This morning I was honored to attend a meet and greet with Jefferson County (AL) Commissioner Shelia Smoot, a candidate for Congresswoman from Alabama's 7th Congressional District.
I don't live in Alabama. I've never been to Alabama. My closest relation there is a great uncle and aunt who live in Tuscaloosa. My main connection with the state is the long dormant (and soon to be briefly revived) rivalry between Penn State and Alabama football. Unlike many sports rivalries, both teams' fans were actually friendly to each other.
I don't know if Commissioner Smoot is a Tide fan, but the person I met was one of the nicest people I have ever met.
I knew exactly zero about Commissioner Smoot or AL-07 before my friend, alpolitics started talking about her. Shelia will face Terri Sewell in a runoff election on July 13. I'm not going to bash Sewell, but there is some material there.
Instead, I want to talk about the genuine person I met first thing this morning. Commissioner Smoot was in Washington DC to do some much needed fundraising for her runoff and the general election. She held a meet and greet with a few people in the morning and alpolitics helped me to get an invite.
I recognized Shelia from her picture when I saw her in the lobby of an office building. Unlike some other politicians I have met from both sides of the aisle, Shelia did not look at me funny with that unmistakable "who the hell are you" look. She shook my hand, smiled and said, "Hi, I'm Shelia."
I immediately got the sense that her campaign slogan -- "On Your Side" -- is not just a generic branding strategy recycled by some Washington campaigning outfit. When Shelia says she is on your side, she means it.
Maybe ten of us sat in a way too large conference room and just talked. Shelia didn't bat an eye when I said that 1) I had never been to Alabama and 2) I don't have the money even for a small donation right now. I introduced myself as a blogger and campaigns scholar and we chatted a bit about the growing importance of blogging. And yes, she has a campaign presence here in on the left side of the Internet.
As a campaign geek, I was also very impressed with the discussion of voter targeting, opposition research, paid media, earned media, and grassroots organizing. Even though this is a D +18 district, the campaign has not concluded that this race is a gimme. In other words, I sensed no rookie mistakes.
We also talked about senior citizens issues, public transportation, and job creation. Three of AL-07's counties rank among the 100 poorest counties in the country (Wilcox 54th, Perry 57th, and Sumter 76th). I got the sense that Shelia truly cares for those folks and wants to help them get jobs and improve their lives.
And yes, Alabama 07 is currently represented by Arthur Davis, who voted against the health care bill from the right. He sounded absolutely Republican when he said:
"I've said it's a no," Davis said. "A trillion dollar, 2,000-page bill is the wrong approach to solve this problem."
and
"What's on the table now is a massive overhaul of the health care systems in this country," Davis said. "We can fix the problems without having to do a massive systems overhaul."
Sorry, Art. Sometimes major problems call for serious solutions and not tinkering around the edges.
In a serious contrast, Shelia has fought to keep a Jefferson County hospital open so that it can continue to provide indigent care. What really caught my attention though, was when Shelia said offhand that she does not see any difference between indigent care and any other health care. Every American deserves access to health care. Arthur Davis didn't get that and he lost his race for governor this year.
Shelia Smoot does get it.
And that's why I'm proud to support her candidacy to be the first African American woman to represent Alabama in Congress.
Visit her website: Shelia Smoot for Congress
Follow her on Twitter: @Smoot2010
And most importantly, kick in a few bucks if you can: Act Blue
Crossposted on Progressive Electorate.
