By Marcus Echols
The definition of a political crash dummy is “a politician maneuvered into a political prostitute position for outside community purposes and ends up doing lasting damage as part of an agenda.” There’s one thing that will make the grassroots get active to set the record straight at the polls a political prostitute hoping to once again get laid into a position of leadership. Huntsville, Alabama District 1 Councilman Devyn Keith is allegedly serving as the current political crash dummy of our times but for who? Who’s he crashing out for, it’s certainly not District 1. It’s so good to see grassroots people motivated to make this correction by organizing to turn back politicians like Devyn Keith who end up doing legacies great damage like Councilman Keith did to the late titan Richard Showers, Sr. legacy, and black women leaders like former Judge Cybil Cleveland.
When District 1 considers reelecting Devyn Keith and his baggage they need to take a stroll down memory lane because memories can be very bad when it comes to elected officials and Councilman Keith is no exception. His latest shenanigans earned him changes to his role on the Huntsville, Alabama City Council. Councilman Keith pleaded guilty to shoplifting and was banned from Walmart. He (Keith) was removed from his position as Chair of the Finance Committee so District 1 lost that. No one wants to sit up there and watch Councilman Keith with his head down looking all defeated and emasculated at televised council meetings. It was very selfish for him to remain in office and try to be reelected at a time when the community needs strong honest leadership. If Councilman Devyn Keith really cared more about District 1 than he cared about himself and a check he wouldn’t be running right now. When Keith is finally defeated in the runoff stick a political fork in him because he’s done. He should’ve stepped away after pleading guilty to shoplifting and being kicked off from the finance position a powerful position so he wouldn’t be a pitiful and shameful distraction to black leadership. He has no more pep and has lost his mojo and the defeat and shame are written all over his political face. Let’s take a stroll down grassroots memory lane.
Grassroots Memory Lane of 4 Bad Acts By District 1 Candidate/Councilman Keith:
- Arrival Incident: Devyn Keith was a student of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, Keith graduated with his Master’s in Public Administration and while in Boston, worked in leadership roles in area nonprofits and government. I was a campaign manager for another candidate and our camp never figured out how in spite of a good education able-bodied man who had work experience at respectable levels could allegedly live in a HUD home. He was an able-bodied, educated man and with no children so how did he get a HUD home ahead of all the single mothers and others on the long Madison County, AL waiting list?
- Theft of Ideas Incident: For over 20 years the candidate I represented (Peter Proctor Jr) had plans and talked about a Performing Arts District in North Huntsville, Alabama. Devyn took that idea and had plans drawn up for a Performing Arts District and had the plans distributed all over District 1 but the only plan he had that materialized was the now defunct “Dark Side Cafe” he opened in 2020 and the site is still up advertising that “mobile ordering coming soon” and clicking on anything on that site will get you next to nothing so it’s a mystery why it’s even still up and active if no actions can be taken leaving visitors to the site to wonder is all some sort of business facade.
- The Infamous Photoshop Incident: On memory lane, we remember the infamous photoshop Devyn and his team did on a picture of him and the late great Richard Showers Sr. who had served District 1 for almost 30 years in the seat now defiled by Keith. Candidate Keith had taken a photo with the late Richard Showers in Mr. Showers’s office in front of a large bookshelf which had many of Dr. Showers’s accolades and life’s accomplishments but when Devyn used the photo to allegedly project like Showers was either passing him the patron or something. To this day Devyn hasn’t fully explained why he and/or his team did this last-minute mailing. Councilman Keith once referred to Richard Showers, Sr as a titan (which he was/is) but Devyn once photoshopped the titan’s accolades out of a picture he took with him in Showers’s office allegedly because he felt insecure compared to the accomplishments of Councilman Showers.
- The Hidden Figure Incident: Once elected Devyn created his very own “hidden figure” in his total opposition to now-retired Judge Cybil Cleveland becoming head Judge. At the time Judge Cleveland was recommended/endorsed by the outgoing/retiring judge as well as the President of the Alabama Judges Association. Again it was never completely known why Devyn derailed this African American woman who had accomplished and recognized for so much during her career as a Judge. Councilman Keith forcefully pushed a Mayor Tommy Battle (R) ally and the SEVERELY FLAWED Alonzo Robinson and all his problems into the position. Allegedly Councilman Keith was doing the bidding of Mayor Tommy Battle and other dark forces to derail Judge Cleveland from being head judge and over the Clerk of the Court Fund which at the time had $7 million dollars in its reserves. Allegedly the fear was that Judge Cleveland was a firm believer in programs of rehabilitation and less jail confinement and Mayor Battle, District 1 Councilman Devyn Keith, and other powerful people were against programs that included the ideas of Judge Cleveland.