U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures walked up to Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry on Wednesday while the two were on Capitol Hill, shook his handed and introduced himself as a resident of Mobile, and the “Birthplace of Mardi Gras.”

“I told him, ‘You’re welcome,’” Figures recalled Friday to laughter and applause moments before his ceremonial investiture at the John Archibald Campbell U.S. Courthouse in downtown Mobile.

His comment referenced the good natured, back-and-forth dispute between New Orleans and Mobile over which city started Mardi Gras celebrations.

Said Figures about his quip to Landry, “He didn’t push back.”

The good times continue to roll for Figures, elected to the U.S House to serve the 2nd congressional district in November, becoming only the fourth Black Alabama resident elected to Washington, D.C., since Reconstruction. He defeated Montgomery Republican Caroleen Dobson by a 54.6%-45.5% margin.

Figures participated in the ceremony before politicians, family, and supporters 14 days since he assumed office on Jan. 3.

But Figures, 39, said he knows it’s time to roll up his sleeves and get to work. After a ceremony that featured him taking the oath to serve administered by his mother, longtime Democratic State Sen. Vivian Figures, he said his goal was to focus in on the work.

“I didn’t go to Washington to be a Democrat or fight partisan battles,” Figures said. “I’m going to Washington to do the work. That’s what we’re about.”

Committee work

Figures was named to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and the Agriculture Committee for the 119th Congress on Tuesday, and he highlighted those appointments during a speech after the swearing in ceremony.

He called his appointment to Transportation & Infrastructure as “huge for this district.” Figures will be part of Highway & Transit subcommittee and Water Resources and Environment subcommittee.

Atop the pressing issues will be continued lobbying for funding to support the $3.5 billion Interstate 10 Mobile River Bridge & Bayway project.

The project received a major boost last year from the outgoing Biden Administration, with $550 million in a federal grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bridge Investment Program.

Figures said the first lawmaker he struck up a conversation with during his first committee meeting was Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell of Gulfport. The two, Figures said, talked about the importance of getting Amtrak service going along the Gulf Coast connecting Mobile to New Orleans. Gulfport is one of four coastal Mississippi stops along the train route that is expected to start sometime this summer.

“It’s about building relationships with people across the aisle,” Figures said. “It’s not just Democrat and Republican. Let’s build a partnership with communities that you need regardless of party.”

He added, “One of the most inspiring statements I heard on the first day on the (Transportation & Infrastructure) committee is that it is not a show horse committee. It’s a workhorse committee.”

Court case

Figures won the 2nd congressional district redrawn by a three-judge federal panel in 2023, following a lawsuit in the case, Allen v. Milligan, that contested Alabama’s congressional map as a violation to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The district was redrawn to provide a second “opportunity district” to give Black voters a chance to select their preferred candidate. The other “opportunity district” in Alabama is the 7th congressional district, which is served by Democratic U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell of Birmingham.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s ruling in a 5-4 decision in June 2023, which led to the creation of the 2nd district that is over 47% Black, compared to 45% white.

But the finality of Allen v. Milligan has not yet been determined. The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling was a denial of the state’s request for emergency relief to maintain the Legislature’s congressional map drawn in 2021.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is planning to “fight to defend” the Legislature’s map. He said in 2023, the map was “enacted by the people’s representatives” and which he says complies by the Voting Rights Act and the “Constitution’s promise that governments should be colorblind.”

“We will comply with the district court’s preliminary injunction order, while building our case for the 2023 map, which has yet to receive a full hearing,” Marshall said in a statement in 2023. ” We are confident that the Voting Rights Act does not require, and the Constitution does not allow, ‘separate but equal’ congressional districts.”

Figures said he is not concerned with the pending legal matter which will not involve him nor require his presence outside of Washington, D.C.

“At the end of the day, we are doing the most good we can do with the time we have,” Figures said. “We are excited about the opportunity right now to get to Washington and do the work on behalf of the people.”