While the Alabama House District 67 run-off election has garnered the most attention among Selma voters, the run-off between U.S. Rep. Earl Hilliard and challenger Artur Davis has gained world-wide attention.

Both camps in that race have pointed fingers claiming outside agencies control the candidates. Hilliard supporters say Davis is controlled by white Republicans. They’ve also targeted Davis for accepting money from pro-Israel groups.

On the other hand, Davis has claimed Hilliard does little for his constituents and his time has run out in Washington.

Earlier this week, state newspapers ran a mixture of articles on the heated race between Hilliard and Davis. The Alabama New South Coalition has endorsed Hilliard, and they plan to caravan around the state urging voters to get to the polls Tuesday.

Among the battle cries for Hilliard has been his support of the Black Belt. However, Davis questions how much Hilliard really supports areas like Dallas and neighboring counties.

“He doesn’t even have an office or staffers in the Black Belt,” Davis said.

A newsletter circulate by Hilliard indicated how much grant money Hilliard has helped secure for the Black Belt, and the numbers are quite low.

“The Seventh District Congressional Office administered over $100 million worth of federal grants and aid for the 2001 year,” Hilliard’s newsletter said.

In fact, the grants listed by Hilliard’s office equaled more than $190 million. Of that $190 million, only $711,000 has gone to grants for Dallas County.

It’s even worse for Lowndes County, where Hilliard said he helped secure four grants worth $681,455. In Wilcox County, Hilliard reported securing just one grant worth $385,501 for the Tombigbee Regional Commission.

Perry County led all Black Belt counties with two grants totaling $1,027,686.

Hilliard did not return calls to the Times-Journal about the grants. Davis, on the other hand, said the evidence of Hilliard’s commitment to the Black Belt is in the numbers.

“It’s appalling. Earl Hilliard has done virtually nothing for the Black Belt,” Davis said. “The Black Belt makes up 30 percent of the population and possibly 90 percent of the need in this district.”

For Dallas, Lowndes, Perry and Wilcox counties, Hilliard has helped secure $1.7 million — 0.009 percent of the grants he has secured for the Seventh Congressional District.

A majority of the grants went to Montgomery, which makes sense. The federal grants were given to the state for administration, which would mean they are categorized under Montgomery.

On his itemized list of grants, Hilliard says he has helped secure grants worth $7.6 million for Tuscaloosa County, which has a population of 165,000. Dallas County, which received $711,020, has a population of 46,000.

According to Hilliard’s numbers, each person in Tuscaloosa County would have received $45 from the grant money. In Dallas County, each person would have received $15 from the grant money.