Supporters of William Bell Continue Same Old Politics in Birmingham

Jan. 17 EST

Birmingham radio host Frank Matthews was revealed today to be the person behind spreading flyers bashing mayoral candidate Patrick Cooper. One flyer highlighted his support of openly gay former school board member Howard Bayless and one accused him of not supporting the current chief of police. As the Birmingham News reported at the time, there was only an attribution on one of the flyers, “Paid for by Faith in Birmingham” and they could find no information on such a group. ”Alabama’s Fair Campaign Practices Act mandates such campaign literature be marked as a paid political advertisement and give the identification of the principal individual who paid for or authorized it.”

An e-mail was distributed today from the same e-mail address that was spreading the flyers, only now the e-mail address (jeffersoncountyvotes at gmail) was identified as belonging to Frank Matthews and contained a letter signed by Mr. Matthews,

Dear Concerned Citizen,

My name is Frank Matthews. As most of you are aware, I am radio talk-show host and former co-director of the Mayor’s Office of Citizen’s Assistance. First, I want to thank you for your prayers and support during the past few weeks, then I want to thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Many in the media criticize my methods, but I have a great love for our city. With that being said, I felt compelled to write this personal letter to you giving you the facts about Patrick Cooper. While this letter is in no way intended to attack his character, as many people accuse me of doing, it is intended to expose how his values will affect our city’s moral fabric.

As a minister, I am compelled to reveal to you Mr. Cooper’s public position concerning a vital moral issue that impacts the foundation of our families, our churches, our schools, and all of society: the issue of homosexuality. It is true “all of us have sinned and fallen short of bringing God glory” as stated in Romans 3:23. It is also true that we must repent for known sins. The Word of God clearly states homosexuality is a sin according to Romans 1:24-32. God loves us as sinners, but He hates our sin. Traditional marriage between a man and a woman has been the foundation of every civilized culture since the beginning of time. The citizens of Alabama understand this and showed their agreement by voting overwhelmingly in 2006 by an 81% to 19% margin in favor of the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment Act defining marriage as between one man and one woman. In October 2007, Birmingham elected the first openly gay man to public office in Alabama as Howard Bayless won a seat on the Birmingham City School Board governing the affairs of almost 30,000 young hearts and minds in our city. He did this with the support of the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender political action committee in the nation along with the very public endorsement of Patrick Cooper standing proudly at Mr. Bayless’ side. It is not my intention to disrespect either of these men, but it is my duty to remind God’s people that this is an abomination and unpleasing in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.

All across the nation, school boards for children at the elementary and kindergarten levels are approving curriculum that promotes the homosexual lifestyle. This is morally wrong, brings confusion about gender identity to our children, condones sexual perversion, and can ultimately have detrimental influence socially. Not only would Patrick Cooper seek to advance this radical agenda upon our matriculating school children, but he wants to eliminate the “Laptops for Kids” program altogether, and replace it with Pre-K programs. These programs would indoctrinate the acceptance of this lifestyle, by our children, at an even earlier age. Within the last two years, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that Jefferson

County had the highest rate of syphilis per 100,000 residents of any county in the nation and warned our citizens about the “epidemic rate” of the growing number of cases. Of course, syphilis is spread through heterosexual as well as homosexual relationships, but we need a leader who will stand for purity and traditional family values.

In conclusion, Patrick Cooper’s anti-traditional family values can only be a detriment to the children of our city. This is not the kind of leadership, vision, and action we want and need in Birmingham. Please get out and vote January 19th for what’s best morally, for Birmingham now and for future generations. Vote William Bell to be the next mayor of our great city!

Brought to you, and paid for, by:

Frank Matthews

I could write all day long about why I disagree with Mr. Matthews on civil rights for gays, lesbians and trans-gendered citizens and why (particularly as we are celebrating the legacy of Dr. King) we still have a long way to go, that is not the only issue here. Political communication is governed by the Fair Campaign Practices Act, which states,

It shall be unlawful for any person, candidate, principal campaign committee, or other political action committee to publish or distribute or display, or cause to be published or distributed or displayed, any card, pamphlet, circular, poster, or other printed material relating to or concerning any election, which does not contain the identification of the person, candidate, principal campaign committee, or other political action committee responsible for the publication or distribution or display of the same.

The penalty for failing to comply,

The attorney general may prosecute any person who violates the FCPA law. Anyone failing to comply with the advertising requirements would be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and subject to a fi ne of not more than $2,000 and/or imprisonment of not more than one year.

It even seems Mr. Matthews understands the law now, because of the way he signed the letter. So I hope he is investigated for the initial distribution of the flyers. People certainly have the right to communicate their opinions in elections, but in doing so, they also must follow the law. William Bell’s supporters are playing the same old games in Birmingham, and I hope we don’t see the same kind of result because of it.