Davis calls for party unity

TUSCUMBIA - U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, D-Birmingham, brought a message of unity to the Tuscumbia Multi-Purpose Center on Saturday.

The Alabama gubernatorial candidate was the keynote speaker at the Colbert County chapter of the Alabama Democratic Conference's annual unity banquet.

Davis spoke for roughly 15 minutes, primarily about the mission of the ADC and how coming together as people and as Democrats can help create the "state we always imagined we could be."

"We are so much stronger and better if we find a way to see each other," Davis said.

"The mission of the ADC is to get us to a better place than we used to be," Davis said.

Davis urged local Democrats to become more involved in the political process, especially in the area of registering more voters.

He illustrated how important that is by pointing out that Democrat Don Siegelman lost his last bid for governor to Republican Bob Riley by a mere 3,000 votes.

Davis said there are probably that many unregistered voters in the Shoals alone.

He said there are about 190,000 people in Alabama who are eligible to vote but have not registered.

During his speech, Davis gave a nod to State Sen. Bobby Denton, D-Muscle Shoals, who provided several musical selections, and to the late U.S. Sen. Howell Heflin.

Davis worked for a time in Heflin's Washington, D.C., office.

While the event was sponsored by the ADC, local Republican candidates and office holders were invited, said Emmitt Jimmar, Colbert County president of the Alabama Democratic Conference.

Their attendance was noted in a lighthearted way by both Davis and Denton, who substituted the line "We're gonna make this red state blue" for the line, "Don't it make my brown eyes blue," from the popular Crystal Gayle song.

Davis said Alabama could become a "blue state" through grassroots efforts to register more Democrat voters.

Jimmar said one of the goals of Saturday's event was to increase participation in the election process and provide more information about issues that affect voters.

Jimmar said he would like to see more events such as this in 2010, possibly every six weeks and maybe less formal.

What he wants to avoid is voter withdrawal or apathy, especially after a presidential election that brought more voters to the polls in years.

Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@TimesDaily.com.