Former Professional Football Player Enters Tuscaloosa's District 3 Council Race

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Businessman and former professional football player Doug Parrish has announced his candidacy for the Tuscaloosa City Council District 3 seat in the upcoming special election.

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He is the second candidate to announce a bid for the office, with Patch previously reporting that local businessman Richard Henry threw his hat into the ring the day after District 3 Councilman Norman Crow was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives.

Parrish, a Tuscaloosa native and founder and CEO of Red Dipper Electric, played as a defensive back and special teams returner in the Canadian Football League from 1991-1996, including being a member of the Edmonton Eskimos' 1993 Grey Cup Championship.

Before his stint in the CFL, he was drafted by the New York Jets in the seventh round of the 1991 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University.

Parrish said his decision to run for City Council stems from a deep desire to give back to the community he calls home.

He currently serves on the University of California San Francisco Anchor Institution Board and the University of California Economic Impact Advisory Council, where he helps oversee billions in annual procurement spending.

“Tuscaloosa has given me opportunity, community, and purpose,” Parrish said in his campaign announcement. “District 3 deserves leadership that shows up, listens, and works to deliver real results for the people who live here.”

Parrish said he brings experience from a lengthy professional football career, including a Grey Cup Championship and multiple Hall of Fame honors, and said he plans to focus his campaign on neighborhood engagement and accessibility.

Parrish is a member of Weeping Mary Missionary Baptist Church and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.

He said he plans to meet voters through neighborhood meet-and-greets and direct engagement across the district.

Parrish is engaged to be married in June and is the father of children in the Tuscaloosa school system.

Voters in District 3 will take part in the special election on April 14 at Church of the Highlands on Rice Mine Road.

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