Graham Demands Second Recount/A Thank You from a LEO

Current District Three councilman Hermon Graham has now demanded a second recount in the August 23rd race that saw him lose to political newcomer David Bradley, or at least he has announced his attorney will demand it. Until the count is official, Mr. Bradley won’t be able to make plans for his first days in office. Let’s hope this second recount, one performed entirely by hand, will be done shortly, and Florence will be on its way to better things.

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The runoff for municipal elections will be in approximately three weeks. Florence will continue to vote on the office of mayor and Districts 1 & 4 council members. No matter the results, District 4 will have a new representative. We’ll again be discussing these offices next week.

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From a reader:

I thought I wanted to be a police officer, but little did I know what they go thru. Thank you for standing up for law enforcement. Now I’m in security outside Atlanta and I love it and make some nice money too. My uncle was a sheriff’s deputy for 20 years and I often heard him say he’d rather confront armed bank robbers than a DV situation.

He said he dreaded the calls from Central and Cloverdale the most. Women who could barely stand after being beaten would then hit and spit at him for trying to help. These people are a law unto their own. They’re not like us and never will be as long as they don’t even try to lead law abiding lives. But it’s never their fault.

If you can use your blog to promote any position or idea, please keep stressing how important the police are and how much their lives matter. The ones who complain about it will never learn, but at least someone tried to help them. Thank you again.

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Rest assured, we will always support our local law enforcement. From all of us here to all of them: Thank you!

Hermon Graham Demands Recount

Current Florence City Councilman Hermon Graham is not a gracious loser. In case you missed the WAFF story (our local rag the TotallyDecatur has so far neglected to publish this extremely interesting tale), Graham has requested a recount of the August 23rd ballots. Bradley won the race with 63% of the vote; however, Graham was so certain of his victory that he has stated there must have been problems with the voting machines.

If by any stretch of the imagination, Graham is right about the vote, the city will pay for the recount. If Graham is wrong, as any intelligent person could predict, he will pay the cost of a recount. An official date for the recount at Florence city hall on College Street has not been announced, but insiders say it may be as soon as Tuesday morning.

Graham has basically said that if Andy Betterton and Blake Edwards won, he should have also. We’re not sure of the logic behind Graham’s belief; in fact, we’re not sure why Betterton won. Edwards won because he had no viable opponent.

One incumbent had no opposition, and one incumbent chose not to run. The sixth race, District One, will be decided in a runoff between incumbent Dave Smith and political newcomer and rising star Kaytrina P. Simmons.

The only thing the Florence city council race was lacking was a candidate named Chad…

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Don’t miss H.D.’s review of Five Guys Burgers. If you have a review of a favorite eatery, be sure to send it to us.

Five Guys

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Tomorrow is Labor Day. As is our custom, we’ll publish a rundown of the candidates in the annual trade unions' beauty contest. If you’ve missed some in the past, here’s a chance to catch up before tomorrow:

Miss Labor Day Beauty Contest

Colbert Sheriff Ronnie May: Worried?

Ronnie May: Worried?

A Guest Commentary By

C. R.

The “Click It or Ticket It” traffic safety program has returned to our roads again. The "Click It or Ticket" campaign is set to run from May 24 through June 6, 2010. The mobilization, expected to involve more than 10,000 police agencies, is supported by $8 million in national advertising funded through Congress and coordinated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The program focuses on seat belt use, DUI, and aggressive driving. This program is a valuable tool to help local law enforcement lower the death rates on our highways during holiday periods. The program is paid for by a grant and costs the sheriff’s office nothing.

Most local law enforcement agencies are involved with this program except one. The Colbert County Sheriff’s Office turned down the opportunity to be included in the May 24 through June 6, 2010, program. The sheriff’s office has participated in the program before. When several deputies started to ask where was the sign up sheet for the program, they were informed by a supervisor that the program was canceled this time because it was an election year and the sheriff was afraid to offend someone.

I guess the sheriff is more worried about re-election than protection of the citizens.

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The Shoals Republican Club along with Shoals2DC will host a candidate cookout for all Republican candidates on the state, local, and federal levels on Friday, May 28th from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at McFarland Park, Picnic Shelter #2. McFarland Park is located on the northern shore of the Tennessee River in Florence off Alabama Highway 20 at the intersection of U.S. 72 before O’Neal Bridge.

All Alabama Republican candidates on the state, local, and federal levels have been invited to attend. The event is open to the public and free. Come out and meet the candidates. This is your opportunity to ask the candidates about themselves and the important issues facing our country, the state and the Shoals area. The Republican Primary is Tuesday, June 1st. The Shoals Republican Club meets the 3rd Wednesday of each month. All meetings of the Shoals Republican Club are open to the public. For more information, contact Shoals Republican Club President William Smith at (256) 767-4529, or ShoalsRepublicanClub@gmail.com.

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Most recent release from Jeff Masterson, showing presumably questionable use of campaign funds by HD 18 Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow: Link

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Florence attorney Greg Burdine, Florence City Councilman Hermon Graham, and Florence businesswoman Candy Haddock are seeking the Democratic nomination for Alabama House District 1. Haddock has few political connections and is a very dark horse. Graham has demonstrated from past behavior that he is far from a team player. That leaves Burdine, who does have the education and political contacts to represent this district.

We have previously asked Burdine for a vision statement and have received no response; therefore, we will not endorse anyone in the Democratic Primary. We make no secret that we feel Republican Brad Holmes is the man for the job.


Shoalanda

We've Heard of Glad-Handing, but Glad-Hugging?

Since much has recently been made of Roger Bedford's close relationship with Chad Coker's family in Lamar County, we thought we'd see just who else is close to the King of Pork. If you don't recognize her, that's Candy Haddock, Democratic candidate for the District 1 House seat being vacated by Tammy Irons.

Speaking of that race, is Hermon Graham still in the running?


What's up with this: Anyone noticed Tammy Irons' billboard on Woodward Avenue? Not the best placement--blocking Tammy's face is Little Caesar of pizza fame. Well, his namesake was a much more astute politician.

Shoalanda