2013. )  Garrison developed such strong ties with both former University President Robert Witt and the current President Judy Bonner that they contributed money to his successful campaign for the Chair of the School Board.

The vote of students affiliated with The Machine in Districts 1 and 4 in all likelihood contributed to Garrison’s victory. After the election many residents in District 4 regretted having voted for Garrison when they found out about his role in trying to defeat popular School Board candidate Kelly Horwitz. As soon as the election was over he put his house in District 4 up for sale and and planned to move to an affluent neighborhood across the river.

There is no certainty what part Garrison played as a City Council member in redrawing the borders for District 4. In 2013 a large sliver of neighborhoods containing permanent residents was cut out of the district. That with any doubt increased the power of The Machine at the District 4 polling place. Matt Calderone ran unopposed to replace Garrison on the Council. Calderone, who lives in a rented house in District 4, is a recent graduate of the University of Alabama where he was The Machine’s choice for President of the Student Government Association. Cason Kirby who ran against Kelly Horwitz for a School Board seat in District 4 had also been a President of the University’s Student Government Association who was supported by The Machine.

The challenge to the results of Cason Kirby’s win in the District 4 School Board race mirrors the challenge to Lee Garrison’s win in 1997. The increased popularity of social media in 2013 as well as ubiquitous emailing has revealed more information about how The Machine drums up the student vote.

Free booze as one incentive for students to vote however never was provided by local bars. The Alabama Beverage Control Board was tipped off about the plan to give free drink wristbands to student in exchange for “I Voted” stickers and the bars involved were contacted before the first drink was poured. In the legal filing challenging the legitimacy of the student vote one student who was overheard at the polling place was quoted as saying, “Man, that was a lot of work for a free drink!”  As it turned out all of his efforts were in vain for he could probably couldn’t have cared less who sat on the School Board.

The limousine rides from streets that were lined with fraternity and sorority houses to the polling places may have been paid for by “in-kind contributions” to Lee Garrison from political action committees. There was no record in Cason Kirby financial disclosures of expenditures for transportation.  ( Matrix LLC received $19,696.08 in campaign expenditures from Kirby. Perhaps Matrix LLC was the source of all of the Cason Kirby teeshirts worn by his supporters who were transported to the polling places in the limos? )  As yet only students have been reported to have received such rides to go exercise their right to vote.

After weeks of uncertainty it now appears that University of Alabama students will be hauled into court to testify under oath as to whether they legitimately cast their votes in the Tuscaloosa School Board race.  Although the trial will begin on October 31, students who voted illegally will find it difficult to disguise themselves as actual residents of District 4.

The Tuscaloosa News has reported that the: legal challenge to the results of the District 4 Tuscaloosa City Board of Education election is going to trial after all. Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court Judge James Roberts ruled Thursday that incumbent Kelly Horwitz had met the legal requirements of Alabama law to move forward with her challenge. In the same order, Roberts dismissed a motion on behalf of board member-elect Cason Kirby to disallow the challenge. The trial is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Oct. 31.

In Case No. CV-2013-901093.00 of HORWITZ KELLY (Plaintiff) V. KIRBY CASON, (Defendant ) it was stipulated that the attorneys for Kelly Horwitz has met the burden of proof necessary to contest the election:

An “election contest is strictly statutory, and the statute must be strictly observed and construed.” Washington v. Hill, 960 So. 2d 643, 646 (Ala. 2006). Ala. Code §17-16-48 states: No testimony must be received of any illegal votes or of the rejection of any legal votes in any contested election commenced under the provisions of this article unless the party complaining thereof has given to the adverse party notice in writing of the number of illegal votes and by whom given and for whom given, and at what precinct or voting place cast, or the number of legal votes rejected, and by whom offered, and at what precinct or voting place cast, which the party expects to prove on the trial. Such notice must be served personally or left at the residence or usual place of business of the adverse party at least 10 days before the taking of testimony in reference to such votes. 

At a minimum, the contestant’s list complied with the notice requirements of §17-16-48 by providing the alleged number of illegal votes (397), by whom (the individuals listed) and for whom the vote was given (the contestee), and the voting place where the vote was cast (Calvary Baptist Church Annex). The contestant argues that by providing the required information under §17-16-48 as well as reasons why each vote is illegal, she has both met and exceeded the requirements of §17-16-48.

Before the October 17 ruling on the legal challenge Kirby’s attorney Andy Campbell had been dismissive of the challenge, as reported by Stephanie Taylor in the Tuscaloosa News:

Andy Campbell, the attorney representing District 4 school board member-elect Cason Kirby asked a judge to dismiss Kelly Horwitz’s election contest, calling it a “fishing expedition” based on “speculation and innuendo.”

“What we have in this case is a trial in the newspaper. Accusations are flying around with no evidence,” Campbell, when asking the judge not allow the challenged student voters to be subpoenaed, said. “I ask the court not to turn this into a three-ring circus.”

“Character assassination is what this is,” he said. “They’re attempting to disenfranchise a group of students, the Greek students, because they don’t like how they voted.”

Contested elections in the past have been hard to overturn. An earlier unsuccessful challenge was the subject of the December 28, 1997 Tuscaloosa News article “Election Contested”:

What is a resident? That has become the central issue that could decide whether Councilman Lee Garrison retains the Tuscaloosa City Council District 4 seat he won by 84 votes in the August election. Opponent Don Brown contested the election claiming Garrison benefited from the illegal votes, largely cast by students who don’t need residency requirements.

A University of Alabama senior and former Inter-fraternity Council President, Garrison and his forces registered hundreds of college students to vote. One of the issues became whether students or permanent residents could control the district election. 

While Brown’s forces did not challenge enough votes to make up the difference in Garrison’s margin of victory, his attorneys have been successful in putting voters, mostly students, on the witness stand. They were questioned about where they consider their primary residence and some were required to reveal who they voted for.  

Virtually nonexistent residency requirements leave the outcome completely in doubt. Should circuit Judge Bernard Harwood overturn Garrisons victory, a lengthy appeal is expected.

Kelly Horwitz’s challenge to the School Board election results may finally be a step in overturning the tyranny of The Machine. The outrageous machinations this year of a small group of University of Alabama Greek leaders have been widely reported. The Machine may have over-stepped the boundaries of civil behavior to the extent that its attempt to manipulate a local election may actually fail. An opinion piece  “Machine’s silence worth a thousand words”  by Asher Elbein appeared In the campus newspaper The Crimson White:

On Monday, the very day when Kelly Horowitz filed a brief alleging fraud in the Tuscaloosa municipal elections, we woke to find our residence halls covered in fliers. Each purported to be an announcement for a public meeting held by Theta Nu Epsilon, and each was emblazoned with a pair of crossed keys and a grinning skull. The Machine apparently was going on a recruitment drive, and the whole campus was invited.

Honestly, that’s what should have tipped everybody off that it was a hoax. The free pizza and beer was pretty obvious, sure, and the UA Still Stands hashtag was a dead giveaway. But the real sign was the laughable idea that the Machine has any interest in mixing with the rest of the campus. The Machine reacts to inclusivity like a cockroach reacts to the bathroom light: a hurried dash into shadows and a frantic squeeze into the slimiest crack it can find.

Theta Nu Epsilon doesn’t hand out refreshments unless you buy them with votes. Theta Nu Epsilon doesn’t want the whole campus to show up to anything. Theta Nu Epsilon doesn’t care about what you have to say.

Here’s what Theta Nu Epsilon does care about: In 1976, cloaked men burned crosses on sorority lawns after Cleo Thomas – to this day our only black SGA president – beat the Machine-backed candidate. In 1986, members of the Machine broke into an independent candidate’s office and left one of his staffers in the hospital after he was allegedly jumped outside his dormitory. In 1993, a candidate running against the Machine was attacked with a knife. In 2004, a freshman from a Machine sorority was driven off campus by threats, including a warning she related to The Crimson White: “You ****ed up the day you decided to start thinking against us.” In 2013, a formerly Machine-backed candidate for the Tuscaloosa Board of Education elections won with an overwhelmingly greek vote – votes that are now being challenged as coerced at best and fraudulent at worst.

Much of the above isn’t proven, of course. It’s hard to make things stick to the Machine. It’s hard to get them to even acknowledge their own existence. Theta Nu Epsilon is, after all, a secret society. It works best in the dark, with secret meetings and secret ballots and secret emails. If the Machine were real, its members would have to account for their behavior. They would have to take responsibility.

You know, I was going to write something sarcastic this week. I was going to have a little fun with this. But this is both too serious and too pathetic to make fun of. Our campus is run by children playing at cloak-and-dagger politics. They will go off into the world having learned that corruption is acceptable, accountability is for other people and you can get away with anything if you just keep quiet whenever you’re caught breaking society’s rules.

So we wake up in the aftermath of a stolen election with fake fliers everywhere. Theta Nu Epsilon says nothing. But its silence says everything.

As reported in The Tuscaloosa News by Stephanie Taylor attorneys for 4th District Tuscaloosa School Board candidate Kelly Horwitz, who lost by a margin of 87 votes to “Machine” candidate Cason Kirby, have filed a brief challenging the election’s outcome.

A memo on residency was filed on October 14th by James H. Anderson who is the attorney representing Kelly Horwitz in the Circuit Court of Tuscaloosa County.

Part of the memo is as follows:

“A member of Delta Gamma has revealed that at one point during recruitment, the girls were in the basement of the sorority house when they were handed voter registration cards. They were told that they were not permitted to leave the basement until they filled them out. They all filled out the cards even though many expressed that they did not want to move their registration to Tuscaloosa. This same person has revealed that many of the girls put the Delta Gamma house as their address even though they do not live there. While this is certainly a form of ‘misconduct,’ the Contestant will address this event with regard to whether those girls meet the residency requirements to vote in this election.

“The text of an email to Delta Gamma members (with the exception of names which have been deleted) is as follows:

The election is tomorrow! Polls open at 7 am. If you registered to vote, go to the polls and vote! Be sure and have your license or ACT card with you. There will be limos on sorority row taking people to the polls.  If you get in a limo, remember which color it is or the name of it so you will come back to the same location you got on! When you get to the polls, be confident. If there is media, DO NOT TALK TO THEM AT ALL. Do not go near a camera or reporter. If they come up to you, just say no, but don’t be rude. After you vote, come back to the house and give [name deleted] or me your ‘I Voted’ sticker. You will then get a wristband for voting! We will be in the informal living room. Please go before 4:00 if you can vote.

If you have any problems, call me! Next, you should have received a voter registration ID card that tells you where to go vote on the front of it. If your name is listed below then go vote at CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH, not the Rec Center. If your name is not listed below then look on your card to see where to go and tell the limo driver where you are supposed to go vote after they drop people off at Calvary. If your name is listed below, you are voting for Cason Kirby for District 4. If your name is not listed below then you are voting for Lee Garrison.

If you get to Calvary and they say you are not registered but your name is listed below, tell them you want to vote on a provisional ballot. Do not say that you are on a list, but that you live in the district and registered. Because you do live here and you did register. If you put an address that was not your real address, do not go vote and call me as soon as you read this. Also, we get Panhellenic points for everyone who goes to vote!! 

Go like the Elect Cason Kirby page on FaceBook! This is very important to our chapter and the Greek system as a whole. I have a list of who registered to vote, so if you registered, GO VOTE. Remember, we worked very hard to get to this point and this is our opportunity to show that we are here to stay.

So, remember: go vote and take your license or ACT card; see if your name is on the list below.  DO NOT TALK TO MEDIA. Give your ‘I Voted’ sticker to [name deleted] or me for a wristband.

“The similar wording and timing of the various communications to the fraternities and sororities, as well as the method of how wristbands were distributed, presents strong evidence of a system wide scheme by the Machine to elect Cason Kirby by offering illegal incentives to their members to turn them out to vote for him.

“‘The Machine’ is made up of representatives of a select group of fraternities and sororities who decide on endorsements for candidates for SGA elections and Homecoming Queen. Members of the represented chapters are then turned out in force to vote for the chosen candidates. Dissent is not permitted, and failing to vote can be punishable by fine. All of the sororities and fraternities which sent the above messages are part of the machine. Delta Gamma is the newest member of the machine after having served one year on probationary status. As indicated by the email above, Delta Gamma felt that turning out voters for the school board race would help to secure its status within the organization. The person who has been named as the President of the Machine was one of the voters who had his provisional ballot rejected in this election.

“At least one sorority offered its members additional incentives than the ones outlined above. Members of Phi Mu who were registered to vote in District 4 received a message from Phi Mu’s ‘machine rep’ before the election. The message stated that the sorority had purchased concert tickets to hear the Backstreet Boys, who were performing at the amphitheater the night of the election. The message stated that tickets had been purchased for all members of the sorority, but any member of the sorority who was registered to vote was required to vote in the municipal election and present her ‘I Voted’ sticker in order to receive her ticket.

“Several irregularities were noted within the polling place on election day by poll workers and watchers. An alarming number of students requested provisional ballots without any colorable basis for believing they were eligible to vote in the election. A total of 41 provisional ballots were cast in district 4, 22 of which were rejected. An election official reported that one girl began the process of filling out a request for a provisional ballot but aborted the process and left the building when she learned she had to sign an oath subjecting her to potential perjury charges. The girl was subsequently ushered back in by other girls who insisted she cast a ballot. The election official stated that the girl was shaking as she signed the oath requiring her to swear she was qualified to vote in the election. The election official did not remember the girl’s name, but stated that she remembered that she was the 8th voter on the provisional ballot sign in sheet. The provisional voter sign in sheet does, in fact, indicate that the 8th voter did not initially complete the process.  A notation is further made to the side, ‘DID NOT COMPLETE PROCESS–did not use a ballot.’ The same name later appears again on line 24, and her ballot was counted. The girl in question is a member of Alpha Omicron Pi, a sorority which disseminated one of the above described emails pressuring members to vote and which distributed wristbands to the girls after putting their “I Voted” stickers next to their name on a tally sheet within the sorority. Another boy was overheard talking to his friend as they exited the polling place and grumbling, ‘Man, that was a lot of work for a free drink!’

“As some point on the afternoon of the election, the ABC board learned of the scheme to offer students free drinks for their votes. It contacted Innisfree and other bars in Tuscaloosa to warn them not to participate in the illegal scheme. Innisfree willingly complied with that request, and it appears that Moe’s also complied. Therefore, the students were unable to actually get a drink with the wristbands they had accepted in exchange for their ‘I Voted’ stickers.

“The members of Phi Mu, however, did get to enjoy the illegal inducement they were promised for voting. On the afternoon of the election, one Phi Mu voter proudly put a picture of her left balcony concert ticket on Twitter with the notation, ‘Backstreet’s Back, alright!’ Pictures and one video of the Phi Mu girls on the ‘party bus’ (as they called it) headed to the concert, and pictures taken at the concert were posted across various forms of social media. That night, the Phi Mu “machine rep” informed the group of the results of the election. She told them that Cason Kirby had won the election by 77 votes and that Phi Mu had made the difference in the election since they had influenced 91 votes. It is unclear where she would have gotten the number ’91’ but certainly Phi Mu, with the 68 votes it cast in the election, nearly single handedly gave Kirby that margin of victory. When those 68 votes are combined with the votes of the numerous other students who accepted wristbands redeemable for free drinks for their votes, this more than exceeds the margin of victory.”

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!

Three incumbents in Tuscaloosa’s City Council have been put out to pasture. One candidate lost in the general municipal election. Two more lost in a runoff election. The vox populi was expressed in the municipal election runoff, as reported in The Tuscaloosa News, in District 1 by a turnout of 12.2 percent of the district’s 7,676 registered voters and in District 6 by only 17 percent of the district’s 8,071 registered voters. Few eligible voters take time to vote.

Four candidates for the Council were unopposed. No one ran against Kip Tyner in District 5, which is in an area that was heavily damaged by the 2011 tornado. Tyner has anchored a local television show and has been active in amateur theatrics. He played such roles as the con man Harold Hill in Theatre Tuscaloosa’s production of the “Music Man.” Concerns over his notorious drug abuse history were probably eclipsed in his constituent’s minds by sympathy for his recent bout with cancer. District 3’s Cynthia Almond and District 2’s Harrison Taylor had no opposition. Almond’s largely upscale district and Council President Harrison’s poorer district were considered secure. In Tuscaloosa’s municipal elections for Mayor and the Council incumbents running with no opposition has actually been the norm.

Matt Calderone ran unopposed for Lee Garrison’s vacated seat in the 4th District which has been dominated by the vote of the University of Alabama’s “Machine.” The 4th District was recently redrawn to give the student vote even more clout.  Calderone who’d recently graduated from the University had been a “Machine” candidate when he was elected as the Student Government Association President in 2012. There was a widely held assumption that he was handpicked for the office by Garrison ( who had himself been initially elected to the Council with the help of the “Machine” ) who successfully ran for Chair of the local school board.

Disclosures about campaign financing may have left a sour taste in the months of many voters. An attempt by business interests to takeover the local school board failed in spite of large sums of money that were  poured into the race. Both defeated incumbents Lundell and Howard were among all the other Council members who had received PAC  money and contributions from builders. They had supported almost all of the new housing projects, most of them to be primarily populated by University students, that had come before the Council. There had been enough public concern about too many student housing developments that Mayor Walter Maddox had established a Student Housing Task Force.

The 2700 Capitol Park project that abutted Tuscaloosa’s treasured Capitol Park was opposed by many Tuscaloosa citizens who were concerned about preserving the City’s dwindling historic assets. When the construction of this massive, block filling project that will be largely purposed for student use is completed the Old Tavern and Capitol ruins will be overwhelmed by its scale. ( There was a tent located outside of Bryant Denny stadium on Homecoming that gave out free pens and information about 2700 Capitol Park. Its marketing target seems to be either students or football fans. )  Defeated Council member Bobby Howard, in whose District the housing project was in, had been a enthusiastic backer of 2700 Capitol Park.

Whether voters in this years election were unhappy with the post-storm rebuilding efforts in Tuscaloosa, put off by the role of that money from special interests played in politics or had other reasons to vote for new blood in city government there has been a real sea change in the city that roots for The Crimson Tide.  Will the same corrupting influences that were thought to have infested City Hall come creeping back?  Only time will tell.

Is the City of Tuscaloosa only an annex of the University of Alabama? Certainly during the University’s Homecoming weekend, with downtown store front windows painted in Crimson Tide splendor and a big parade on the city’s main thoroughfare University Boulevard, it might appear as such.

In the last municipal election votes by members of The Machine at the University may have decided who was elected to chair the School Board and who represented District 4 on the school board. Reports of inducements for students to vote involving free alcohol and rides in limousines to the polls were found in state and national newspapers. There were even billboards critical of the student vote.

As far as the City Council race was concerned, District 4 candidate Matt Calderone, who recently graduated from the University and who had strong ties to The Machine, was unopposed. After all District 4 was recently redrawn so that the potential student vote was greater than that of permanent residents. But many people were completely dumbfounded that students would turn out to vote in the school board race.

There has been concern in Tuscaloosa about all of the new student housing being built. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox established a Student Housing Task Force ( SHTF ) to make recommendations on student housing.  Many of the new housing projects in the downtown area are either going to be student housing or largely occupied by students. Student housing is essentially for itinerants. Most students don’t even live in Tuscaloosa on a year round basis.

An idea that found agreement among the SHTF  members was coordinating the City’s comprehensive development plan with that of the University’s.  One might wonder about what sort of role would be played by the University Trustees in Tuscaloosa’s planning. Would it be limited to only student housing?

A resolution was passed at a meeting of the SHTF that essentially said: The City should immediately initiate an update to its comprehensive plan and coordinate its revisions with the University’s master plan.  It was also suggested that the City also hire the same consultants that do the planning for the University.

Among the advocates for student housing in the downtown area there is a mantra that student “heads-in-beds” will result in more retail business in the downtown.  Commercial or retail space is required in most student ( or other types ) of new housing projects. Will new retail stores be supported by students living in the downtown? There are many vacant storefronts in downtown buildings, including empty spaces at the Tuscaloosa Intermodal Facility. When all of the new housing is built  there will be even more retail/commercial spaces.

That all may depend on student purchasing patterns. One commodity that has a definite student market is alcohol. Students flock to the downtown bars in the evening from Thursday to Saturday.  Parking in the downtown area is scarce in the evening on these long-weekends. The Intermodal Facility apparently has yet to be discovered by many students.

Students are somewhat tethered to to the Dining Dollars program at the University. All undergraduate students are automatically charged a fee for the program. Many students only patronize places that accept the Bama Dollars. Alcoholic beverages and snack foods that accompany alcohol use are the most commonly purchased items at grocery stores.  However supplies for outdoor grilling are popular. Many students use the dining halls on campus or restaurants rather than cook.

As far as clothing and other purchases by students are concerned it can’t be said with any certainty how much is bought locally. Chances are that many students shop in their hometowns before arriving on campus.

It’s virtually a religious belief in Tuscaloosa that the University is good for the local economy.  But it might be asked, “If Tuscaloosa were in a dry county would there be much of an impact from student purchases?”

Local elections are affected by the University’s “Machine” vote and city planning has allowed an obvious oversupply of student housing to be built. Although students weren’t viewed favorably before the last election they are now held, rightly or wrongly, in even lower esteem.

Tuscaloosa seems to increasingly to have become a “one-horse” ( or one elephant town ) town. Many residents probably like it that way. When the downtown area becomes even more saturated with students will there finally be a tipping point in public opinion? As far as the local political establishment is concerned however the opinion of permanent residents seems to little matter.