Voters in parts of Birmingham will choose a Democratic nominee for the Alabama House in a special election Tuesday.
Six Democrats are seeking their party’s nomination in House District 22. One Republican, Carlos Crum, qualified for the seat. A run-off, if needed, will be held July 16.
In separate interviews, candidates focused on education, health care and community safety.
The Democratic candidate who wins — either with 50% in the primary or in the run-off — will face Crum in the general election on Oct. 1.
The seat was held by Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, who resigned from the House in March after pleading guilty to charges of wire and mail fraud and obstruction of justice. Rogers, first elected in 1982, was the longest serving representative in the chamber.
The seat is likely to favor a Democratic candidate. The last time a Republican ran in the district was in 2014, when Rogers got almost 77% of the vote against Republican nominee Phillip Bahakel, an attorney.
Dedra Campbell
Age: 49
Residence: Birmingham
Occupation: Zoning inspector
Education: B.A., Information Management and Technology, Herzing University, 2006; J.D., Miles College, 2017.
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience: Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee member
Campbell said she wants to work to build affordable housing; improve access to health care, particularly reproductive care for women, and improve community safety.
“From what I’ve been seeing when I’m out knocking on doors, people want to feel safe, they want to be healthy, and they want to live in safe communities,” Campbell said.
Campbell said she supported legislative efforts like HB 494, sponsored by Rep. Marilyn Lands, D-Huntsville, which would provide Medicaid coverage for prenatal care. Campbell said that Alabama’s high infant mortality rate, particularly among Black infants, underscores the need for improved health care access.
Campbell said she would look for opportunities to work with Republicans, who control both chambers of the Legislature, but said she would oppose harmful legislation.
“I understand it is the Republican trifecta,” she said. “That they have a stronghold in almost every area of government in this state, but I don’t believe that means you just lie down and take whatever they give.”
As a mother, Campbell said she feels a personal responsibility to advocate for future generations.
“We have to create a future for our children. What kind of future are we leaving for them?” she asked, emphasizing the importance of addressing climate change, economic stability, and access to education.
Kelvin Datcher
Age: 54
Residence: Birmingham
Occupation: Deputy Director of Community Development, Birmingham
Education: B.A., Political Science, Gettysburg College, 1992.
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience: First time candidate
Datcher said he wants to improve education, expand health care access and improve community development.
“Education is far and away number one for me,” he said.
Datcher said he would advocate for increased teacher pay; reduced classroom sizes, and dedicated funding for arts and music programs. He proposed a substantial investment in public schools, suggesting that Alabama should prioritize “super schools” over “super prisons.”
“What we’ve seen is that we have the ability to find resources when there’s a will and a commitment to do it,” he said.
He also wants Birmingham to keep growing economically. He said that Birmingham is well positioned between four highways and a robust health care and biotech industry, and he would like to keep working with the state to attract large-scale projects to the region.
Health care is another priority, he said, with a focus on expanding access to care by using Medicaid expansion dollars to buy private insurance for the uninsured population. A healthy workforce would bring economic benefits, he said, and it would appeal to Republican lawmakers focused on economic development.
“There are multiple ways to get to the same destination. For me, I believe that expanding health care access is a moral imperative. I think it’s an obligation that we have to our fellow residents,” Datcher said.
Eric Major
Age: 56
Residence: Birmingham
Occupation: Owner of Absolute Solutions
Education: A.A., Jefferson State Community College; B.A., Political Science, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2015; J.D., Birmingham School of Law, 2022.
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience: Alabama House of Representatives, District 55, 1998-2006; candidate, Jefferson County Commission, 2007.
Major said he has deep roots in the district’s commitment to addressing critical issues such as crime, health care and education.
He said crime is an issue, particularly in Birmingham. Major said that he would be open to giving other entities policing power, such as university law enforcement, to keep communities safe.
“You can’t do business, economic development, or education or going in the area, unless you have a safe community,” Major said.
Major also said that health care and education are concerns. He supports Medicaid expansion, saying people in the district need accessible health care. Major said there is an economic benefit to providing health insurance.
“It has economic benefits, because the cost of poor health is not just costing a lot, but also there’s a business cost, so people are not being able to go to work because of their health care conditions,” Major said.
On education, Major said there should be targeted program funding to train people for health care work. He also said he was open to providing public funding for homeschooling and private education, adding that the current system is not delivering satisfactory results for some.
“I think that for people that do alternative ways of education, there needs to be some level of funding available for them as well,” he said.
LaTonya Millhouse
Age: 53
Residence: Birmingham
Occupation: Community relations manager, Oak Street Health
Education: Associate degree, Business Management, Herzing College, 1989; B.A., Political Science, Western Kentucky University, 1998.
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience: Candidate, Alabama House of Representatives District 52, 2022; Candidate, Birmingham City Council, District 6, 2019.
Millhouse, a community activist and former nonprofit leader, said if elected, she would address issues in health care, housing and grandparents’ rights.
“I think we’ve identified the problems over and over again. We need a strong leader that we can trust, that’s going to work on solutions on day one,” she said in a phone interview.
Millhouse also cited the lack of starter home programs and the abundance of dilapidated properties. She proposed working with local churches and nonprofits to rebuild these properties, promote homeownership and economic growth.
“Now you’re clearing off the blight, you create homeownership, which in turn, builds economic wealth. Okay, so my goal is to take back our community, one house at a time,” she said.
Millhouse said there is an urgent need for Medicaid expansion, which she believes will bring more jobs and stimulate millions of dollars. She said a cousin of hers who had a heart attack had a 45-minute drive to the hospital. Millhouse hopes to build bipartisan support for Medicaid expansion by making health care issues relatable to other lawmakers.
“The best way to be able to come together on an issue is to figure out how it relates to me every day,” she said.
Millhouse also said she would advocate for legislation that grants grandparents visitation rights and prioritizes them in custody cases, ensuring children can remain with a grandparent during crises.
Eyrika Parker
Age: 50
Residence: Birmingham
Occupation: Jefferson County treasurer
Education: B.A., Criminal Justice, Japanese minor, University of South Alabama, 1998; J.D. Louisiana State University, 2002.
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience: Candidate, Jefferson County Circuit Clerk, 2018; Jefferson County Treasurer, 2020-present.
Parker said she wants to “galvanize” Medicaid, especially after surviving six strokes. She said she supports publicly funded health care for all.
“I believe Medicaid should be paid for everyone, not just the impoverished, but for everyone,” she said.
Parker, who serves as the treasurer for Jefferson County, said she comes from a family of politicians and that running for office is “a family thing.” Like many other candidates, she wants to increase funding for public safety.
“If you can get more cops or any entity to just do more for the community, do that,” Parker said.
She said that with a Republican supermajority, she wouldn’t talk to Republicans “as a whole,” but talk to each one individually to get legislation passed.
“I have no idea what I’d say, but I just know when I get there, I’d have something to say,” she said.
Frank Woodson
Age: 62
Residence: Birmingham
Occupation: Nonprofit executive
Education: B.A., Communication Arts and English, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1984.
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience: First time candidate
After working in management at UPS, Woodson started the nonprofit Mission Alabama, aiming to improve the quality of life in underserved communities. Working in the communities, Woodson said he grew frustrated with policies from the state government that adversely affected Alabamians.
“When I saw that government was not a tool that was being used as well as it could be to improve the lives of the underserved and the low to moderate income families, then I wanted to make a difference,” Woodson said.
He identified community safety as a priority, saying that when he is campaigning, seniors are afraid to go outside of their homes.
“They are basically locked in their houses,” he said.
He said that crime in Birmingham should be a concern for everyone in Alabama, and that it could very well go beyond the cities.
“Our cities are the mountain peaks of society, and just like when the snow melts, it flows downhill. The problems that are in the cities today will be in the suburbs tomorrow and in the rural areas the day after,” he said.
He also proposed a rental property inspection program, saying that blighted properties are a concern in his district. Woodson would require some properties to be registered and maintained to standards, funded by an annual inspection fee. He said this could help with heir properties as well as Section 8 properties.
“We can pass a rental property inspection program that requires properties in which a homestead is not being claimed, to be registered in the local cities, and that those properties be kept up to international property code standards. No boarded windows or anything like that,” he said.
Carlos Crum
Party: Republican
Attempts to set up interviews with Carlos Crum were unsuccessful.
