After several terms as House District 18's male representative on the Alabama State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC), Eddie Britton decided to retire from the position after his term ends later this year.
Each House District in Alabama is represented by one male and one female resident on the SDEC.
For the first time, HD 18 will have a contested race to select its Democratic representative, as Russellville resident Charles Dale and Phil Campbell resident Rick Neighbors both are seeking the position.
Voters who choose a Democratic Primary ballot on May 24th will select their choice from Dale or Neighbors, who is also running for the Democratic nomination to United States Congress for the Fourth District of Alabama.
Dale, 81, is a veteran of Democratic politics who was part of the historic Selma Bridge Crossing 57 years ago. Dale has been active in Democratic politics at the local level for years, and he's run twice for Russellville City Council. For Dale, it's hard to remember his life when politics wasn't a part of it.
“Politics has been in my DNA since I was a teenager. It shaped my beliefs when I took part in the March to Selma,” Dale said. “That really influenced my initiative into politics and made me want to be a servant of solving problems instead of creating them.”
Neighbors, a decorated Army veteran, served three tours in Vietnam, the last ending in the spring of 1971. After his service ended, he took a job in the apparel industry, where he remained for 35 years.
Neighbors saw the decline of that industry as the result of what he calls 'harmful' legislation including NAFTA and CAFTA, which resulted in Alabama and other rural states losing jobs to Mexico and Central American countries.
His efforts to earn a seat on the SDEC are driven by a desire to help District 18's economy.
“We are poor and our elected leaders are making us poorer,” Neighbors said. “In the 1980s, we had people in sewing plants doing their jobs well and our federal and state politicians gave money to these giant corporations who took their profits out of our communities and we ended up losing jobs and making our communities poor.
“When Eddie Britton said he wasn't going to run again, he asked someone to step up. Nobody did, so I said I'll step up. We've got to have people working at the state level who know their community and want to see their community prosper. We don't have that out of the Alabama Democratic Party quite honestly,” he added.
For Dale, the Republican takeover of Alabama politics, all the way down to the local level, results from a marketing message that's not consistent with actual Republican ideology.
“The Democratic message is still there. It's just that people are looking at things from the Republican Party standpoint,” Dale said. “They're saying the things people in rural areas are wanting to hear. Same with the things Donald Trump is saying. But it's not reality. It's just what they want to hear. They think Republicans will solve our problems but they won't.”
Dale also believes there should be more accountability demanded from our elected officials.
“The people need to let them know they are serving the people of Franklin County and they took an oath to support the people and not just be there to occupy a seat for themselves and gain political momentum,” Dale said.
Neighbors has a similar message that centers on the role of government.
“There are needs all around and the people need to fill those needs and not just talk about them. Government is nothing more than how we want to live together without creating harm to others,” Neighbors said. “We need to start talking about these issues and problems and not just calling people names, which doesn't solve anything and just creates ill will and division.”
Dale has been honored by the NAACP with the Trailblazers Award, and he served as Chairman of the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee for four years. In 2018, he was given special recognition by the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP for his dedication and hard work to the organization.
Neighbors is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he earned a Bachelors Degree in Political Science. He received his MBA from the University of North Alabama in 2015, and a graduate certification in Project Management from UNA in 2017. His work experience includes management time with Wrangler and his current employer, Pilgrim's.
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