Sunday, May 10 — Shomari Figures has not said a word about it in fifty-three days

WHEN HIS JOB IS ON THE LINE, HE SHOWS UP

Thursday evening, May 7, Rep. Shomari Figures held a town hall in Montgomery, in the heart of District 2. The subject was redistricting and the special legislative session. He was joined on stage by Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, State Sen. Kirk Hatcher, and civil-rights activist Sheyann Webb-Christburg. About 100 people attended. The Alabama Reflector and the Associated Press covered the event.

Figures' line of the night, captured on the record by both outlets:

"I ran into a gentleman last night, and he said, 'Hey man, I hear your job is on the line.' And I told him, 'No, Shomari Figures is going to be OK. Your voice is on the line.'"

The town hall happened because his seat might be redrawn. He was in district, on a stage, with a microphone, and a delegation of elected Democrats. He talked at length about preserving the configuration of his own job. That is what brought him home to District 2 this week.

WHEN HIS CONSTITUENTS' LIVES ARE ON THE LINE, HE IS SILENT

Seven days from today — Sunday, May 17 — the Fresenius Kidney Care dialysis center on East Martin Luther King Highway in Tuskegee closes. The closure date is the deadline Rep. Figures himself negotiated. He announced it in a press release issued from his Washington office on March 18. That release said his office would "continue to explore long-term solutions for dialysis treatment."

That was fifty-three days ago. There has been no public follow-up. No new statement. No Tuskegee site visit on the public record. Roughly fifty kidney patients have to find a new place to receive treatment they cannot miss without dying. The closest remaining facilities are in Tallassee, Auburn, and Union Springs — thirty to fifty miles away. Tuskegee Mayor Chris Lee said in February that for these patients, the loss of the local center is "the difference between life and death."

The Wilcox County Fresenius dialysis center, on the same operator's timeline, closed March 20. Wilcox is also in District 2. Two facility closures, two months apart, both in his district. Press releases from Washington did not keep either facility open.

On Thursday, the Tuskegee closure was less than forty miles from the room Figures stood in. He talked for an hour and forty minutes about preserving District 2's partisan configuration. He did not mention the closure that hits the people of District 2 ten days later.

THE SUPREME COURT WINDOW

Friday afternoon, Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a 25-page emergency application asking the U.S. Supreme Court to clear Alabama to use its 2023 Legislature-drawn congressional map for the May 19 primary. The application went directly to Justice Clarence Thomas, who handles emergency matters from Alabama. Marshall said Saturday he expects "a very timely order from the Supreme Court outlining what our next steps are."

The challengers' response is due to Justice Thomas Monday at 5 p.m. EDT. Alabama has asked for a ruling by Thursday, May 14, at 10 a.m. The next regular Supreme Court conference is Monday, May 18 — one day before primary day. Friday evening, the lower three-judge federal panel that drew the current map declined to lift its own injunction, writing that only the Supreme Court has the authority to upend Alabama's status quo this close to primary day. The fight is now entirely with the Justices.

Under the 2023 map Alabama is asking the Court to allow, District 2 returns to roughly 40 percent Black Voting Age Population and a R+17 partisan profile. The 2024 court-imposed map drove BVAP up to 49 percent and produced the seat Figures now holds. Whatever the Court decides this week, the work to take this district back continues. The campaign is November 3, on whichever map the courts allow.

IRAN, FUEL, AND THE KITCHEN TABLE

Brent crude closed Friday at $101.29 per barrel, up 1.23 percent on the day after U.S. Central Command reported defensive strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. forces also struck and disabled two empty Iranian-flagged oil tankers attempting to breach a naval blockade. Brent has traded in a $100 to $104 corridor on alternating Hormuz exchange and diplomatic-progress headlines all week. The Strait has been effectively closed since late February.

The household budget question through this weekend is whether the framework holds. Trump-led peace through strength is the framework that gets us to a stable price at the pump. The alternative is the failed posture Democrats have run on energy for a generation.

WHAT DISTRICT 2 VOTERS CAN DO THIS WEEK

- Watch the Justice Thomas docket Monday after 5 p.m. EDT. The challengers' response will be public. Whatever SCOTUS does this week, this district's work is the same. - Tell the Tuskegee story. Seven days. Fifty patients. One Congressman who has not spoken publicly about the closure since March 18. Local press, local pastors, local elected officials — the narrative of who delivered and who didn't is being written this month, not after the closure. - Talk to neighbors about the May 19 primary. The U.S. Senate and PSC primaries are on the ballot in every District 2 county. Turnout in the primary is the muscle memory for turnout in November. - Stay in the work. The redistricting question is not the campaign. The campaign is November 3. The work is giving District 2 a representative who is running to do the job, not running to keep it.

KEY DATES

- Monday, May 11, 5:00 PM EDT — Challengers' response due to Justice Thomas on Alabama congressional map application. - Thursday, May 14, 10:00 AM — Alabama-requested deadline for SCOTUS ruling. - Sunday, May 17 — Fresenius Kidney Care Tuskegee dialysis center scheduled closure. T-7 from today. - Monday, May 18 — Next regular Supreme Court conference. - Tuesday, May 19 — Alabama statewide primary election. - Wednesday, August 26 — Last possible certification date for any special-primary trigger this cycle. - Tuesday, November 3 — General Election.