Givan on the Special Session, Special Interests and her Primary Opponent

ALPolitics.com spoke with Alabama State Representative Juandalynn Givan (D-60) to talk about the recent Special Session and her current primary race.

We began by asking what she would like to say to the people of Birmingham and Alabama about what happened in the State house with the passage of HB1 and SB1.

“I want to say to the State of Alabama, to the world, it is simply plantation politics at its best,” Givan began. “It is a taking of the rights of those who are People of Color, that look like me, an attempt to strip away representation in the Black community or in marginalized communities. Marginalized communities may not always just be Black communities, but certainly they have a greater impact. It has a greater impact in Black communities.

“What happened at the State House this week? My colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle would say that it's not racism. They would say that it is giving individuals an opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice. On the backside of that, I simply say what they have said to the general public has been a lie. Not just a lie, but a big lie, a damn lie.

“It is an attempt by the Republican Party, because they are in fear of what possibly may happen in Congress during the midterm elections, and that there is a potential slaughter, a potential slaughter of the Republican Party because of Trump, his antics and this war. Prices are rising. Criticism is increasing. Our country is not better off than where he found it. We are now in a position in which we are facing astronomical gas prices throughout the country. Jobs are being cut at a rapid rate. Over 600,000 Black women since Trump, nearly 600,000 Black women have lost their jobs all in the name of the Republican Party. So what you saw here is an order that they had been given.

“I had several conversations with several of my colleagues, and they basically told me what was going on. And they said that there was a possibility that there would be an imbalance in Congress, an unbalance. I don't know what that unbalanced terminology means, but I would venture to say, and you can quote me, that it probably means that unbalancing means that there's going to be more Democrats in Congress than Republicans.”

We then asked Rep. Givan about her current primary, where she is facing political newcomer Alicia Escott Lumpkin in the May 19 primary.

When asked how she thought the race was going, Givan said, “It's a hell of a race. Listen, I'm going to win this race, and not only am I going to win it, I'm going to win it big. There has been an attempt to strip this position from me, because I am outspoken, because they can't push me back, because I'm not bought. I am unbossed and unbought. Because when I was elected by the people of House District 60, I was elected by the people to go to fight, not to go to buddy up, not to go and suck the behinds of my colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle, not to be a Stepin Fetchit, not to be an Auntie Tammy nor an Uncle Tom, but to go to Montgomery to fight for the people. And every battle, my people in district 60 are expecting me to fight on their behalf. I have done that since 2010 whether people like me or not, I've done it. Whether it's been a popular thing to do, I've done it.

“Dr Martin Luther King said it's not the Measure of a Man where he stands in times of comfort, but it is where he stands in times of controversy, where he stands in times of trouble. Well, I've stood in times of controversy. I've stood in times of trouble, and I can honestly say that since 2010 I have fought the good fight to fight for education, to fight for jobs, to fight for voter protections, to fight for criminal justice and social justice and human rights. I fought for a woman's right to choose. I fought for inclusion. I fought the good fight to protect. Our children and public safety, to protect our neighborhoods. And with that, I do believe that the people of House District 60 will be well pleased with the service that I have rendered.

“Has it been easy? No. Is it a popular place to be when you stand boldly? No, but I am tasked with doing that. For me, it's not a popularity contest. It's not a beauty contest. I'm not on the runway when I walk into the corridors of the Alabama House of Representatives at 11 South Union Street. I'm in the arena, and I am a woman in the arena. And, if I could quote Truman, ‘it is not the person or the critic, rather, that counts.’ It's the one that is in the arena that has been marred, that has been bruised, that is battling at battle after battle.

“Well, I am that person. I'm not a fake, and I'm not a phony. I'm going to speak my mind and I'm going to call a thing as it is. I'm not going to go in these rooms and put together backdoor deals and skin and grin, no, and that's what the people of House District 60 have in me: a true warrior, a fighter.”

We then asked Rep. Givan about the very significant endorsements her opponent has gathered, including the support of Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and what some have called the “Woodfin machine.”

“First of all, I'm gonna say I didn't know Woodfin had a machine,” Givan answered. “Number one, that's the first thing I'm gonna say. I'm not gonna give Randall Woodfin that much power. Number two, but with that being said, and I'm not afraid of Randall Woodfin, I never have been, and I won't be regardless of the election. I am a grown woman, a fully grown woman, an educated woman, a woman who has sense enough to read for myself, to study and show myself approved. I don't need his pediatric politics, because that's what he exemplifies.

”He is a man who endorsed my opponent because he said he wants someone that won't point fingers. Now, what that means in translation is you want somebody that you can run over. He wants someone that he can boss. He wants someone that he can mumble under his breath and talk and fake funk, as he always does, but I've never bought into it, and I will not, because I have too much sense in it, and I will not buy into it from him.

“He's no different from any other leader. I have multiple Cities in House District 60 district, the City of Birmingham is just one, and I only have a few precincts in House District 60 that are in the city of Birmingham. So, I will not allow him to relegate anything with regards to me as a leader, all in order to boost himself up. Because, at the end of the day, if you want somebody that won't point fingers again, that means you want somebody that you can push back and you can't push me back.

“So, with regards to my opponent, listen, God bless her. God bless her. God bless her. But I'll simply say this, when you run a race, let's get back to the special interests. I could care less about the special interests. I've been in Montgomery since 2010. I've been endorsed by BCA, I think since 2010, one time. And I don't think I asked for the endorsement. I was endorsed by ALFA one time. I don't think four years ago that I asked. I think it was just because I was a Democrat, and it hadn't been, and it was understood that they would support many other Democrats.

“I'm no stranger to not being endorsed by a special interest. I could care less. I don't seek after it. I don't run it down. And if I feel or I ask somebody about it and they say they don't want me, I shake the dust off of my feet and I move on.

“So I don't need their endorsements because they can't vote. BCA can't vote for me. All BCA can do is continue to roll out every other week, or every week a mailer from the Progress PAC. With that being said, and everyone they roll out, I have one coming. God has shined his face upon me in this race.

“But let's just get back to the special interests. Special Interests. I don't care who endorses who. I don't care about an endorsement from anyone that I won't be able, when it's time for me to cast my vote, that they have me in a headlock, that they have cut me down below my kneecaps, that they have restrained me on the ground, and I can't vote the way I need to vote for the people that I represent.

“It is interesting to me that they've endorsed my opponent, somebody they don't know, and I know all of the inner workings that are involved and in in play, from the Speaker on down. The others that are in the House, but I'm good with it, because what they thought they were going to do was stop me financially, but they weren't able to stop me. They weren't able to stop me and to get me where I couldn't move. So that's my thought about them. I could care less about the special interests, because when I win this race, I didn't need them for this election, and I certainly won't need them afterwards.”

We then asked Givan if she had any final thoughts as a wrap up message for the people of your district.

Givan said, “Listen, my wrap up message is this, and it's going to be real quick, but I want to close out with one thing. The question is, why is my opponent bought and paid for? Why has so much Republican money been poured into a Democrat? Why has Steve Raby and the North Alabama PAC funded in mass quantities the race of a Democrat? Why has the Republican leadership supported the funding of my opponent via a Republican pack, when we all know that goes against the Republican Holy Grail. So that's the question that we need to get answered today. Why is my opponent bought and paid for by the Republican Party?

“My opponent, and if I want to say one thing, has had five events and she couldn't get five people at the event, other than her campaign team and some of Whitman's teams, five major events, and nobody showed up. Five. I had one, and it was beyond measure. Over 600 people, 700 people showed up to one event. She had five. That tells you a whole lot about the people of House District 60.

“The other thing is, as I close, they don't know her, because she's not running on her name. She's running on the backing of a man who hates me for no reason. A person who has always helped this Mayor, who's always stood 10 toes down for him until I couldn't.

“There’s another thing I'm able to add in here. Had it not been for Juandalynn Givan standing up on the issue of crime in the city of Birmingham, when we had nearly 1000 people to die. The city is dilapidated in many places. Birmingham is bigger than uptown and downtown, and 70 something percent of the killings that took place were in and around House District 60. So I'm proud of the work that I've done. I'm going to continue to fight the good fight. I'm going to continue to do what the people of House District 60 have asked me to do. I'm going to continue to fight for infrastructure. I'm going to continue to fight for a lottery. I'm going to continue to fight for workforce development and working across lines with regards to county leadership and city leadership, for economic growth and development, for public safety, for our families and our communities, and for fighting the Republicans.

“That's what I'm going to do when I'm re-elected, because that's what the people of House District 60 elected me to do in 2010. I fought the good fight. I've stood when others have sat, and I'm going to continue to fight the good fight, and I'm going to continue to be a voice and a vision for the people of House District 60.

“And, at the end of the day, once every vote is counted, if the people say no and they send me home, I don't own this seat. This is the people’s seat. They lease it to us every four years. And if they say they don't want to read up on the lease, I've got to go. So with that being said, I'm going to continue to be the dynamic, the fiery, the brilliant, the bright, the intelligent, the sassy, the classy State legislator representing House District 60, because I know I have truly glamorized this position, and those individuals who are running for this seat have thirsted and longed for a position that I have made made even greater,” she finished.

Juandalynn Givan is a Democratic member of the Alabama House of Representatives, serving District 60 in Jefferson County since 2010. A Birmingham native, attorney, and business owner, she earned degrees from Miles College and Miles Law School before working in city government and founding her firm, Givan & Associates. In the legislature, she has focused on issues such as public health, criminal justice reform, and local governance, while building a reputation as a direct and vocal advocate for underserved communities.

For more information, follow Givan’s campaign on Facebook.

The opinions expressed above are solely those of the speaker, and do not reflect the views and opinions of ALPolitics.com. They are presented as accurately as possible in the interest of providing accurate information to the voting public about the candidates. ALPolitics.com makes no claims nor assumes any responsibility for the information and opinions expressed above.

ALPolitics.com has reached out to Ms. Lumpkin’s campaign to offer her a chance to respond in kind.