Patricia Todd

Infobox State Representative
honorific-prefix =
name =Rep. Patricia Todd
honorific-suffix =

---

height =150px
state_house =Alabama
district =54^th
term_start =2006
term_end =present
preceded =George Perdue
succeeded =
birth_date =birth date and age|1955|07|25
birth_place =Richmond, Kentucky
residence =Birmingham, Alabama
party =Democrat
spouse =Jennifer Clarke
website = [http://www.patriciatodd.net patriciatodd.net]

Patricia Todd is an American politician from Alabama. A Democrat, she is a member of the Alabama House of Representatives representing District 54 in downtown Birmingham. She took office in November 2006.

She is the associate director of AIDS Alabama and is the first ever openly gay elected official in the state of Alabama.cite news |title=Vote points to first out gay Alabama lawmaker |first=Barbara |last=Wilcox |work=PlanetOut |date=2006-07-19 |accessdate=2007-07-19 |url=http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2006/07/19/2]

She has also backed a hate crimes legislation proposal in Alabama by D-Rep Alvin Holmes which would not include protection for transgendered and intersexed persons. cite news |title=Click to read more about the hate crimes legislation |work=Jacksonville |date=2008-08-20 |accessdate=2008-08-20 |url=http://www.jacksonville.com/apnews/stories/040707/D8OBTEM81.shtml]

Early life and career

Todd was born in Richmond, Kentucky, growing up there and earning a bachelor's degree from the University of Kentucky. She would later attend the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), earning a master's degree in public administration in 1994.cite news |date=Summer 1998|title=Campus Spotlight: Patricia Todd |url=http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=46002 |first=Roger |last=Schuler |work=UAB Magazine |accessdate=2008-07-31]

On moving to Alabama in 1986, Todd became was the first executive director of Birmingham AIDS Outreach. She went on to work for other nonprofit organizations including the Alabama Humanities Foundation and the National Organization for Women. In 1998, she was appointed Director of Alumni Affairs at UAB.

2006 election

When George Perdue announced that he would not seek re-election after more than two decades in the Alabama House, Todd decided to run for the District 54 seat. The district is overwhelmingly Democratic, and five Democrats filed for the open seat, including Todd. No Republicans ran.

A primary election took place on 2006-06-06 in which Todd placed first, with 33 percent of the vote. When no candidate wins more than half of the primary vote, Alabama law provides for a run-off election between the top two finishers. Todd would face Gaynell Hendricks, who had received 29 percent of the primary vote, in the run-off. [cite news |date=2006-06-08|title=Ala. voters back gay marriage ban 4 - 1: Lesbian candidate makes runoff for state House seat |url=http://www.washblade.com/2006/6-8/news/national/ban.cfm |first=Zack |last=Hudson |work=Southern Voice |accessdate=2007-07-31]

Todd narrowly won the Democratic primary run-off on July 18 2006 by a margin of 59 votes – 1,173 to 1,114. Her run-off victory was challenged by her opponent's mother-in-law, who claimed that Todd had received "illegal votes" and had filed a campaign finance report late. [http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/local/15164633.htm (unavailable)] That report contained information – a $25,000 contribution from the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and payments to two of her primary opponents – that opponents charged could have affected the outcome.

It was widely reported that the contest centered around the question of race. Todd is white, and the outgoing legislator, like the majority of the district, is black. Many of the state's African-American political leaders were apparently eager to keep the seat in black hands.cite news |date=2006-08-26|title=Top Democrats meet |url=http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060826/NEWS/608260324/1007 |first=Dana |last=Beyerle |work=Tuscaloosa News |accessdate=2007-08-17]

A sub-committee of the Alabama Democratic Party (ADP) met to decide the contest and voted 5–0 to disqualify both Todd and her opponent, on the basis of what the ADP Chairman Joe Turnham called an "archaic party by-law".cite web |date=2006-08-24 |title=Alabama Democratic Party Chair Joe Turnham Reacts to House District 54 Subcommittee Ruling |first=Joe |last=Turnham |url=http://www.aladems.org/News/frmAnnouncement.aspx?NewID=1359 |accessdate=2007-08-17 |work=The Alabama Democratic Party] The by-law had not only been superseded by the 1988 Fair Campaign Practices Act but had not been followed by any candidate running for any office since 1988, including candidates for governor. It also emerged that the by-law was in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act and may well actually have been repealed. [http://www.politicsinalabama.com/?p=759 (unavailable)]

Following sustained pressure and newspaper editorials criticising the judgement, [http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/base/opinion/115658399686160.xml?birminghamnews?oedit&coll=2 (unavailable)] , the State Democratic Executive Committee voted on 26 August to overturn the sub-committee's ruling by a vote of 95–87. According to press reports, the voting was "mostly along racial lines".cite news |title=Lesbian wins challenge to election in Alabama |first=Lou |last=Chibbaro, Jr |date=2006-09-01 |accessdate=2007-08-17 |url=http://www.sovo.com/2006/9-1/news/national/election.cfm |work=Southern Voice]

The challenge (like Todd's original victory) attracted national attention, making "The New York Times"cite news |title=Issues of Race and Sex Stir Up Alabama Election |date=2006-08-25 |first=Shaila |last=Dewan |work=The New York Times |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/25/us/25alabama.html?ex=1314158400&en=708ca83c50afd1af&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss |accessdate=2007-08-17] and "The Washington Post"cite news |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/26/AR2006082600584.html |title=Ala. Democrats Reinstate Gay Candidate |first=Bob |last=Johnson |date=2006-08-26 |accessdate=2007-08-17 |work=The Washington Post] , among other publications. It is also reported that the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Gov. Howard Dean, took a close interest, making no fewer than eight telephone calls to the Executive Director of the Alabama Democratic Party during the morning of the appeal.cite web |title=More On the SDEC Meeting |date=2006-08-26 |url=http://www.queervoice.net/kmcmullen/2006/08/26/more-on-the-sdec-meeting/ |accessdate=2007-08-17]

With Todd re-instated as the Democratic nominee, hers was the only name on the November general election ballot. A write-in campaign was waged against her but she received almost 93% of the vote, with over 6,400 votes and 523 voters choosing to write in another name.

References

External links

* [http://www.patriciatodd.net/index.html Homepage]
* [http://www.legislature.state.al.us/house/representatives/housebios/hd054.html House of Representatives biography]