Artur Davis
Artur Earl Davis (born October 9, 1967 in West Montgomery), has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 2003, representing the 7th District of Alabama, a district created under the Voting Rights Act to be black-majority, and which includes the rural Black Belt area as well as urban portions of Birmingham and Tuscaloosa.
Davis was raised by his mother and grandmother after his parents' divorce. He remembers himself as "painfully shy" in his youth, sporting an unfashionable tall afro and thick glasses and spending most of his time in the library. He graduated from Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery and then went to Harvard University . He completed his undergraduate degree magna cum laude in 1990 and cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1993.
As a law student, Davis worked for Senator Howell Heflin for a year, then returned to Montgomery where he clerked for U. S. District Judge Myron Thompson and worked on civil rights cases with the Southern Poverty Law Center. After earning his law degree, he joined the office of the United States Attorney in Montgomery, compiling a 98% conviction rate in the federal courts as an Assistant US Attorney from 1994 to 1998. He left to go into private practice, joining the Birmingham firm of Johnston Barton Proctor & Powell.
Davis ran against Earl Hilliard in the 2000 Democratic primary to represent the 7th District, losing by a narrow margin. In the 2002 election, he won by a similarly narrow margin. Hilliard's defeat was another blow to the once-dominant Jefferson County Citizens Coalition and was credited, in part, to Hilliard's alienating Jewish voters with trips to Libya and non-support for pro-Israel resolutions.
Davis is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Known as a bipartisan legislator, he has earned praise from publications such as Roll Call and the National Journal. Davis was appointed the Senior Whip Team for the Democratic Caucus of the 109th Congress and is the Co-Chair of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, as well as the Southern Regional Co-Chair for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Seen as a rising star, Davis announced in May 2005 that he would like to run for a seat in the United States Senate or Governor of Alabama. After the 2006 general election, in which he was unopposed, Davis showed early interest in challenging Jeff Sessions for his Senate seat in 2008, but instead put his energy into chairing the Alabama campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. He delivered one of the nominating speeches at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.
Following the presidential inauguration, Davis announced his candidacy for Governor in the 2010 election. His platform focusses on economic development and access to education. He won the endorsement of Peggy Wallace Kennedy, daughter of George Wallace.
Davis resides in Birmingham. He married Tara Johnson in January 2008.
| Preceded by: Earl Hilliard |
Representative, 7th Congressional District of Alabama 2003 - present |
Succeeded by: (current) |
References
- Wilson, Michael (July 3, 2002) "In Alabama Politics, How New Kid Won the Bloc." New York Times.
- "Artur Davis." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 20 Feb 2006, 23:51 UTC. 4 Apr 2006, 21:01 [1].
- Whitmire, Kyle (November 16, 2006) "Man of the House: Rep. Artur Davis considers his next move." Birmingham Weekly
- Rawls, Phillip (September 11, 2008) "Obama pal eyes bid to be first black Ala. governor." Associated Press
- Gray, Steven (April 28, 2009) "Can Alabama Spark a Democratic Revival in the South?" TIME magazine.
- Dade, Corey (May 11, 2010) "Black Democrat Tacks to Center in Alabama." Wall Street Journal
- Orndorff, Mary (May 12, 2010) "Campaign 2010: Despite his rising star, Artur Davis says he wants to come home." Birmingham News
External links
- Artur Davis congressional website
- Artur Davis at Congresspedia
- Artur Davis 2010 campaign website