Roby will run for Congress

Montgomery City Councilwoman Martha Roby said she will be a candidate for the 2nd Congressional District in 2010.

The Republican said Wednesday that she has filed her paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to organize a campaign, which allows her to begin raising money.

“Having talked to local, state and national people, we’re strongly encouraged by the response we have received,” she told the Montgomery Advertiser.

This story first appeared on the Montgomery Advertiser’s South Union Street blog, which can be found at http://southunionstreet.blogspot.com/

Roby, who is in her second term on the council, could face the man who was the city’s chief executive during most of her time as a city official, freshman U.S. Rep. Bobby Bright.

Bright, the former Montgomery mayor, became the first Democrat elected to the 2nd District since the 1960s.

“Congressman Bright is focused on continuing to be a strong independent voice in Congress and being open and accessible to his constituents in the 2nd District of Alabama,” Bright’s communications director, Lewis Lowe, wrote in an e-mail Wednesday evening. “There will be a time and a place for politics, and when that time comes Congressman Bright welcomes a debate on the issues.”

Bright defeated state Rep. Jay Love, R-Montgomery, in November by less than 1,800 votes.

Love beat a crowded field of five other Republicans to win the nomination.

He said Wednesday he has not made a decision, but is leaning toward running for reelection to the Alabama House of Representatives.

“I am going to wait until the fall until I make my final decision,” Love said. “I’m leaning toward running for my House seat again, but I have not closed the door on anything.”

Roby, 32, said she has talked to friends, voters and others about the type of leadership they want in the district. She said she and her husband Riley are grateful for the encouragement they have received and she would be honored to represent the district, which runs from Autauga and Elmore counties down to the Florida line.

When asked if she had concerns with the current leadership in the district, Roby said “there will be a time to talk about the issues, but right now we are focused on building a winning team and meeting as many voters as we possibly can.”

Roby, who was reelected to the council overwhelmingly in 2007, said she started talking about running for the congressional seat in late 2008 and “started seriously considering it back in February of this year.”

She expects to win and said fundraising will be one of the key issues in the race.

Through his last report at the end of March, Bright had almost $172,000 on hand after paying off his campaign debt. The vast majority of money Bright has received in recent months has come from political action committees.

Roby, a lawyer, said she would formally launch her campaign at a later date.

“For the past six years on the Montgomery City Council, I’ve used common-sense leadership and conservative Alabama values to guide my decision making, and in Congress I will continue to apply those same principles when seeking solutions to get this country back on track,” she said in a statement issued by her campaign on Wednesday. “This election is about the hardworking people that want to live, work and raise a family here in central and southeast Alabama.
“I will continue to listen to these voters in the coming months as we work to build a grassroots campaign based on the leadership that Alabama families are calling for in Washington.”

The Montgomery native is married with two children, the youngest born in February.
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