Alabama Democrat Artur Davis has gained a reputation as a thorn in the side of progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives, with a history of joining with Republicans to promote an agenda that most Democratic voters in the United States would not support. Most recently, Representative Davis voted first to make the House health care reform bill limit women’s access to reproductive medicine in their own private insurance plans – and then voted against the health care reform legislation altogether.

However, Democrats in the House of Representatives won’t have to deal with the antics of Artur Davis for much longer. Davis will not run for re-election in 2010. He’s campaigning to become the next Governor of Alabama instead.

There are 7 Democrats vying to gain their political party’s nomination to replace Congressman Davis. In reverse alphabetical order, they are:

Eddison Walters – Walters emphasizes, as most of these candidates do, economic development for Alabama’s 7th congressional district. He proposes undoing free trade agreements in order to give preference for products made in the United States, increasing the use of coal and natural gas, and promotion of educational opportunities. However, Walters does not provide details on these policies, and seems to have difficulty completing a coherent sentence in explaining his positions, which is perhaps due to his history as a native of Trinidad and Tobago, where creole versions of the English language are spoken.

Shelia Smoot – Smoot provides short position statements in favor of expanded public transit, health care reform (without explaining what sort of reform), job creation, senior citizen services, and improvements in Internet infrastructure in the 7th district. Smoot has also led efforts to confront the transportation of toxic coal ash through the district. As a County Commissioner, Smoot’s policy focus seems to have remained local, even as she has transitioned into the congressional campaign.

Terri Sewell – While Sewell spends a great time discussing her own achievements, she has yet to write about the issues facing the 7th congressional district or the United States as a whole.

James Perkins – Like Sewell, Perkins has little information about his positions on the issues he believes are important. Under a section called “Priorities” on his campaign web site, Perkins makes vague promises, such as “to fix what’s broken, turn challenges into opportunities and visions into realities.”

Patricia Evans Mokolo – Another candidate lacking a clear statement of policy positions, Mokolo has a technically advanced web site with low grade political content. Under a short section entitled “Political Platform”, Mokolo offers cryptic passages like the following: “Why must poverty continue, why must we continue to fight over religion and who can and who can’t pray in schools? ‘God Bless America’ is spoken after each prominent speech and ‘In God We Trust’ is engraved in our currency, but we can not pray in our schools. “

Earl Hilliard – The Hillard for Congress campaign is also short on details, although Hillard is already serving as a state legislator. Hillard promises generally to work to improve the economic infrastructure of the 7th district, focusing on the issues of health care and education. Hillard seems to be banking on the public memory of his the career of his father – also named Earl Hilliard – representing the area in Congress.

Martha Bozeman – Bozeman focuses on local issues: Improving the local economy with efforts to increase employment, investment in education, and improve access to quality health care.