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 Mobile Mayor Sam Jones endorsed Congressman Artur Davis for Governor of Alabama today at a noon press conference in Mobile. Mayor Jones praised Davis’ leadership ability, experience, and positive vision for Alabama’s future as he issued his first ever endorsement in a statewide campaign.
“Artur Davis and I share a common approach to leadership,” said Mayor Jones. “Congressman Davis solves problems by bringing people together across traditional dividing lines like partisanship, race and ideology.” Jones continued, “A vitally important quality that distinguishes Artur Davis from the other candidates in this campaign for governor is his positive vision for the future of Alabama’s economy. Artur Davis is not satisfied for our state to lag behind our neighbors any longer, not when we have so much talent and so much potential right here in Alabama.” “I don’t just think that Artur Davis can win, I think he can lead,” said Mayor Jones. “I don’t just think Artur Davis can get elected, I think he has the potential to be one of our greatest governors.” [Emphasis mine]
Sam Jones is Mobile's first African American mayor, elected in 2005 by a margin of 57-43 and reelected without opposition in 2009. Jones says his top priorities as mayor are: keeping citizens and visitors safe; creating an accountable, efficient and effective city government; preserving the historic beauty of the city; providing top-notch citizen service for easy access to city government; and offering an excellent workforce for current and prospective employers. He has an impressive biography that includes: - Past president of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama
- National Association of Counties Election Reform Steering Committee
- Served on Steering Committee - 1988, 1992 & 2000 Education Funding Referendum Initiatives
- Former member of the Alabama Sentencing Commission
- Judge, Alabama Court of the Judiciary
- Former member Judicial Inquiry Commission
- Past member of the Alabama Port Authority
- Founder of the Mobile County Community Development Partnership
- Founder, Prichard Federal Credit Union
- Member, 100 Black Men, Mobile Chapter
- Chaired 1998 United Way Campaign, raising $7 million
- Trustee, University of South Alabama
In the 2005 runoff, outgoing Mayor Mike Dow endorsed Jones a few days before the election. Dow has been mentioned by some as a potential gubernatorial candidate -- I think Sam Jones' endorsement of Davis makes that candidacy even less likely. As I've said before, the endorsements of big city mayors are still important because these are the guys and gals who know how to win elections in their cities -- and in the electoral calculus, cities are valuable because of the high concentration of voters there. Democrats typically do better than Republicans in urban areas. That has not always been the case in Mobile County -- it went for Riley in 2002 and 2006 -- but Jones endorsement should be a big help to Davis next year. This is definitely a bigger deal than Mitt Romney's endorsement of Kay Ivey or even former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington's endorsement of Davis' Democratic rival, Ron Sparks.
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