Allen Paul

  

The Reverend Allen Paul
File:Raphael Warnock GH 7986 (50335797752) (cropped).jpg Official Office Portrait, 2020
Mayor of Montgomery
Incumbent
Assumed office April 12, 2018
Preceded by	Gregory Collins
Member of the Montgomery City Council for the 2nd Ward
In office April 10, 2010 – April 12, 2018
Preceded by	Arnold Wakeman
Succeeded by	Michelle Williams
Personal details
Born	(1969-07-23) July 23, 1969 Montgomery, Hispaniola, Antilles
Political party	Civic Democratic
Other political affiliations	Reform Party (1987–2017)
Spouse(s)	Dana Smith (m. 1994)
Children	2
Education	University of Montgomery
Religion	Christianity

Allen Gabriel Paul (born July 23, 1969) is an Antillean pastor and politician serving as Mayor of Montgomery since 2018 and previously served on the Montgomery City Council from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Civic Democratic Party, Paul was previously a member of the Reform Party from 1987 until the party dissolved in 2017 and merged to form the Civic Democratic Party with the Liberal Party and Civic National Party.

Allen was born in Montgomery in Hispaniola into a working class family in the city. His mother was a nurse and his dad was an engineer, but became a pastor in 1977 at St. John's Unity Church until his retirement in 2006. Paul would attend the University of Montgomery and graduated with a degree in political science and theology. He would then become a pastor like his father and succeeded him at St John's Unity Church where he would preach from since 2006. In 2010, he was elected to the Montgomery City Council for the 2nd ward and pushed for numerous progressive and liberal reforms which gained him attention and support amongst the largely liberal and center-left leaning citizens of the city. He would later be elected mayor in 2018.

On December 23, 2019, Paul announced his candidacy for the 2020 Antillean presidential election where he would run for the Civic Democratic nomination. He would run in the primary elections and emerged as the leaning left-wing candidate and would emerge as one of the two main candidates along with William Abernathy who represented the moderate liberal center-left wing of the party. Abernathy emerged victorious, but would nominate Paul to serve as his running mate and candidate for the position of vice president as part of an ideological and political unity ticket. During the vice presidential debate with Mitchell Vargas of the Federalist Party, Paul was praised for his strong performance, charisma, appeal to ordinary voters and people, and strong responses to Vargas' claims along with his strong defense of his political positions.

Paul identifies as a progressive and social liberal supporting significant policies for social progress including legalizing same-sex marriage, supports repealing most abortion laws to make it more accessible and is pro-choice, and opposes patriotic education calling it right-wing indoctrination. He supports the legalizaton of labor unions and expanding workers' rights and supports regulating major corporations and big businesses claiming that they have the power to be as authoritarian as any government. On foreign policy, Paul supports Antillean membership in the Conference of American States and identifies as an American unionist along with membership into NATO as well. Paul also supports renaming cities and parishes that are named after military and political leaders of the Confederate States of America and is a staunch supporter of Black Lives Matter. Since 2020, Paul has been called one of the Antilles' most famous liberal progressive and left-wing figures.

Early life and education

Allen Gabriel Paul July 23, 1969 to Franklin and Anita Paul in Montgomery, Hispaniola. His father worked as a electrical engineer until 1977, where he became a pastor at the St. John's Unity Church in downtown Montgomery. His mother worked at the Montgomery Parish Hospital as a nurse, the same hospital Paul was born at. Paul was the first of three children, having two younger brothers. The Paul family would reside in suburban Montgomery, living in a lower middle class environment.

Despite the family's economic situation, the family's continued devotion to Christianity greatly shaped Paul's early life, helping keep a positive attitude despite a number of issues. At the age of five, Paul would begin his primary education, attending Montgomery Elementary School from 1974 to 1980. In 1980, Paul would begin attending Charles E. Lee Middle School, eventually promoting to Eastern Montgomery Regional High School in 1983. During his teenage years, Paul would begin to develop his parent's progressive politics, and would begin to advocate for greater equality for African-Antilleans. Following the death of President Amelia Abarough and the democratization of the Antilles, Paul, alongside his parents, would join the newly-formed Reform Party, a left-leaning progressive party. In 1987, during his senior year in high school, Paul would found one of the first high school Reform Party clubs.

Paul would graduate from Eastern Montgomery Regional High School in 1987 and would attend the University of Montgomery, studying for a bachelor's degree in political science and in theology. Following the passage of the Service Through Other Means Act in 1988, Paul would be granted federal voting suffrage without serving in the armed forces, which he had been exempted from because of his subpar eyesight and breathing problems. Following this, Paul would become more involved in national politics, becoming a campaign intern for Reform presidential candidate Michael Waltz during the 1992 presidential election. Paul would graduate from the University of Montgomery with degrees in political science and theology.

Religious work

Paul meeting with other African-Antillean congregational leaders at the 2010 Black Christian Summit in New Charleston.

Following his graduation from university, Paul would begin to seek a career in politics. However, after a number of failed lobbying ventures, Paul would instead seek a career in religion, becoming a pastor at St. John's Unity Church, where his father worked as a head minister. As a pastor, Paul had presented a progressive take of the Bible.

Beginning in 1998, Paul would involve himself in a number of Christian charity organizations, such as the Antillean Salvation Army and the Greater Good Foundation. He would also begin to involve himself in a number of community-centered organizations in Montgomery and the greater Montgomery Parish. In 2000, Paul would co-found Christ Cherishes, a Christian charity dedicated to ending homelessness in the Antilles. He would act as the foundation's executive chairman until 2006, when he resigned. In 2006, Paul would assume the position of head minister at St. John's Unity Church following the retirement of his father.

In 2008, Paul would become a frequent guest speaker at the Columbia City Black Congregational Church in Columbia City, and would become a favorite among its congregants. In the same year, Paul would begin to tease a potential political career, with there being speculation that he would resign as head minister at St. John's Unity in order to run for office. Despite teasing a potential run, Paul would decline to run in 2008, instead endorsing a number of liberal and progressive politicians nationwide, including Reform and Civic National Party candidates.

In 2009, Paul become more involved in politics, becoming a critic of President William Abarough and the Federalist Party, who he accused of being discriminatory and "agents of evil" in a number of sermons. Although his comments were received well by his congregants, they would resurface during the 2020 presidential election campaign, with Paul apologizing. In 2010, after months of speculation, Paul would announce his resignation as head minister of St. John's Unity Church and would announce his candidacy for a seat in the Montgomery City Council.

City council member

Elections

In 2010, Paul would announce his long anticipated entry into politics, announcing his campaign to be elected to the Montgomery City Council as a member of the Reform Party, hopefully to represent city ward 2. Running as a Reform candidate, Paul's campaign would be viewed as a "uphill battle", as the Reform Party has had a historically difficult time making gains in Hispaniola, with the Civic National and Liberal parties receiving more support amongst left-leaning Hispaniolans. However, Paul's already well-known reputation, along with support from the city's large black population, would propel him well ahead of his competitors, eventually advancing to the general election in April against incumbent Liberal councilman Arnold Wakeman.

After a tough race, Paul would narrowly defeat Wakeman, receiving 51.6% of the popular vote. Paul's election would be challenged by Wakeman, who claimed that he had won using fraudulent votes. However, a report by the Antillean Board of Elections would confirm that no form of irregular fraud was detected. Paul would run for re-election in 2014, winning 65.7% of the vote.

Tenure

As a member of the city council, Paul supported socially liberal and progressive legislation, identifying as one of more left-leaning members of the chamber.

In 2011, Paul co-sponsored and voted in favor of a resolution that endorsed the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage. With its passage, Montgomery became the first major urban center to endorse same-sex marriage legalization, with a number of cities following shortly afterwards. In the same year, Paul co-sponsored a resolution that granted greater city funding to the development of many Black-majority neighborhoods, which Paul alleges were purposefully overlooked for richer and more up-scale parts of the city. The development project, known colloquially as the Paul-Williams Project, would begin immediately following the passage of the resolution. Later in the same year, Paul would attract controversy after it was reported that the project enlisted the services of construction companies with a history of finance mismanagement.

In 2012, Paul would attempt to become the President of the Montgomery City Council following a successful recall election against incumbent president Felix Engram. However, Paul would be defeated by Sheron Williams in a private vote. In the same year, Paul would support a number of legislation supporting the re-allocation of city funds to recreational and educational centers, hoping to curb the city's rising crime rate amongst youths. In 2013, Paul would openly endorse the Provisional No More movement, a organization dedicated to ending the provisional commonwealth status of the four Antilleans states and the empowerment of commonwealth governments.

Following his re-election in 2014, Paul would be criticized by other members of the council accepting the endorsement of a number of fringe leftist movements, something that Paul would apologize for. In 2015, Paul would be arrested after participating in protests in Montgomery alongside Black Lives Matter activists. Following his release, he would continue his support for the movement, supporting a failed resolution that would have granted immunity to BLM protestors arrested in the city. He would also condemn efforts by Federalist lawmakers in Columbia City to recognize Black Lives Matter as a domestic terrorist organization. Paul would be one of the first incumbent lawmakers to endorse the Unity Plan, which proposed the unification of the Civic National, Liberal, and Reform parties into one united left-leaning party. This plan would eventually be followed through, with the Civic Democratic Party being founded in January of 2017.

Mayor of Montgomery

Election

In May of 2017, Paul would announce that he would not be running for a third term in the city council, instead announcing his campaign for mayor in the upcoming mayoral election. His announcement would come days after incumbent mayor Gregory Collins announced his retirement. Paul would immediately emerge as a leading candidate for the Civic Democratic nomination, eventually defeating fellow councilor Sheron Williams in February of 2018. In the general election, Paul would defeat Federalist Michelle Brown, becoming the fifth democratically-elected mayor of Montgomery. Paul would win the election with 62.1% of the vote.

In January of 2021, Paul announced his re-election campaign for mayor, winning the Civic Democratic primary unopposed in February of 2022. He will be facing Federalist Fred Tillis in the general election on April 12, 2022.

2020 presidential campaign

Main articles: Allen Paul 2020 presidential campaign and William Abernathy 2020 presidential campaign

See also

• Black Lives Matter Antilles
• Progressivism in the Antilles