Officials block vote on Sunday alcohol sales

Elective offices weren't the only items on Tuesday's ballot. Five areas in Alabama had votes on alcohol sales.

The city of Arab, in Marshall County, voted to go wet. It joined 17 other cities in dry counties in legalizing alcohol sales.

In Cleburne County, which already allowed sales of warm beer in convenience stores and other alcohol in state-run beverage outlets, voters decided to allow expanded sales, including alcohol in restaurants.

But Blount, Geneva and Randolph counties voted to remain dry. In some cases the margin was small but local voters decided the issue in all five elections.

That's as it should be. Unfortunately, that isn't the case in Tuscaloosa, where the legislative delegation has refused for years to let residents vote on whether to legalize Sunday sales of alcohol.

Tuscaloosa voted in 1998 on Sunday sales of alcohol in an advisory referendum to the City Council. The proposition was defeated. Ever since, opponents have cited the result of the referendum as a gauge of current sentiment against Sunday sales.

Yet, it may not have been an accurate barometer, even at the time. For one thing, it came on a day when many residents were confused about where to vote; polls used in the city election were not the same as those used in statewide balloting.

Also, since it was advertised as a purely advisory referendum and the vote was not binding, many residents may have decided to skip it.

Regardless some area lawmakers have taken the defeat as the gospel. They have consistently rebuffed local pleas to allow a binding vote on Sunday sales.

The legislative bottleneck exists because our quirky 1901 Alabama Constitution centers power in Montgomery. City and country officials have to come, hat in hands, to the lawmakers to get their approval for votes on issues like sales of alcohol. And just one opponent in a delegation can kill a local bill.

The lawmakers representing the city of Arab and Cleburne, Blount, Geneva and Randolph counties didn't stand in the way of democracy. When residents asked them for a vote on alcohol, they allowed it. And why shouldn't they?

That's a question the lawmakers who have blocked a vote on Sunday sales in Tuscaloosa should answer. They don't have to support the initiative. But they should support letting residents decide a purely local issue.

The Tuscaloosa City Council has asked for a referendum. It has been a priority for the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama. Tourism and convention officials back a Sunday sales vote. Restaurateurs and store owners have asked for it. Developers, planners and other officials say Sunday sales are essential if Tuscaloosa is ever to realize its potential for growth, conventions and tourism.

There is a difference of opinion among many other residents. But no one should oppose allowing the issue to be settled locally by a democratic process.