Hometown Action announced Tuesday that it has endorsed Tabitha Isner for chair of the Alabama Democratic Party.
Hometown Action said in a statement that in 2018, Isner ran for Congress as a Hometown Action member candidate on a progressive populist platform reflective of Hometown Action’s values and a bold vision for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.
Hometown Action members voted unanimously to endorse her campaign and worked to get out the vote because they knew she would be a true representative of everyday people and was committed to cogovern with her constituents. When Isner announced her candidacy for chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, Hometown Action members again voted to support her because she has demonstrated her commitment to moving multiracial, working class interests to the forefront of the political movement in Alabama.
“Ms. Isner is one of the few candidates who ran for elected office in 2018 who took the time to listen to the needs of her constituents — regardless of party — and sought to address those concerns directly,” said Hometown Action Executive Director Justin Vest. “She has demonstrated that when we lead with values and organize around solutions, not sides, we can grow our base of engaged citizens across race, class, and even partisan affiliation.”
Isner was defeated in her bid to unseat incumbent Congresswoman Martha Roby, R-Montgomery, in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.
Hometown Action said during the 2018 midterm election, the existing political infrastructure in Alabama was in need of major modernization and reform. Many progressive Alabama voters were energized by the victory of Doug Jones in December 2017, and their enthusiasm could have been harnessed by bold political leadership to move Alabama forward. Unfortunately, they said, the leadership of the Alabama Democratic Party did not take advantage of that momentum.
The date of the State Democratic Executive Committee meeting to vote on new elections for chair and vice chair has not been set yet. Nancy Worley was re-elected over the summer, but the Democratic National Committee has invalidated that election and ordered another election and new bylaws, including new diversity language and a reconstituted SDEC.
There are four candidates running at this point; they are Tabitha Isner, Will Boyd, Sen. Vivian Figures, and incumbent Chairwoman Nancy Worley.
There have been many critics of the current Alabama Party Leadership including U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, former Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, and former congressional candidate Mallory Hagan.
Hometown Action claims it and grassroots groups like it took the lead in going door to door, organizing and volunteering to bring a progressive populist vision for Alabama to every voter possible, especially in rural communities that had never seen a political canvasser. Hometown Action claims the state Democratic Party remained mired in dysfunction during the 2018 campaign.
“The critical 2020 election cycle is just around the corner and key positions at the federal, state, county and municipal levels are at stake,” said Hometown Action activist Beth Cox. “The time for effective political organizing in Alabama is now. Tabitha Isner is the person who can lead us down that path.”
As of press time, the Alabama Political Reporter is still unaware of when exactly that meeting of the State Democratic Executive Committee is going to be held.
