Mediaboss Marketing

Fred Richardson might not go down as the most influential politician to have come through Mobiles Government Plaza. His run for mayor this year came far short of giving incumbent Mayor Sandy Stimpson serious concerns.

But for the past quarter century, few politicians in Alabama can claim to be as quotable or who had such an outsized personality as the former post office worker and author who once wrote and published his own autobiography and who once convinced state officials to erect an interstate exit sign to his hometown of Nymph.

Related stories:

Gutless, Unhindered, discrimination: Sparks fly in Mobile over councilmans email

Mobile councilman locked out of email likens required cybersecurity training to Jim Crow discrimination

Councilman Fred Richardson on MoonPie criticism: Its because of who I am

Mention Richardson by name, and a memorable quote will come to mind. You ring, I spring, or The only race is the human race.

His unique pursuit of a New Years Eve event for Mobile will forever be commemorated in the form of a giant Moon Pie.

The things he said were the most memorable, said Mobile-based radio personality Uncle Henry, a longtime follower of Mobile city politics who often replayed Richardsons council commentary during his radio broadcasts on NewsRadio710. No one made quite the impression he did through force of personality and speech.

Richardson, who represented the largest Black district on the council since 1997, retired from public life this week after serving nearly 25 years on the Mobile City Council. He joined longtime Council members Bess Rich and John Williams in bidding adieu on Tuesday. Collectively, the three council members had 58 years of experience (Rich with 19 years and Williams with 14 years).

Richardson, 82, was the councils longest-serving member and trailed only Reggie Copeland, who served 28 years from 1985-2013, for serving the most consecutive years on the council.

At 10 a.m. on Monday, a new group of council members will be sworn into office.

I will miss it, said Richardson, who plans on writing and traveling in the months to come. I dont go to bed most nights until 1 oclock in the morning. I have 100 or more emails to answer. People ask me all kinds of questions that are near and dear to them.

Race card

Richardson will also be remembered as a polarizing figure who never shied from talking about injustices and his viewpoints on sensitive political issues like annexation that would spark outrage among critics.

Get rid of Fred Richardson was the title of one Facebook page, luring mostly white conservatives in Mobile together against a common enemy.

The Mardi Gras group, Comic Cowboys rarely goes a year without a parade that doesnt lampoon the lively councilman.

Artistic panels from the Comic Cowboys are seen near the Mardi Gras organization's den on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in downtown Mobile. In lieu of their traditional parade, the group opted to host a virtual parade.

Richardson has been fighting back allegations that hes racist since his first year in office, when a chapter of a civil rights history book he wrote in the 1970s The Genesis and Exodus of NOW became fodder for critics who claimed the councilman called whites cursed people. Richardson was a ranking member of the Neighborhood Organized Workers during the civil rights movement, and the group often sparred with white segregationists of the time including then-city Commissioner Lambert Mims.

The only reason they put the race card out there was to slow me down, Richardson said. That was something to stop me. My answer has always been that humans are the same species and in the same race. You cannot procreate with anyone but those in your own race.

On Tuesday, Richardson said he was leaving office with a clear conscience.

I got criticized a lot because I didnt follow the mold of council members prior to me, Richardson recently told AL.com. I wasnt trying to figure out what other council members do. I went on and did what I think were the things to benefit the folks in my district in the city of Mobile. I didnt ask for permission. No one at City Hall was in charge of me.

But sometimes Richardsons controversial viewpoints were met with approval, even in front of audiences that might not align to his politics.

I remember a conflict with the Sons of the Confederacy and he went with me to their meeting, said Mike Dow, mayor of Mobile from 1989-2005. Fred got up and gave his feelings on things. They all gave him a standing ovation. I thought, Wow, isnt this interesting?

I thought he was crazy

ity Councilman Fred Richardson tosses MoonPies to the crowd as the MAMGA Mammoth Parade rolls along Route B in Mobile, Ala., on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. (Mike Kittrell/AL.com)

Unique in style and approach, Richardson will be remembered for a creative zeal toward public office.

His lively oratorical skills were often on display at the end of each weekly council meeting. Richardsons delivery style combined the energy of a civil rights-era preacher with the promotional zest of a professional wrestler the Rev. Al Sharpton meets the American Dream Dusty Rhodes. He became to Mobile what the late state Rep. Alvin Holmes was to the State House in Montgomery: An outgoing and sometimes humorous voice with spirited takes on race relations, governance, and society.

The brash public statements sparked made-for-media moments, a few laughs, some groans, and plenty of headaches for mayoral administrations.

We knew as reporters that Fred would give you something fun, quotable and outrageous, said Councilwoman Gina Gregory, a former TV reporter. And they still do today.

Councilman C.J. Small said he can remember, before he was elected to office, watching Richardsons antics on TV. Small recalled that during one interview, Richardson grabbed a shovel under the council dais and told reporter Renee Dials that he was going to get to the bottom of this regarding a budget issue.

I thought he was crazy there was no telling what would come out of his mouth, said Small. He was like the character of the hour.

Said Uncle Henry, He was outstanding radio. I loved it when he would talk at length on any topic. I knew I could play it on air and get a reaction.

Colorful personality

Richardsons flair for the dramatic came across mostly during the council meetings, where Government Plaza would become his personal theatrical stage.

Sometimes the performances would be talked about more than the controversy at hand.

Fred used the council meetings to raise issues he thought needed to be addressed throughout the city as well as in his district, said former Mobile Mayor Sam Jones, a current member of the Alabama House. Thats what council members are for. They are not to just sit there on Tuesdays.

One moment occurred in 2014, the year after Stimpson was first elected mayor. He defeated Jones after a divisive campaign.

Richardson nominated Jones to serve as his District 1 representative to the Mobile Area Water and Sewer Systems board of commissioners. But the council, with a 4-3 vote along racial lines, denied Richardsons appointment. The decision stirred reactions throughout the city and sparked the first major controversy of the Stimpson era.

Richardson showed up to a May 2014 meeting dressed in a black suit. Acting as if he was attending a funeral, the councilman read a proclamation of mourning as he eulogized his council district. He said he felt the district was disenfranchised by the councils actions because Jones his selection to the water board was not voted on.

The three Black council members then voted to abstain on several other council agenda items, prompting the Stimpson administration to walk out of the meeting before it was over.

A few weeks later, Stimpson came out with a statement that he would support the Jones appointment. Richardson then praised the mayor for showing leadership.

I cannot think of anyone to compare him to, said Uncle Henry. I can think of other colorful figures who are great at making speeches and doing big things, but no one quite like him.

MoonPie Over Mobile

Councilman Fred Richardson at the "Moon Pie Over Mobile" New Year's celebration at Cooper Riverside Park Friday Jan 1, 2010 in Mobile, Ala.

Richardson is most associated with his support of MoonPie Over Mobile, the New Years Eve event he founded in 2008. The event started as a local oddity but generated some national media attention after a large papier-mache MoonPie was dropped during a street party as the public counted down to celebrate the New Year.

It has grown ever since into an annual Alabama attraction. Anywhere from 40,000 to 60,000 people depending on the weather gather in downtown Mobile to watch a massive 600-pound lit MoonPie lowered from the RSA Trustmark Building in downtown Mobile. A fireworks show follows. The event has injected economic boost into downtown Mobile during a post-holiday season that is typically quiet.

Richardson dedicated $9,000 of his councils discretionary money to pay for the inaugural event.

I remember Fred coming into the office as he had contacted the Chattanooga Bakery at the time, said Carol Hunter, past president of Events Mobile, Inc., which sponsors the annual event. He got me on a conference call with the marketing director of the company. Fred wanted to do it. Chattanooga Bakery wanted to do it. It seems pretty unlikely it would have happened (without Richardsons efforts).

Richardson was criticized for using city tax money to pay for the event during the Great Recession.

Uncle Henry recalls the initial event occurring at a time when the city was also not spending tax money on infrastructure or other basic city services.

They were having trouble keeping the lights on at Government Plaza, he said. There was no money and he wanted to spend a few thousands on what he called a giant electric MoonPie with fireworks coming out of it. It sounded like an insane idea at a time when you couldnt get potholes fixed.

Said Uncle Henry, Whenever a TV reporter asked him about the taxpayers, he would say, I pay taxes. Those are my tax dollars, too.

Richardson said its difficult to find anyone critical of the event today. He said the event is recognized on national TV every year when reporters span the U.S. for unique New Years Eve events.

It was fair for them to criticize me (at the time the event was created), Richardson said. Either I had something, or I didnt, but it shows you that if you stopped every time someone criticized you, you would never accomplish anything.

Said Uncle Henry, Thats how Ill always remember him. Hell tell you his legacy is the (Capital Improvement Plan) and that penny tax (increase in 2014), and those things that he has taken care of. But for me, as far as what Ill remember him for, its all of that rhetoric and through the force of his personality that he created (the MoonPie Over Mobile) and turned it into an event that still draws people to downtown Mobile.

Take care of the people

District 1 candidate Fred Richardson greets voters on Tuesday Aug. 25. 2009, as they leave Michael A. Figures Community Center. (File photo)

Jones credited Richardsons long tenure to his fierce loyalty to his district that stretches through northwest Mobile and includes neighborhoods like Crichton and Toulminville. He was rewarded with easy re-elections since he first took office.

I think that Fred is probably one of the hardest working council members we had on the City Council, said Jones. He had a lot of contact with people in his district. He was at every function he could be at.

Jones added, I think that is one of the things he and Bess Rich had in common, they served their districts. A lot of people may not have agreed on his position on issues, but the bottom line is he could always find a way to do the very best he could to represent his constituents.

Constituency services also made an impression on Small when he first took office in November 2012.

He always said, if you take care of the people, the people will take care of you during election time, Small said.

Dow, the former mayor, said Richardson often aligned with his administrations focus on doing what is best for your district and the city.

When you sat down with him and got serious about doing something to help people, he was always on the right side of things, Dow said.

Off the chains

Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, left, Alabama Bicentennial Commission Executive Jay Lamar and Mobile City Councilman Fred Richardson, right, make the first cut in "The World's Largest Edible MoonPie" before it's served up at the MoonPie Over Mobile festivities ringing in 2019 in Mobile, Ala.Lawrence Specker| LSpecker@AL.com

Richardson, in recent years, was among the sharpest of Stimpsons critics and was considered the mayors chief antagonist on the city council. Despite that, each year, the two got together and cut a giant MoonPie cake on New Years Eve.

They also, apparently, have made peace following a contentious year featuring a sometimes-bitter mayoral race.

The two politicians, about a month or so ago, met for a three-hour dinner at a local restaurant.

We were having nothing but fun and enjoying each others company, Richardson said. The (mayors) gatekeepers were not there. It was just us. It was off the chain. It was a moment in my life Ill remember for a long time. We had a chance to talk about everything.

Said Richardson, Mayor Stimpson is a nice man, especially away from Government Plaza. Hes mild-mannered and kind, soft-spoken.

The same can be said of Richardson, according to Uncle Henry.

Even with all the rhetoric that can sound very heated on racial justice, hes the kind of guy that almost anyone can enjoy having a conversation with and a dinner with, he said. Hes a very personable person. When you get one-one-one with him, hes a great guy to spend time with.

Originally posted here:
You rang, he sprang: Fred Richardsons memorable run in Mobile comes to an end - AL.com