By Josh Moon
In a low-key, deliberate tone, Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Randy Kelley told members of the State Democratic Executive Committee on Saturday afternoon that he wanted to be re-elected, and he calmly listed a number of things he claimed as accomplishments during his tenure.
His challenger then held a revival.
Bobby Singleton, the state Senate’s minority leader, injected a level of energy and enthusiasm into the room that has been woefully absent among Democrats for the better part of the past two decades. And in less than two minutes, he put forth a set of promises that, if fulfilled, would not only reenergize the party, but might just revive it.
The SDEC members left no doubt.
Singleton was elected by more than 100 votes. And I’m not entirely sure it was that close.
It was a stunning defeat, if not a rebuke coupled with a mandate, for a Joe Reed-backed candidate. Reed, the longtime head of the ADP’s Black Caucus, the Alabama Democratic Conference, had pushed Kelley for re-election, and he was working the SDEC members as late as Saturday morning, trying to find the votes necessary for his candidate.
But it wasn’t the same.
Reed didn’t seem to be pushing as hard, and he didn’t take personal shots publicly at Singleton. Perhaps even Reed knew it was time to let it go.
Because honestly, that seemed to be what Saturday’s vote for chairman was about—turning a page, finally, away from the bickering and bad feelings that have plagued the ADP for 20 years now.
This reorganization of the party didn’t seem like a battle between warring factions. It didn’t seem like a hostile takeover. It didn’t have the trademark nastiness that has accompanied so many previous fights. It surely didn’t have the same tone and tenor as the 2019 shift, which wound up in court and launched a seven-year war.
Instead, it had a well-qualified, well-intentioned candidate who most everyone seemed to agree was the best option for the job. Even if that agreement came begrudgingly from some.
It didn’t hurt that Singleton, who has served in the Alabama Legislature for more than 20 years, has never gotten himself ensnared in the petty fights and ludicrous arguments that have so hampered the ADP over the years, particularly the past six or seven years. When he decided to enter the race for chairman, Singleton called Reed and talked about it. Singleton told him he wasn’t coming in to fight him, just fighting for wins.
That was also the message he yelled to everyone in attendance on Saturday, as Singleton promised to travel to every county, work with every county chair, bring the business community back to the ADP table and work with every minority caucus to build a bigger, better, stronger party.
He has his work cut out for him, as evidenced by Saturday’s meeting. Because while it’s great to say you’re going to rise above the bickering and infighting, it’s quite another to stamp out the ingrained pettiness that so often bogs down every aspect of ADP business and progress.
Case in point: It took ADP officials a full hour of arguing and calling on the parliamentarian just to get the minutes from the previous meeting approved. As one member put it: “It’s the damn minutes from a meeting no one remembers. Who cares? What are we doing?”
At one point during the bickering, there was an announcement that Budweisers were not allowed in the conference room. It wasn’t yet noon.
(Honestly, after a full day of that meeting, I think the Alabama Democrats are missing out on a real sponsorship and fundraising opportunity by not uniting with some sort of alcoholic beverage distributor.)
To get past that sort of baked-in obtuseness, it’s going to take work, a real plan and a uniter. There’s no doubt that Singleton can do all of that. That’s why he was so popular.
To move the party forward, though, is going to take even more. It’s going to require a new commitment to messaging—one that stops relying on traditional media and instead cultivates a controlled, intentional messaging apparatus that amplifies Democratic ideals and values on key issues and keeps all stakeholders engaged and made to feel important. And it’s going to have to stop being so … old.
That pains me to say, being somewhat old myself, but dang, y’all, the party should at least have regularly updated social media accounts and someone throwing together a video or two from time to time. It’s 2026—stop writing people letters to communicate like we’re on the Oregon Trail.
To that end, Singleton nominated himself some real help. The party’s new vice chair will be Caroline Self. If you’ve seen a video featuring a state Democrat on social media over the last couple of years, you can probably thank Self. She’s good at it. And the party will benefit tremendously from her technological skills and her enthusiasm.
But mostly what the party will benefit from is the intelligence of both Singleton and Self—being smart enough to understand that there’s a bigger purpose and that no one gives a damn about their personal spats and grievances. No more ridiculous Facebook posts tearing down another elected leader. No more ridiculous letters taking personal shots at another party leader.
Just a new enthusiasm. And money.
Because the one thing both Singleton and Self know how to do is inspire businesses and donors to give to the party. They’ve been doing it for years. They, along with House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, who nominated Singleton, pushed Self and has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help pretty much every Democrat on the ticket with funding, have been raising money, making deals and building coalitions for years now. And they’ve mostly been doing it without a functioning party apparatus behind them.
That’s why there’s so much excitement and enthusiasm from those close to the ADP. They know what this new leadership has been doing on its own. They’ve seen the results. And now, the rest of the state will, too.
That level of trust and confidence in ADP leadership has been woefully absent for a long time. It has greatly hampered fundraising efforts at both the state and national levels.
That ended Saturday. The excuses are gone. The party that already had the best ideas, best policies and best candidates now has a leadership team that can get the job done.
It’s a new day for Alabama Democrats.