Artur Davis to Skip State of the Union Address?
January 27th, 2010In a sign of Rep. Artur Davis’ shifting priorities, according to the Associated Press, the Birmingham Democrat will be back in Alabama — not at the U.S. Capitol — for tonight’s State of the Union speech by his former Harvard Law School classmate, President Barack Obama.
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| Glynn Wilson |
| Rep. Artur Davis |
Davis, now running for governor, has returned to the campaign trail, said Addie Whisenant, a spokeswoman in his congressional office. She referred other questions to campaign spokesman Alex Goepfert, who said that the congressman has been clear for some time “that he would be spending more days in Alabama as the campaign progressed.” Davis plans to watch the speech at home in Birmingham, Goepfert said.
Davis’ campaign web site shows that he was in Shelby County for a candidate forum this morning, but does not list any other events today.
Davis is running against state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks in June’s Democratic primary. Late this afternoon, Sparks issued a statement saying that “apparently, Artur Davis forgets he was hired to do a job in Washington, not in Alabama.”
“The people of his district, and the people of Alabama, expect those they hire to show up to work, vote and represent their interests,” Sparks said. “He should either show up for work or quit. Instead, his constituents are being cheated by the self-interest of Artur. When I’m Governor, I will work day and night creating jobs for working families and always put their interests ahead of my own.”
In related news, former political reporter Taylor Bright is joining Sparks’ Campaign for Governor as communications director, according to the press release.
Bright is a veteran reporter. He worked for the Birmingham Post-Herald, The Huntsville Times, and The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer. While he was at the Post-Herald, he wrote one of the best stories on the deep involvement of former Bush aide Karl Rove in turning Alabama’s judiciary Republican.
“I am excited to be working for the Ron Sparks Campaign for Governor of Alabama,” Bright said. “Sparks is a dedicated public official, and he is an outstanding candidate for Governor. In my previous jobs as a reporter, I worked firsthand with Commissioner Sparks when I covered state government, and I know that he will bring the hard work and proven record he achieved at the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries to the Governor’s office.”
“Taylor is a tremendous addition to my team,” Sparks said. “He has great contacts with the Alabama media, and he has the talent and experience to carry my message of job creation to every part of Alabama.”
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Tags: Artur Davis, Ron Sparks, State of the Union
January 28th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
I am so disappointed with Mr. Davis’s performance related to health care reform and now his distancing himself from the President, which I think is primarily to appease our red state conservative voters. Alas I don’t think it will be enough to turn their votes to him as governor as much as I wish it could be so. Health Care Reform is such an important issue to me personally that it will make a big difference for whom I vote.
January 28th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
Davis could have had a bright future in politics as a U.S. Senator. But the way he has conducted himself in this campaign has doomed any political career he could have had. He learned politics in the era of Bush and Rove, but that era is over. Every time he opens his mouth now he looks like a political hack, trying to fool enough of the people some of the time. It’s not working…