State Representative Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, has filed a lawsuit against Alicia Escott Lumpkin and the Alabama Democratic Party following Lumpkin’s victory in the Democratic primary election for House District 60.
In her lawsuit, Givan alleges that Lumpkin was still an employee of Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin’s office at the time she qualified for the Democratic primary, despite Alabama law prohibiting a member of the mayor’s staff from running for elected office while employed by the city.
Givan also claims that the Alabama Democratic Party improperly accepted Lumpkin’s resignation letter as sufficient evidence that she was no longer employed by the mayor’s office after Givan filed an initial complaint with the party’s executive committee. Givan argues that Lumpkin should be required to produce employment documentation, including payroll and personnel records, as well as records showing that Lumpkin no longer had access to “city-issued employment privileges” such as her city computer, email or phone at the time she qualified.
In accepting Lumpkin’s resignation letter, Givan argues that the Alabama Democratic Party “improperly elevated internal party procedures, customs, interpretations, and bylaws above controlling Alabama statutory law.”
The lawsuit asks the Jefferson County Circuit Court to determine whether Lumpkin was still employed by the city at the time she qualified; disqualify Lumpkin from being certified as the Democratic nominee if she was still an employee of the mayor’s office at the time; and declare that the bylaws and internal procedures of the Alabama Democratic Party do not supersede Alabama statutory law governing candidate eligibility.
Givan’s request for a temporary restraining order to prevent Lumpkin from being certified while the litigation is ongoing was denied on procedural grounds Tuesday, with the court finding that the plaintiffs did not make a sufficient effort to provide the defendants with proper notice of the hearing.
Lumpkin responded to the lawsuit in a public statement Tuesday, comparing Givan’s legal action to President Donald Trump’s repeated denial of the 2020 presidential election results.
“The voters of District 60 made their decision on May 19. They weighed the record, they heard the arguments, and they chose a new direction for their community. That is democracy working exactly as it should,” Lumpkin said. “And yet, rather than honor what the people decided, Juandalynn Givan has filed a lawsuit to undo it. She ran for Congress and lost. She ran for mayor and lost. She ran to hold onto her state legislative seat, and she lost again.”
“At some point, the honorable path is to hear what the voters are telling you. But instead of listening, she is litigating,” Lumpkin continued. “Donald Trump refused to accept the results of a free and fair election. He spent years in court trying to reverse what millions of Americans had already decided. We called it what it was then, and we should call this what it is now. It is a fundamentally un-American rejection of our democratic values.”
“District 60 voted. Their voice is not a problem to be solved in court. It is a mandate to be honored, and I intend to honor it every single day.”
Lumpkin did not immediately respond to APR’s request for comment regarding the specific allegations made in the suit.
Meanwhile, Givan told APR that she “stands firmly by the complaint,” arguing that she has the right as a candidate to question her opponent’s qualifications.
“The law is the law,” Givan said.
