Five things you need to know about Cara McClure

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Cara McClure
[Photo Credit: Cara McClure campaign Facebook page]

Cara McClure, the Democratic candidate for Public Service Commission Place 1 ran unopposed in the June 5 primary. But now that the primaries are over, the real battle has begun.

McClure now faces incumbent Republican Commissioner Jeremy Oden in the November 6 general election for the PSC seat.

With that in mind, here are the five things you need to know about Cara McClure:

1. She’s an entrepreneur by nature
Nurturing her entrepreneurial spirit, McClure’s parents allowed her to work for their family’s cleaning service while she was in elementary school. There she made cold calls to apartment complexes and small businesses, she also sold candy door-to-door she says in her campaign bio.
2. She is a co-founder of the Magic City Chapter of Black Lives Matter group.
After a dispute between group members on whether or not to join with the national Black Lives Matter group, the Black Lives Matter in Birmingham group split into two separate entities from which the Magic City Chapter of Black Lives Matter was formed. McClure was a co-founder of the second group, which voted to join the national coalition of BLM groups.
“I’ve been with that group [Black Lives Matter in Birmingham] since Day One,” McClure told AL.com. “I didn’t like how the women were treated. I said we really need to join the national group, and they voted no. We’ve put together an awesome group. We’re not just out there screaming. We want real change.”
3. She’s a dedicated activist.

Beyond her work with the BLM movement, McClure also helped launch Showing Up for Racial Justice Birmingham — a group that works to undermine white supremacy and to work toward racial justice through community organizing, mobilizing, and education.  She also spearheaded “Black Mama’s Bail Out Day” in Birmingham,  which raised money to help bail out incarcerated black mothers to help reunite with their children and families ahead of Mother’s Day.

As a recent Glamour Magazine article that featured McClure pointed out, “if elected, she would become the first African American—male or female—to serve on the commission in Alabama. Her hope is to represent the people she’s been fighting for throughout her life: ‘the marginalized and poor black and brown communities that are underrepresented on the commission,’ she says. ‘Those who don’t have a voice or seat at the table.'”

4. She was briefly homeless.
Following a marital separation McClure and her son were left homeless. Rebounding quickly and using her personal struggle as a tool, McClure founded her own apartment locator service, ASAP Apartment Locators in January of 2013 to help individuals and families find their ideal homes, which she continues to operate today.
5. She and Kari Powell are leading a double-team effort for PSC Places 1 and 2.
In addition to creating McClures branding, Kari Powell and McClure are leading a double-team effort for PSC Places 1 and 2 traveling, campaigning and speaking together at events. Both running as Democrats, they seek to bring fair and affordable utility rates to Alabama.