Primary election set to help pick Birmingham State House member

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Four Democrats and a Republican have qualified to run for the Alabama House District 53 seat in Birmingham. Democrats qualifying included Anthony "Alann" Johnson, assistant pastor at Zion Star Baptist Church; Birmingham attorney Arthur D. Shores Lee; Demetrius C. Newton Jr., an instructor at Miles College; and Frank Topping, who is retired. The seat became open with the death of Newton's father, longtime Democratic Rep. Demetrius Newton. Qualifying as a Republican was Birmingham real estate broker Willie "W.A." Casey. Casey is a deacon at Birmingham's Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Primary election for the Democratic candidates will be Dec. 3 and the runoff if necessary will be Jan. 28. General election is scheduled for March 25. If there is no runoff, the general election will be Jan. 28.