A Jefferson County judge has directed Alicia Escott Lumpkin, a former aide to Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, and the city to gather records relevant to a lawsuit challenging her eligibility to run for Alabama House District 60 against longtime Rep. Juandalynn Givan. Circuit Judge Chuck Price approved the subpoena Thursday, leaving the dispute over whether Lumpkin was legally eligible to run unresolved.
Lumpkin defeated Givan in the May 19 Democratic primary for House District 60, taking 52% of the vote to Givan's 34%, according to BirminghamWatch. Givan responded by suing Lumpkin, the Alabama State Democratic Executive Committee and its chairman, Randy Kelley, arguing that Lumpkin was still working in Woodfin's office when she qualified for the race. As reported by Alabama Political Reporter, Givan sought Lumpkin's employment documentation, including payroll and personnel records, to support that claim.
The eligibility dispute centers on the Mayor-Council Act, which bars mayoral political appointees from seeking elected office. Lumpkin worked as Birmingham's director of process improvement and has said she resigned from her city position before entering the state House race. Per BirminghamWatch's reporting, she presented Democratic officials in January with a letter from Woodfin stating she had resigned.
Records Ordered in Eligibility Dispute
Price's Thursday order directs Lumpkin and the city to gather certified payroll records covering January 19 through May 19, along with pay stubs and earning statements, according to AL.com. It also calls for bank statements showing Birmingham payroll deposits, records identifying her last payment date as a mayoral staff employee, communications with Woodfin and other city employees about her employment status, and documents she submitted to the Alabama Democratic Executive Committee concerning her eligibility. AL.com reported that the records will not be released unless the judge issues another order.
AL.com reported that Price described the requests as narrowly tailored, though some were redundant. Earlier in the case, the judge limited the subpoena to documents concerning Lumpkin and expressed skepticism about the scope of Givan's requests.
Lumpkin Challenges the Court's Authority
Lumpkin's attorneys have challenged the court's authority to hear the election lawsuit. In an October 7 filing, they argued that the Mayor-Council Act does not authorize a court to hear the election lawsuit because the act has no enforcement provision. Her lawyer cited a 1979 case as an example of courts declining to enforce similar statutes in election disputes.
The case has taken on an adversarial tone beyond the paperwork fight. The litigation has also included a request for Price to recuse himself over prior relationships with city leaders, and Givan challenged Price before the Alabama Supreme Court in September — a request the high court denied this week, according to AL.com. In September, Price also issued a gag order barring both sides from speaking publicly or posting on social media after lawyers from both camps had commented on the case online.
A Separate Alabama Eligibility Case
The Birmingham dispute is not the only Alabama candidacy fight working through the courts this fall. In a separate case, the Alabama Supreme Court upheld a Montgomery County Circuit Court decision dismissing a residency challenge to Sen. Tommy Tuberville's eligibility to run for governor, as reported by WSFA.
The Alabama Democratic Party dismissed Givan's contest of the election with prejudice, a development ABC 3340 described as bringing that matter to a final close. The separate court case over Lumpkin's eligibility has continued, with Price issuing further orders last week and the next hearing set for Wednesday, according to AL.com.
Party Contest and Court Case Are Separate
The party process is distinct from the civil lawsuit over Lumpkin's eligibility: the party's disposition of Givan's primary contest did not resolve the separate court case, which remains ongoing.
Givan, a longtime state legislator, remains an active public figure in Alabama politics even amid the litigation; she spoke in opposition to HB1 during a public hearing at the State House in Montgomery in May. Whether the records Price has now ordered will ultimately resolve the eligibility question remains to be seen as the case heads toward its next court date.
