The faction of the Alabama Democratic Party that maintains Nancy Worley is the rightful chairperson suffered a big defeat on Thursday when Montgomery Judge Greg Griffin dismissed Worley’s lawsuit that aimed to return her to power.
The opinion handed down by Griffin stated simply that the judge did not believe he had jurisdiction over an intra-political-party dispute.
The decision is a big win for Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa), who the Democratic National Committee (DNC) had already been dealing with as the Chair of the Party. England is supported by Alabama’s lone statewide elected Democrat, Senator Doug Jones (D-AL).
Worley’s most powerful ally in the party, Joe Reed, told the Montgomery Advertiser that “it’s not over yet.”
He added about the possibility of a federal lawsuit, “We’ve got a good case, I’m very satisfied we’ve got a good case.”
The dispute over control of the Alabama Democratic Party can be traced back to August 2018 when Doug Jones attempted to install his ally, Peck Fox, as the new chairman of the party.
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That attempt by Jones to install Fox failed to get the votes needed, but irregularities in the way the Worley/Reed regime conducted the election were reported to the DNC.
After a lengthy investigation and several attempts at conflict resolution, the DNC revoked Worley’s credentials and ceased recognizing her as the chairperson of the party.
After more months of fits and starts, a sizable contingent of the party gathered and elected England to be the new chairperson of the state party.
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Worley, who never lost the support of longtime Democratic Party power player Joe Reed, filed a lawsuit against England and the other new officers of the party.
That lawsuit bounced around Alabama’s courts until Thursday when it was dismissed by Griffin.
England released a statement on Thursday, saying in part, “I’m excited both to put this matter behind us and to get to work doing what matters most, electing Democrats in Alabama.”
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.
