Vivian Davis Figures
Vivian Figures | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Alabama Senate from the 33rd district | |
| Assumed office January 28, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Figures |
| Member of the Mobile City Council | |
| In office January 1993 – January 1997 | |
| Succeeded by | Fred Richardson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 24, 1957 Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of New Haven (BA) Faulkner University |
Vivian Davis Figures (born January 24, 1957) is an American politician who is a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 33rd District in Mobile County since she was elected on January 28, 1997, to serve the remaining term of her late husband, Senator Michael Figures, who was the President pro tempore of the Alabama Senate. She was re-elected without opposition in 1998 and 2002.[1]
Early life and career
Figures graduated from Williamson High School in Mobile, Alabama, and earned a Bachelor of Science in management science from the University of New Haven in Connecticut. She put herself through college by working at Yale University and in a family owned grocery. She was attending the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law in Montgomery, Alabama, when her husband's death forced her to discontinue her legal education.[2]
Figures is President/CEO of Figures Legacy Education Foundation and serves on the board of directors of the Mobile Area Education Foundation. She is a past at-large member of the Democratic National Committee. She was initiated into the Delta Theta Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority in 2002.[1]
Political career
Figures was elected to the Mobile
Following her husband's death in 1996, Figures ran for his seat in the Alabama Senate.
Figures was the Democratic nominee for the
In November 2012, Alabama Senate Democrats selected Figures to be their floor leader for the next two year term. She became the first woman to lead either the majority or minority party in either house of the Alabama Legislature.[16]
In April 2019, Davis Figures announced that she would run to be the chair of the Alabama Democratic Party.[17] She dropped out of the race in June.[18]
Davis Figures led the opposition to a bill restricting abortion, with a penalty of 99 years imprisonment for any doctor performing an abortion, and no exceptions for rape or incest.[19] She proposed an amendment outlawing vasectomies, arguing that "there’s no law on the books anywhere in this country that mandate[s] what a man can and can’t do with his body, yet for us there are a number of them."[20]
In 2021, Davis Figures' house in Toulminville, Alabama, was attacked by an unknown assailant. 23 shots were fired into her home, but there were no injuries as the house was empty at the time.[21]
Personal life
Figures has three sons. Her middle son, Shomari, worked for the
References
- ^ a b c "Alabama State Senate: Vivian Davis Figures". Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- ^ "Vivian Figures for Senate: Her Story".
- ^ "Dirt-burners Told Plant Won't Be OK'd," Mobile Press-Register, September 7, 1995, p. A1
- ^ "Bears' Stadium Officially Named for Hank Aaron," Mobile Press-Register, August 8, 1996, p. A5
- ^ "20 Apr 1997, 77 - Daily News at". Newspapers.com. April 20, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ "25 Sep 1996, Page 9 - The Anniston Star at". Newspapers.com. September 25, 1996. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "18 Dec 1996, Page 11 - The Anniston Star at". Newspapers.com. December 18, 1996. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ "8 Jan 1997, Page 13 - The Anniston Star at". Newspapers.com. January 8, 1997. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "29 Jan 1997, Page 14 - The Anniston Star at". Newspapers.com. January 29, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ "5 Feb 1997, 8 - The Montgomery Advertiser at". Newspapers.com. February 5, 1997. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "Ban on Smoking Loses Steam," Mobile Press-Register, May 20, 2008, p. A2
- ^ "Economic Incentives Boost Passes," Mobile Press-Register, March 1, 2007, p. A4
- ^ "Figures, Sessions fight for Senate," Mobile Press-Register, June 4, 2008, p. A1
- ^ "Aaron Helps Figures Swing for Fences," The Birmingham News, June 27, 2008, p. B1
- ^ CNN Election center [1], retrieved November 11, 2008
- ^ "18 Nov 2012, Page 9 - The Anniston Star at". Newspapers.com. November 18, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "Sen. Vivian Figures seeks to lead Alabama Democratic Party". AL.com. April 25, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ "Figures drops out of race for Alabama Democratic chair". AL.com. June 14, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ "Figures spoke for Senate minority on abortion issue". AL.com. October 31, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ "In Alabama Senate's restrictive abortion vote, just three women had a voice". The Washington Post. May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ Meyers, Shelby (July 1, 2021). "MPD: Alabama senator's Toulminville house riddled with bullets". Fox 10 News.
- ^ Johnson, Roy S. (October 24, 2023). "Member of Figures political family exploring congressional District 2 race; which one?". AL.com. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
- ^ "Colleges Sign Up Rattlers," Mobile Press-Register, May 12, 2007, p. C6
External links
- Alabama State Legislature – Senator Vivian Davis Figures official government website
- Vivian Davis Figures official U.S. Senate campaign website
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Follow the Money – Vivian Davis Figures