Alabama Democratic Party

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A judge has dismissed a lawsuit over control of the Alabama Democratic Party.

Montgomery Circuit Judge Greg Griffin dismissed the lawsuit filed by longtime leader Nancy Worley to prevent new Chair Chris England from taking control. Judge Griffin said he did not have jurisdiction over the internal party dispute.

Worley said she was disappointed in the action and is reviewing options, including a possible appeal.

The Alabama Supreme Court has returned a lawsuit over control of the state Democratic Party to a Montgomery judge for resolution. 

Justices dismissed an earlier appeal, putting the case back before Montgomery Circuit Judge Greg Griffin. An internal power struggle has pitted longtime party leaders Nancy Worley and Joe Reed against an upstart group.

A judge says a lawsuit filed by the longtime chair of the Alabama Democratic Party challenging a newly elected leader can continue, at least for now.

Montgomery Circuit Judge Greg Griffin said Thursday he will wait for a decision by the Alabama Supreme Court before deciding whether to dismiss the lawsuit filed by party chair Nancy Worley. The justices are currently considering an earlier appeal in the dispute. State Rep. Chris England and Worley each claim to be the properly elected state party chair.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A Montgomery judge is refusing to step aside in a lawsuit over who is in control of the Alabama Democratic Party.

Circuit Judge Greg Griffin on Thursday said he will not recuse.

State Rep. Chris England and Nancy Worley both say they are the properly elected party chair.

Defendants had asked Griffin to resign because of longstanding ties to party officer Joe Reed who supports Worley.

The party’s board had been divided between a reform faction and a group loyal to Reed and Worley.

An Alabama state representative was elected chair of the Alabama Democratic Party on Saturday after months of in-house bickering about the party's leadership. 

But the election may not settle the ongoing battle between two factions of the party over governance and leadership, as the previously elected chair said she would not step down.

Rep. Christopher England, of Tuscaloosa, received 104 of 171 ballots cast at the meeting of the State Democratic Executive Committee, the state party's governing body, The Montgomery Advertiser reported.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A court is considering a lawsuit that could help decide who controls Alabama's Democratic Party.

Circuit Judge Greg Griffin scheduled a hearing for Thursday morning in Montgomery on a lawsuit filed by longtime party chair Nancy Worley and others.

The suit is trying to block some members of the party's governing committee from meeting Saturday to elect new leaders. The suit claims the meeting would be illegal.

The legal fight comes with the party's lone statewide officeholder, Sen. Doug Jones, facing a tough re-election battle.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — State Rep. Chris England of Tuscaloosa is running for chair of the Alabama Democratic Party.

England announced Sunday night on Twitter that he is running for chair.

The Tuscaloosa legislator has been one of the leading advocates for changes in how the state party is run.

England led an Oct. 5 meeting in which a faction of the State Democratic Executive Committee adopted new bylaws and planned a new election for chair. The Democratic National Committee has ordered the state party to take both actions.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's capital, a city once known as the cradle of the Confederacy and later the birthplace of the civil rights movement, elected its first African American mayor Tuesday.

Probate Judge Steven Reed, 45, clasped the history-making victory to be elected the next mayor of Montgomery after defeating businessman David Woods by a decisive margin. Reed won about 67% of the vote in Tuesday's mayoral runoff, according to unofficial returns.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Democratic Party's governing board has called a Saturday meeting to vote on new party bylaws.

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones' campaign confirmed Tuesday that a majority of members of the State Democratic Executive Committee called for the meeting.

The Jones campaign says the show of support from SDEC members across the state "is the first step in creating a more transparent, diverse and inclusive Alabama Democratic Party and complying with the DNC guidelines."

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Democratic Party faces an October deadline to hold new leadership elections and update bylaws as some members push to get the state organization back into compliance with the national party.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Democratic party leaders could lose their seats on the Democratic National Committee after the state party twice missed deadlines for new leadership elections.

The DNC's credentials committee on Thursday recommended revoking the credentials of Alabama Chairwoman Nancy Worley and Vice-Chair Randy Kelley. The action came after the state party missed two deadlines for new elections and party bylaws.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Two former candidates are challenging Nancy Worley to lead the Alabama Democratic Party.

Former congressional challenger Tabitha Isner announced Wednesday that she is running for party chairwoman.

Isner waged an aggressive but unsuccessful challenge last year against Republican Rep. Martha Roby. Will Boyd, who ran for lieutenant governor last year, is also challenging Worley.

Isner in a statement said Democrats need a committed party leader to support candidates and help get their message to voters.

Former state Senator Myron Penn said Friday that he is running for chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party in new leadership elections ordered by national party officials.   

Penn said in a telephone interview that he hopes to help unify and rebuild a fractured party.

"I'm tired of sides. We shouldn't have sides within our family," Penn said.

The leader of Democrats in the House of Representatives says the state of the Alabama Democratic Party is on "life support."

House Minority Leader Craig Ford called for Chairwoman Nancy Worley and Vice-Chairman Joe Reed to step down today.

Democrats currently hold no statewide office in Alabama. Ford says voters will see few competitive races on Election Day.

The Alabama Democratic Party is expecting to hold an appeal hearing early this week over contested results in a Jefferson County Commission race.

AL.com reports District 2 candidate Sandra Little Brown beat challenger Shelia Smoot by 26 votes in a primary runoff election but the results were challenged by a Smoot supporter.

The Alabama Democratic Conference has endorsed former U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith for governor and incumbent Terry Sewell for re-election to Congress.

ADC Chairman Joe Reed said the black wing of the state Democratic Party met in Montgomery to screen candidates and make endorsements. He said the ADC's screening committee recommended Griffith over Kevin Bass because of his support for expanding Medicaid, raising the minimum wage and making sure that tax dollars for schools are spent on public education.

Most of the Democrats seeking the top offices in Alabama are scheduled to be in Huntsville for a political event Thursday. The event is being called "Hot Dogs and Yellow Dogs." Organizer and host Pam Miles says it will include gubernatorial candidates Parker Griffith and Kevin Bass, lieutenant governor candidate James Fields, attorney general candidate Joe Hubbard, state auditor candidate Miranda Joseph, and agriculture commissioner candidate Doug Smith. They are seeking offices currently held by Republicans. A dozen legislative candidates are also scheduled to attend the event Thursday.

Former Secretary of State Nancy Worley has been elected as the first female leader of the Alabama Democratic Party.

The State Democratic Executive Committee elected her as the party chair this weekend.

Worley spent the last five months as the interim chair after former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Mark Kennedy resigned to start a new political group.

Worley has been focused on finances. She says the party is now current on bills and is no longer in danger of being evicted from its Montgomery headquarters.

Secretary of State Jim Bennett said two Democratic candidates in the 1st Congressional District will be included on the special election ballot even though the Alabama Democratic Party missed a deadline to turn in their names by one hour.

Democrats are organizing multiple training sessions in Alabama to try to reinvigorate a party that has fallen to minority status in state government.

A new organization, the Alabama Democratic Majority, has announced a "grassroots convention" Aug. 3 in Birmingham. Executive Director Bradley Davidson says it will cover everything from registering voters to helping voters comply with Alabama's new law requiring a photo ID to vote.

One of the veteran Democrats in the Alabama House, Rep. Richard Laird of Roanoke, has announced he's becoming an independent.

Laird said Monday the Democratic Party today is much different than it was when he was first elected to the House in 1978. He said the party has lost its conservative core.

Laird said he will meet with the Republican caucus in the House, even though he's not joining the House's majority party.

The Alabama Democratic Party is opening a field office in Birmingham.

The party has its headquarters near the Capitol in Montgomery. But party Chairman Mark Kennedy says it will have a field office in downtown Birmingham next to the Harbert Center. Kennedy plans to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon with Birmingham Mayor William Bell and the party's Jefferson County chairman, Richard Mauk.

Jefferson County and Montgomery County were two areas where the party did well in the November election.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.