The Issues
The Lieutenant Governor is the first in line of succession to the Governor and serves as President of the Alabama Senate. As the presiding officer, the Lt. Governor is responsible for convening the Senate into session, for the preservation of order in the chamber and for the determination of points of order - all done with the gavel. The powerful gavel is the “people’s gavel” and should be used to protect our state in a fair and responsible way. Unfortunately, with selective hearing, a voice vote and the gavel, the Lt. Governor has allowed legislation to pass that did not represent the best interest of the people of Alabama. I will preside with fairness in the Senate, following the rule book and not a political or special interest agenda. I will preside with FAIRNESS!
The Lieutenant Governor also plays an important role in appointing Senate standing committees, assigning bills to those committees and appointing citizens of Alabama to various boards, commissions and authorities. I will advocate committee assignments to be fairly and evenly balanced to ensure issues have a fair chance and a fair examination through the process. I will appoint with FAIRNESS!
What are the Issues? Where do I Stand?
Gambling: I oppose gambling. I will continue to work to defeat it and contain it with no preferential treatment.
Ethics Reform: I will work to strengthen ethics laws and to have solid transparency in government. I support banning PAC to PAC (Political Action Committee) transfers and money laundering.
Marriage: I believe marriage is the union between a man and a woman. The family is a God-ordained institution. I supported the constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriages.
Prolife: I will continue promoting and advocating Prolife legislation to protect the unborn from the point of conception. I co-sponsored the Brody bill to make it a crime to harm a mother’s unborn baby.
PACT Program: I will support sustaining this college tuition program. The State has a moral obligation to the families who invested in this with good faith.
Veterans: I voted to support education benefits to dependents of deceased veterans. I served on the oversight committee that has recently brought the new Veterans Cemetery to Montevallo, Alabama.
Firefighters: I co-sponsored and helped pass comprehensive legislation to protect our volunteer firefighters. An arsonist that starts a fire resulting in the death of a firefighter will now face capital punishment charges in Alabama.
Illegal Aliens: I support strong border control and Alabama’s efforts to empower our State Troopers to take illegal aliens into custody.
School Children: I have provided over $200,000 in community service grant money to schools most years. I will continue to support this effort and other efforts to prepare and educate our children. I have helped co-sponsor and provide tough laws against child sex-predators living in the same county as their victims.
Roads: I strongly feel that roads and their improvements should be provided on the basis of need rather than political favor.
Money: Movies are the last major industry to be developed in Alabama. The Governor recruits businesses and I will serve in a secondary role to bring more wholesome family movies to our state. After seven years legislation has finally passed incentives to the movie industry by providing them rebates for their initial financial investment. This industry will create jobs, careers for young people and much needed revenue. It will be revenue earned “the old fashioned way” with pride and satisfaction.
I also voted NO on the 62% pay raise and refused to take the pay raise.
