Selma Elects Black Mayor; Mrs. Clinton Wins Primary

Businessman James Perkins was elected Selma’s first black mayor Tuesday, ousting a former segregationist, in one of several state primaries.

In Vermont, two Republican legislators who voted for the state’s civil union law for gay couples were ousted, three more were trailing badly and a Democrat who opposed it also was defeated.

In New York, party-swapping Rep. Michael P. Forbes was locked in a dead heat in a Democratic primary with a 71-year-old former librarian who raised just $40,000 to his $1.4 million. And Hillary Rodham Clinton breezed past a little-known challenger to win the Democratic Senate primary.

As nine states and the District of Columbia held contests on the last big primary day of 2000, the first lady built a wide lead over orthopedic surgeon Mark McMahon en route to her contest against unopposed Republican Rep. Rick Lazio in November.

With 97% of precincts reporting, Clinton had 527,527 votes, or 82%, to McMahon’s 119,357 votes, or 18%.

In Selma, James Perkins defeated Joe Smitherman, a white man first elected before the bloody civil rights march of 1965.

Perkins received 6,326 votes, or about 57%, in the nonpartisan runoff marked by heavy turnout. Smitherman had 4,854 votes, or about 43%.

“Many have said it’s about black and white. That ain’t so,” Perkins said. “Faith won this campaign.”

The 70-year-old Smitherman was a segregationist when he first took office in 1964. He later welcomed blacks into his administration as blacks grew to become the majority in this central Alabama city of about 22,000.

In Vermont, where homosexuals can now be united in civil ceremonies, a dozen Republican legislators who voted for the law were targeted in their primaries. Signs across parts of the state urged: “Take back Vermont.”

One of the chief authors of the bill, Republican House Judiciary Chairman Thomas Little, beat back a challenge. But Republican Reps. Marion Milne and John Edwards were defeated, and Republican state Sen. Peter Brownell and Reps. Robert Kinsey and William Fyfe were trailing. Also, a Democrat who voted against civil unions--state Rep. James McNamara--was ousted.

Forbes left the GOP last year, saying the party had become too extremist, but his primary opponent, Regina Seltzer, attacked his conservative voting record. With 98% of the ballots tallied, she led by just 44 votes out of 11,592 cast.