A Mobile city council candidate who runs opposite the recently deceased incumbent in Tuesday’s second round said on Friday he wanted to know why black money backers are trying to influence the outcome of the race.

William Carroll, a former city councilor who served until 2013, is seeking to regain the seat occupied for two terms by the late Levon Manzie, who died at the age of 38 on September 19. Manzie, who finished first in the municipal elections on August 24, his name will remain on the ballot. If he wins, a special election will be held after November 1 to determine who should serve the next four years in a seat that represents downtown Mobile and its surrounding neighborhoods.

“We need closure, leadership and direction for all of us,” Carroll said, urging voters to support his candidacy. “It is time for us to complete this process.

Carroll criticized political action committees involved in distributing leaflets last week in support of Manzie whose funeral took place on Saturday.

“It’s a lot of money to spend for sentimental or sympathy reasons,” Carroll said. “I think whoever is doing this and what a PAC it is, it’s time for them to come out of the closet and tell the citizens of the district what they want.”

Carroll says $ 100,000 was spent to promote Manzie’s candidacy.

Media reports in recent days, including AL.com, have identified the flyers as the work of TSA PAC, which was formed on August 31 and is led by Tripp Skipper of Auburn. Skipper is a Mobile native who has worked for various GOP candidates over the years, including US Senator Tommy Tuberville’s campaign last year.

Municipal races are non-partisan contests. Manzie was a supporter of Democratic politicians during his tenure.

Skipper said on Thursday he hoped that “the majority of voters will have the opportunity to elect a representative of their choice in a special election.”

Information about campaign funding on the Alabama Secretary of State’s website showed that the South Alabamians for Good Government contributed $ 37,000 to a limited liability company run by Skipper. This company, in turn, contributed $ 30,000 to TSA PAC.

TSA PAC’s only expense to date is $ 28,122.65 in advertising costs for FP1 Strategies LLC based in Arlington, Virginia.

South Alabamians for Good Government is operated by Mobile-based real estate agent Richard Weavil and has received contributions in recent weeks from Mobile business leaders including Fred Stimpson, brother of Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson.

The PAC has paid more than $ 322,000 to Stimpson since he first ran for office in 2013.

Carroll said, “What votes do they want? What do they need? “

If Levon Manzie wins the second round, it will trigger a special election that will spark widespread interest in Mobile as several important votes loom. Among them, annexation, which was rejected in 2019 when four white city council members voted in favor of a plan to attract 13,000 new residents, while the three black members – including Manzie – voted against. The vote required a qualified majority of five votes to pass through the board.

Carroll supporters, since Monday, have expressed concerns over the campaign’s persistence beyond Tuesday, citing annexation as one of their concerns. The annexation vote would come at a time when Mobile is increasingly developing as a majority minority city. According to the 2020 census, the mobile is 51% black, 40% white and its population is in decline. In 2010, the city’s racial demographics were 50.4% Black and 45.4% White.

The 2019 annexation plan was backed by Stimpson and would have made the western edges of Mobile mostly white and left Mobile with a more balanced racial makeup of 48.8% Black and 46.7% White.

Reverend Cleveland McFarland Jr., pastor of St. Peter’s Baptist Church in Mobile, compared Carroll’s efforts to the biblical story of David against Goliath.

“I feel like we are David in front of Goliath,” he said. “David had stones in the sling and that’s the word of God. We are telling the truth and God knows we won’t stop there.

Carroll, who ended the August 24 election with 23% of the vote against 48% for Manzie, said his friends and supporters “cannot be bought.”

“It just won’t happen,” he said. “They worked too hard to earn the right to vote for themselves to sell themselves to a secret group of private men.”