Bessemer attorney Ontario Tillman and Oxmoor Valley resident and Birmingham Water Works Board member Tereshia Huffman appear headed for a June 21 runoff to represent Alabama House District 56.
With 99% of the precincts in Jefferson County counted early Wednesday morning, Tillman led the four-person Democratic race for House District 56 with 2,090 votes (42%) to Huffman’s 1,198 votes (24%).
The other two candidates who apparently didn’t make the runoff were Bessemer Councilman Jesse Matthews with 1,010 votes (20%) and former Bessemer Councilman Cleo King with 712 votes (14%).
House District 56 includes Ross Bridge and part of the Lake Cyrus community in Hoover, as well as most of Bessemer, Brighton, Lipscomb and the Oxmoor Valley and Shannon communities.
The district currently is represented by Louise Alexander, who gave up the seat to run for Alabama Senate District 19 but lost that bid Tuesday to Merika Coleman.
Tillman, 44, is a former educator and basketball coach but has been practicing law for 10 years and currently is a partner in the Maxwell Tillman law firm, working on criminal, civil and family law cases.
This is his first run for public office.
Tillman said he would work to bring more high-paying jobs to House District 56 so people can earn a living wage. He also would work to provide more adequate and affordable housing, push for the expansion of mental health services, work to improve the transit system, roads and other infrastructure, increase pay for teachers and retired teachers, and focus on science, technology, engineering and math education, he said.
Huffman, 37, worked two years as a community organizer for former state Rep. Earl Hilliard, about 4½ years in the office of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and about three years in the office of DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond.
She moved back to Birmingham in 2019 and worked about a year for the REV Birmingham revitalization and economic development nonprofit, eight months with the KHA (Keecha Harris and Associates) consulting firm (working with nonprofits on racial and ethnic equity in environmental and climate issues), and six months as a field organizer for Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin’s 2021 re-election campaign. In October, she joined the Birmingham Promise nonprofit as a student outreach coordinator.
Huffman said she’s running for the Legislature to improve the quality of life for everyday people. Her priorities would include expanding mental health resources, expanding educational opportunities to offer trade and vocational opportunities in middle schools and increase funding for special education and pre-kindergarten programs, she said. She also wants to focus on economic development, making sure House District 56 gets its fair share of money for improving roads, sidewalks, sewer and stormwater pipes, bike trails and access to healthy food options, she said.
