June 19, 2013
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DA Mike O'Dell, Judge Jeremy Taylor switch to GOP STAFF REPORTS MONTGOMERY — Cherokee-DeKalb District Attorney Mike O’Dell and Circuit Judge Jeremy Taylor last week switched their political affiliation to the Republican Party, they announced in separate statements released on June 11. O’Dell and Taylor, both of the state’s Ninth Judicial Circuit, which includes DeKalb and Cherokee counties, cited the national Democratic Party’s shifting priorities among the reasons for their decisions. “I have not changed, but the national Democratic Party certainly has,” O’Dell said. “It is no longer the Democratic Party of my father or my grandfather. It has changed dramatically on important social, moral, and fiscal issues, becoming far too liberal for my conscience.” O’Dell said he has not allowed his dismay with Washington, D.C. to affect his view of members of the local Democratic Party. “My conflict is with the national party, not the local folks who call themselves Democrats,” he said. “They are giving, caring individuals for whom I have the utmost respect.” Taylor’s press release offered insight into his thought process, as well. “I am a conservative and always have been, plain and simple,” Taylor said. “It is important to me that people understand that fact.” Taylor also said he does not expect to see a change in how his party affiliation affects his job. “It is my job to make decisions in lawsuits, to sentence people convicted of crimes, and to deal with family situations,” he said. “The issues that I deal with are not political in nature. The public should expect an unbiased judge every time they go to court. That is what I have been and will continue to be.” In a separate press release also distributed on June 11, Alabama Republican Party Chairman Bill Armistead welcomed O’Dell and Taylor to his party. “The Alabama Republican Party will continue to accept conservative Democrats like District Attorney O’Dell and Circuit Judge Taylor,” Armistead said. |