“Nonpartisan?” Bless Your Heart.
- Debbie Local Historian Harper
- Jul 8, 2025
- 2 min read
RDFC Investigative-ish Report: Alabama’s Magical Disappearing Party Affiliations
So let us get this straight…
You’re running for mayor in a small Alabama town. You’ve got opinions, a campaign flyer with an eagle on it, and a handshake that smells like church potluck.
But when it comes to your political party?
Poof. Vanished.
Just like that, you’ve been baptized in the waters of “nonpartisan municipal elections.” Clean slate. No R. No D. Just a nice neutral font and a promise to “bring the community together.”
How convenient. Now we’re not saying folks are being sneaky. But we are saying it’s mighty interesting how, in towns where a certain party affiliation isn’t exactly popular, candidates suddenly become as independent as a cat at bath time.
You know the type:
At the cookout: quoting Reagan
At the Chamber meeting: “We don’t do politics here.”
On the ballot: [Insert Name Here] – totally neutral, like a Cracker Barrel biscuit.
Meanwhile, you’ve got voters trying to figure out who they’re supporting like it’s a mystery game: “Do they hunt? Do they drive a truck? Did they post about gas prices in 2021?”
We’re all out here doing Facebook detective work and analyzing fonts on yard signs like it's CSI: HOA Edition.
So here’s our question:
If your values are important, why not share them?
If your background and beliefs help shape how you’ll govern, why tuck them in your sock drawer come election time?
We get it. It’s legal. It’s how the system works in Alabama. But something tells us this system was built when the biggest campaign concern was whether someone owned a church fan with their name on it.
People deserve to know what (and who) they’re voting for without having to decode your playlist, your truck decals, and your aunt’s Facebook likes.
Until then, we’ll keep doing our civic duty: Roasting nonsense, asking questions, and accidentally starting debates in the comments section of a casserole recipe.
Stay alert, North Jeff. Elections are coming. And “nonpartisan” don’t always mean what you think it means.
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