Comrade:

Rep. Earl F. Hilliard, an enemy for a democratic and free Gambia was trounced
in his bid to represent Alabama's 7th Congressional district.  This is good
news.

Please the following excerpts:

06/26/02

MARY ORNDORFF
News Washington correspondent


Artur Davis upset veteran U.S. Rep. Earl Hilliard on Tuesday, handily winning
a heated Democratic primary in Alabama's 7th Congressional District.




Davis, who narrowly trailed in a three-way primary June 4, tagged Hilliard
with his first defeat in a 28-year political career.

With 99 percent of the precincts counted, Davis had 52,357 votes, or 56
percent, to Hilliard's 41,049, or 44 percent.

"The breadth of our victory across racial lines and urban and rural lines is
something I'm very proud of," Davis said before his acceptance speech in
downtown Birmingham. "The voters rejected a campaign based on division and
firmly repudiated it across the district."

The 12-county 7th District, joining Birmingham with the rural Black Belt, has
a 62 percent black population. Hilliard was the first black elected to
Congress from Alabama since Reconstruction.

Republicans sat out the race in the heavily Democratic district, so Davis
faces only Libertarian candidate Lauren Orth McCay in the fall.

Davis, 34, a Birmingham lawyer, muscled his way into a showdown, trailing
Hilliard by 2,700 votes June 4. In the runoff, he led in eight of the
counties, including the key battleground of Dallas County, where turnout was
strong and Hilliard had won June 4.

"There are a lot of needs in this district. We have a health care crisis, an
economic development crisis and we have an education crisis," said Davis, who
relied on out-of-state support from pro-Israel interests. "That is what this
campaign has been about."

During the three-week runoff campaign, Hilliard questioned whether Davis could
effectively represent blacks in the district.

On Tuesday night, he thanked his family and friends for their support through
the years.

"I won them all except this one," the five-term incumbent said. "I'm thankful
having had the opportunity to serve, but I've always honored the decision of
the voters. ... Now I guess I'll have plenty of time for my grandkids."

When loyalists who gathered for his concession speech urged him to run for
mayor of Birmingham, Hilliard smiled broadly and said, "I heard what they
shouted."

The runoff escalated in the final two weeks into a generational, racial and
ideological battle.

Hilliard tapped veterans of the civil rights movement for his support. But
Davis, who holds two degrees from Harvard University, appealed to white voters
and bypassed the traditional black power structure by cobbling together his
own network.

Davis' first run was in 2000, when Hilliard trounced him in the same primary
by 24 percentage points.

Hilliard, flanked in recent days by nationally known politicians and
preachers, asked voters to preserve his 10 years of seniority and turn back
the pro-Israel interests financing Davis.

Within minutes of winning the nomination, Davis announced his intention to
mend fences with the national Democratic leaders who had backed Hilliard. He
said he would call House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., and the
chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson,
D-Texas.

Davis took direct aim at Hilliard's record and blamed him for the falling
availability of affordable health care in the district and the persistent
poverty and unemployment. He attracted Jewish-American donors in large numbers
by highlighting Hilliard's 1997 trip to Libya and his recent votes against
resolutions supporting Israel.

Bill Minor, 57, a Selma alternative school principal, said he voted against
Hilliard for the first time.

"I don't know of any funds directed to this district because of Earl
Hilliard," said Minor. "I am not sure Davis can do anything about it, but I
want to give him the opportunity." News staff writers Vicki McClure, Thomas
Spencer, Chris Sanders and Anne Ruisi contributed to this report.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~