Lewis eyeing an office? Daniels the favorite; and more in this week’s OTR

Off The Record: The latest rumors and rumblings in North Alabama

 

Lewis for city council?

Rumor has it Kim Lewis is considering a run for Huntsville City Council. Sources say the CEO and co-founder of PROJECTXYZ, Inc is eyeing the District 5 seat, currently held by John Meredith. A well-known community figure, Lewis was elected as the board chair of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce in 2019. One take on the possible run expects a good race if it were to happen but, “Kim is a very smart businesswoman as well as being very engaging in person.  She would be tough to beat.”

Madison adds on

Looks like Madison is expanding their footprint on the Hexagon Campus with the purchase of the fitness center located on Graphics Boulevard. The City previously bought the athletic fields and one of the warehouse-type buildings for Pickleball courts, a fire station and other uses. The facility will continue to operate a fitness center but also provide the City with additional meeting and event space as well as facilities to amenitize and expand their Pickleball center.

Daniels the fav?

Alabama House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels is already on the air with a commercial in Alabama’s Second District. The 60 second ad titled “Seeds” is a bio ad highlighting Daniel’s connection to the district having grown up picking peas with his sharecropper grandparents in the town of Midway in Bullock County.  Daniels is believed to be the favorite in the race for the newly drawn congressional district among national Democrats as he has worked to support other minority candidates across the country during his political career.

Endorsement blitz

Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Alabama Congressmen Dale Strong, Mike Rogers and Gary Palmer in recent days but the endorsement insiders are most keenly watching is in Alabama’s First District which is a Member vs Member primary battle between incumbents Jerry Carl and Barry Moore. Moore has longer ties to President Trump from his 2016 campaign but Carl has been a loyal supporter of the former President as well. It is well known that Trump does like to pick winners so he may hold off on making a call in this race until the campaign begins to play out. Along those lines Jerry Carl is the first in the race to jump on the airwaves with a commercial released this week.