THE PRESS-REGISTER AL.COM SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018 A9

2018 midterm elections Who will get your vote?

Governor

WALT MADDOX (D) (R)(I*) Website: waltmaddox.com Website: kayivey.com

Under the quarter-century spell of , never got to have a youth- Kay Ivey, thrust into the job as governor as Robert Bentley got his mugshot made, ful New South governor. Excited supporters of Walt Maddox might tell you that he’s the assured the public of her determination to steady the ship of state. It is that image — a con- one. fident hand upon the helm — that informs her campaign to earn the state’s highest office The 45-year-old Democratic nominee offers a platform that his campaign calls a New in her own right. Covenant between public servants and the public that they endeavor to serve. It many Her message is straightforward and firmly told: She’s grew up on a cattle farm and knows respects, Maddox says, it’s a honest talk about kitchen table issues. how to work, she respects community values, she guards the public till, she’s an unflinch- The state, he says, is trending toward crisis, whether it’s too few quality jobs, clogged ing conservative, and under her watch the state economy is roaring. urban highways, lagging K-12 schools or tenuous rural health care. In a campaign video, she says, “There was a storm, and dark clouds hung over state gov- “You look at where we are in every quality-of-life ranking,” Maddox told The Associated ernment, and we were called to act. And I’m proud to say today that we have made it out of Press. “We are at or near the bottom. That needle has not moved in 45 years.” the darkness and we have brought progress and prosperity back to the state of Alabama.” Gov. Kay Ivey, his opponent, isn’t just ducking debate, she’s ducking reality, he sug- Ivey, 74, overwhelmed three rivals June 5 to claim the Republican nomination in the first gests. round of voting. She’s run the campaign of an odds-on favorite to win Nov. 6, appearing to “What Governor Ivey and the people around her that run state government don’t under- pay no heed to calls for public debates. (Reporters and her opponent are the only ones to stand is this election isn’t about parties, it isn’t about right versus left. It’s about right ver- raise the subject, she says.) sus wrong, and they’re on the wrong side of history,” he told reporters in August. Ivey, who studied to be a school teacher, got her start in state politics in 1979 in the Some key Maddox priorities boil down to tapping into sources of revenue previously administration of Gov. . She lost in her first try for state office in 1982; she won believed to be politically taboo. For example, he’d expand Medicaid, promote an educa- the next four, twice each to the offices of treasurer and lieutenant governor. tion lottery, seek a gaming compact with the Poarch Creek tribe, and pursue an infra- Ivey, in her appearances, highlights her “Strong Start, Strong Finish” initiative to meld structure rebuilding program that would probably involve a fuel tax increase. Pre-K learning, K-12 schools and workforce development into a “seamless educational jour- Meanwhile Maddox, the Tuscaloosa mayor since 2005, says that city’s revival after the ney.” 2011 tornadoes could be a template for renewing communities statewide. She happily speaks about jobs numbers and manufacturing gains. During her tenure, In an interview with CBS 42, he told the story of a conversation with his wife, Stepha- she says, the state boasts the most jobs in its history, and its lowest-ever unemployment nie, that helped seal his decision to run. They were talking that day about the family’s two rate. “We’ve celebrated announcements and groundbreakings with companies like Google kids, and about the future that they’d inherit. and Facebook and Boeing, and with some growing companies, too, like Kimber firearms “We thought, ‘You know what, if we look at Alabama, we look at where we are,’ ” he said, and Autocar,” she told the summer conference of the Economic Development Association “‘if we are going to have an Alabama that they want to live in, we’ve got to draw a line in of Alabama. “Y’all, momentum is on our side.” the sand.’”

Lieutenant governor

WILL BOYD (D) (R) Website: willboydforalabama.com Website: ainsworthforalabama.com

Florence pastor Will Boyd is keeping the energy high as he takes his case to voters to “It’s a new day for Alabama!” proclaims Will Ainsworth’s campaign website. be their lieutenant governor. And there’s no doubt about his stances on the issues: His Ainsworth is a state lawmaker, but he’s run from the get-go as an outsider candidate website features a platform offering 87 specific goals and policy positions. for lieutenant governor who’s not beholden to the system for his career or his sense of self- On the February day that he declared his candidacy, Boyd said that he’s the candidate worth. who “will fight for a stronger economy, truly affordable healthcare, and quality public He endured a fireworks-billed primary to win the Republican nomination, defeating education for all.” one of the best-known names in state politics. (And he delivered the most memorable ad Boyd, 47, won the Democratic nomination without opposition. Describing himself as a thus far in the 2018 election season: “Honey, what do you see up there?”) “practical progressive” in a written interview with the Alabama Policy Institute and Yel- Ainsworth, 37, a successful outdoor sports entrepreneur and former youth pastor, first lowhammer News, he also stated, “While my campaign motto is ‘Leading Alabama For- won election to his Statehouse seat in 2014. He’s campaigning as a “proud Christian con- ward,’ my aim is to be ‘number one at serving as number two.’” servative” who’ll focus on job-building and stand resolutely against public corruption. Boyd is seasoned in politics, having served as a city council member in Illinois, then “Career politicians might not wear masks and break in during the night, but they’re just running for the U.S. Senate both in that state and, in 2017, in Alabama. as dangerous,” he says in a Facebook video. “They’re bought and paid for by special inter- Boyd also is an author and former college dean, and among several degrees holds a ests, and they’re stealing from us.” bachelor’s in engineering from the University of South Carolina. Ainsworth gained a measure of national visibility in the spring when, in the House, he In a video interview last year, expounding upon his call for “People Over Politics,” he introduced a bill to allow certain teachers to carry or access firearms in the classroom. said, “Sometimes Republicans have good ideas, sometimes bad. Sometimes Democrats The bill followed the Florida school mass shooting. have good ideas, sometimes bad. … We can find that there are commonalities, though, in He told CBS42, “I want your viewers to know, I’ve got three kids in the public schools. our parties, in our ranks of friends, that will cause us to work together as a people.” Nobody has more skin in the game than myself.”

Attorney general

JOSEPH SIEGELMAN (D) STEVE MARSHALL (R) (I*) Website: siegelman2018.com Website: stevemarshall.gop

The son of former Gov. Don Siegelman opens his campaign website video with a proud Gov. Robert Bentley elevated Steve Marshall to the job of attorney general in early 2017. nod to his parents. “I grew up in a home where professionalism and commitment to the Now, Marshall asks voters to keep him there. public good were what mattered most,” he says. “It seems like we’ve gotten away from The Republican nominee projects a no-nonsense style in his messaging, telling of his that.” determination to confront the opioid plague and uphold gun rights. He champions his At 29, Joseph Siegelman is running as the working family’s candidate, laying claim conservative credentials, pledging to prosecute illegal immigrants and stymie “federal to a message not often heard in races for attorney general. He pledges a ferocious bat- overreach.” His website features “Endorsed by the NRA” in big letters. tle against opioids, in particular to the “large out-of-state corporations” that “poison our But in a campaign video, it’s the state’s recent legacy of public corruption that gets the loved ones” while reaping billions. most time among issues. “As a prosecutor, I’ve enforced the ethics laws in courtrooms in He also says in interviews that he’ll bring a nonpartisan spirit to his work. He told this state. I’ve held those who violated those ethics laws accountable and sent them to CBS42, “I think this is the one office where if you have a D beside your name or an R beside prison,” steely Marshall says in the video, declaring the corruption to be “simply unac- your name, it shouldn’t matter because to do this job right you have to be an indepen- ceptable.” dent.” Siegelman, the managing partner with The Cochran Firm-Birmingham, is making Marshall, 53, trounced Troy King in their July GOP runoff, a contest that drew wide his first foray into state politics. He won the Democratic nomination in the June 5 party attention as Marshall and his children also coped with the suicide of his wife. primary by collecting 54 percent of the vote. Marshall, a longtime district attorney in Marshall County, is a former Democrat who Interestingly, it’s not often noted that Don Siegelman also served as attorney general, changed parties in 2011. The governor who put him in that DA’s job by appointment back from 1987 to 1991. It was in those years that Joseph was born in Montgomery. in 1991 was Don Siegelman, the father of his Nov. 6 opponent, Joseph Siegelman.

CONTINUED ON A10 A10 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018 THE PRESS-REGISTER AL.COM

2018 midterm election

Secretary of State

HEATHER MILAM (D) JOHN H. MERRILL (R)(I*) Website: milamforsecretary.com Facebook: facebook.com/JohnMerrill

The first point of Heather Milam’s platform is one that comes up often in her messag- John Merrill says he gladly gives his cell phone number to the citizens whom he meets, ing: Empower voters. “Whether you are in Marshall County, or Talladega County, or Lee putting it on his business cards. “If you need to get in touch with me — With me! — you County or Madison County, we just want our humanity recognized and identified,” she need to do so when it’s convenient for you,” he told a women’s group in Cullman County. says in a video on her website. “That’s why voting is so personal to me. It’s because it’s “If that’s not your expectation for the people that represent you at the municipal, county, your voice, and it’s the only thing we really have in a democracy. And people want to talk the state, the regional, federal level, you change your expectation.” about it, people care about it, and I’m going to fight like hell for it.” Merrill, 54, the Republican nominee for secretary of state, seeks a second term. He Milam, 39, the Democratic nominee for secretary of state, easily won the June 5 pri- takes pride in the long history of the office, which was established even before the state mary. was, and describes it as being more efficient under his watch than ever before. Her background, in brief: She started the Birmingham-based newspaper Weld, she’s On the business side, Merrill says that business document filings and incoming checks trained new entrepreneurs, and she now teaches business at the University of Montevallo. are being processed on the same day that the office receives them, and no later than the Other important points on Milam’s platform are to provide transparency, protect voter next business day. files, and make the office more accessible to citizens. On the elections side, Merrill says that 1.01 million voters have registered during his On a fund-raising website for her campaign, Milam writes, “I will infuse the Secretary tenure, and that his office has resolved 92 percent of all election-related complaints sub- of State’s Office with the high seriousness it deserves.” mitted by citizens “I’m ready to go to Montgomery and be solution-oriented, and be a new face in the city Two key goals in years ahead are (1) to introduce computer tablet polling books in every of Montgomery. I think that they need some new energy there,” she told WVTM 13 in Bir- county, to speed voter check-in and eliminate avenues for fraud, and (2) to ease the pro- mingham. “Some new fresh energy is going to be a real challenge to the old status quo. I’m cess of absentee voting, while also requiring applicants to submit photo IDs. prepared for that.”

Chief Justice

ROBERT “BOB” VANCE JR. (D) (R) Website: judgebobvance.com Website: parkerforjustice.com

Robert “Bob” Vance Jr. ran hard against Roy Moore in 2012, and turned heads even in Tom Parker has been heralding his political conservatism since the April day he losing by pulling 48 percent of the vote. Trying again for the chief justice job as the Demo- announced his chief justice candidacy. “Alabama is a conservative state,” Parker declared cratic nominee, he returns to that battle of 2012 in the opening paragraphs of his website then. “We revere the Constitution and the Rule of Law. And I believe our courts are the statement of his goals and purpose. battleground for our God-given rights as free people.” “Over the past several years, we have seen the rise of politicians who have tried to An associate justice on the court since 2005, Parker toppled incumbent Lyn Stuart to divide us rather than bring us together,” his statement reads. It goes on: “A judge must not win the Republican nomination for chief justice in June. see the world as ‘us’ and ‘them.’ … In short, a judge must be there for everyone.” Parker, 67, is a familiar face in Christian conservative circles in the state, and enjoys a Vance, 57, is a longtime circuit court judge in Jefferson County. In his campaign, he long association with James Dobson’s Focus on the Family. He was founding director of emphasizes that the chief justice is also the court system’s head administrator. the Alabama Family Alliance, now the Alabama Policy Institute, a research and policy “Alabama needs someone who will advocate for the courts. Someone who will work to hub that advocates for limited government and free enterprise. solve the courts’ funding problems as they currently exist,” Vance told a meeting of Cull- As a veteran ally of Roy Moore, notably during his Ten Commandments wars, Parker man Democrats. He also enjoyed a stroke of political good fortune in 2017 — in the form has often spoken up for him. On his website, Parker also makes clear his enduring opposi- of free national visibility — as news networks brought him onto their shows to discuss tion to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling that legalized gay marriage. Moore’s soon-to-fail bid for the U.S. Senate. And Parker says he gladly stands with President Donald Trump. Parker told WSFA12 in Many voters will remember Vance’s father, Robert S. Vance, also a Birmingham judge. Montgomery, “I want to provide leadership in the Alabama Supreme Court at this time to In 1989, the elder Vance was killed by a bomb hidden in a package delivered to his house. hopefully be a player in restoring the constitution through new conservative majority on The bomb-maker was an embittered wanna-be lawyer, Walter Leroy Moody. The state exe- the U.S. Supreme Court.” cuted Moody this year at age 83.

Supreme Court Associate Justice, Place 4

DONNA WESSON SMALLEY (D) JAY MITCHELL (R) Website: smalleyforsupremecourt.com Website: jayforalabama.com

Donna Wesson Smalley, running for Place 4 Supreme Court associate justice, stresses Jay Mitchell’s website gets right to the point: He’s a conservative, a constitutionalist the word “experience” in her messaging. and a Christian. “I have 40 years of experience in actually practicing law,” the Democratic nominee “Alabama needs Supreme Court justices who will block liberal challenges,” Mitchell writes on her website. She later continues, “Now more than ever, we need true leaders, says in an ad that riffs on his days as a 6-foot-7 basketball player at Birmingham-Southern. with experience in the trenches.” “I believe in God, the family, the constitution and enforcing the law, whether liberals like “My opponent was 2 years old when I started practicing law,” she told a Democratic it or not.” town hall event in August. Mitchell, 42, is partner in the Birmingham law firm Maynard, Cooper & Gale who’s Smalley, 63, a practicing attorney in Jasper, pledges to assert her independence in making his first run for public office. He convincingly won the Republican nomination for assessing the merits of the cases before her. Place 4 associate justice, receiving 71 percent of the June 5 vote. At a Mobile fundraiser, she said, “If you get 12 good and true citizens in a jury box, I’ll Mitchell is member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal think-tank that holds take them any day of the week. Sometimes they rule against me, sometimes they rule for much sway in national Republican circles. He serves on the board of Cornerstone School me. But I guaran-dog-tee-you most of the time they’re right. They know what’s going on. in Birmingham, a nonprofit Christian school with a mission to serve inner-city students. And I don’t want some people that have never practiced law for a living, that are living a In a commentary celebrating Constitution Day, Sept. 17, Mitchell wrote, in part, “In comfy life in an ivory tower at the Supreme Court in Montgomery, deciding that the jurors recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has made its own law — by ignoring or minimiz- didn’t know what they were doing.” ing the text of the Constitution in favor of the justices’ own policy views and ideas of what Some voters may be aware of Smalley’s sister, Debbie Wesson Gibson. She’s one of the they would like the Constitution to say. This judicial activism flouts the rule of law, makes women who says that Roy Moore pursued a romantic relationship with her when she was a a mockery of our Constitution, and undermines the sovereignty of the American people.” teen and he was in his 30s.

The amendments

There are four statewide amendments on the general election ballot. Here’s an explanation of each:

AMENDMENT 1 AMENDMENT 2 Ten Commandments displays Rights of the unborn

This amendment opens the way for displays of the Ten Commandments on state prop- This amendment declares that the state, as a matter of public policy, recognizes the erty and property owned or controlled by a public school or public body. The amendment, rights of unborn children, specifically their “right to life.” And the amendment makes however, expressly prohibits the “expenditure of public funds” to defend its own legality. clear that the state’s constitution provides no right to an abortion, or to any public expen- The amendment notes that Ten Commandments displays must adhere to established diture for an abortion. constitutional requirements, such as being exhibited along with historical or educational items. THE PRESS-REGISTER AL.COM SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018 A11

2018 midterm elections

State auditor

MIRANDA KARRINE JOSEPH (D) (R) (I*) Website: mirandajoseph.com Facebook: facebook.com/ZeiglerWasteCutter

Miranda Joseph, running for state auditor, isn’t wasting any time digging into the Jim Zeigler heightened the profile of the state auditor’s office with his scrutiny of Gov. state’s books. “The 2017 annual audit report states the Department of Corrections had a Robert Bentley’s dubious expenses and ethics wrongdoings. In Zeigler’s campaign for a perfect audit. However, the ‘Lost Report’ shows the department had three pistols stolen. second term, he makes clear that he’ll be pursuing new quarry. How can they have a perfect audit?” she tweeted in September while campaigning. Through the summer, he’s openly questioned highway department spending priorities, Joseph, 33, the Democratic nominee, is making her third try for the auditor’s office. and undertaken litigation claiming that the state violated its own bid laws in buying soft- “Just as we sit at our kitchen tables to save and watch our pennies, our government ware for its accounting system. should do the same with our tax dollars,” she says on her website. “Why are Montgomery politicians fighting against Jim Zeigler?” says his first cam- Joseph is expending significant campaign effort at the state’s grassroots, attending all paign ad. “Because Zeigler is a state auditor who fights corruption and wasteful spending. manner of local events, even handing out potato chip bags and water bottles emblazoned Zeigler stands for us, the taxpayers.” with her name. She’s hammered on the state’s recent plague of public corruption. Zeigler, 70, won the Republican primary June 5 with 56 percent of the vote. Eight “Folks are fed up with individuals who have betrayed the public trust, and with those months earlier, he’d raised a lot of eyebrows when he compared Roy Moore’s reported pur- individuals who are more concerned with self service than public service,” she says in a suit of teenage girls to the relationships of Biblical figures such as Joseph and Mary. campaign video. Zeigler served on the Public Service Commission in the ’70s, winning the job at age 24. She makes sure to note to voters that she’s a certified internal auditor, and that her He then toiled in the political wilderness, running and losing several times until his audi- opponent is not. Her Facebook page highlights the video remarks of one of her volunteers tor victory in 2014. His wife, Jackie, is a member of the state school board. who says: “When you need an electrician, you don’t call a plumber.” “I wear it as a badge of honor when I am left out of things by Montgomery insiders,” Zeigler tweeted in August.

Public Service Commission, Place 1

CARA Y. MCCLURE (D) JEREMY H. ODEN (R)(I*) Website: iamcaramcclure.com Facebook: facebook.com/jeremyoden

Cara McClure sends the message that Alabama can “elevate the quality of life for all” by Jeremy Oden describes himself on Facebook like this: “A Trump conservative and a uplifting the poor, the underrepresented and the marginalized. tried and tested public servant.” “Make a plan to vote now! Don’t sit this one out!” McClure, the Democratic challenger Indeed, Oden, 50, has plenty of experience in the public arena. He’s an ordained minis- for Public Service Commission Place 1, declares on her website. ter and former state lawmaker and banker whom Gov. Robert Bentley appointed to a Pub- McClure’s campaign says utility rates are unfairly high, and accuses the PSC of hiding lic Service Commission vacancy in 2012. behind closed doors and being too cozy with corporate interests. “We will put the public Oden attained a full term to the Place 1 seat in the 2014 election and won a tough back in the Public Service Commission. That’s a promise,” she said in a tweet. Republican primary battle in June in his bid for re-election. In another tweet, she labels the PSC as a “secret society,” that’s also “the most import- Oden has been a vigorous advocate for the coal industry and Alabama coal jobs, ant agency nobody knows about.” accusing the Obama administration and environmental activists of orchestrating “an McClure, 48, has become known in her Birmingham community for her social activ- onslaught of attacks against our way of life.” On Facebook, he says, “Proud to be part of the ism. She founded Black Lives Matter Birmingham and led a Mother’s Day campaign to bail PSC team delivering cheaper energy to all Alabamans.” He’s heralded Alabama Power Co. black mothers out of jail and reunite them with their families. rate reduction following Republican tax cuts earlier this year. In an interview with Glamor magazine, she said she’s determined to represent, “those “In a family, in your home, what do you pay every month? … That’s my job: to keep that who don’t have a voice or seat at the table.” energy as cheap and reliable as possible,” Oden said in a 2014 interview with the PBS show “We need leadership with hope, we need leadership that is connected to the grass- Capitol Journal. “When it comes down to it, I want the cheapest production and the most roots,” she told Democratic Party supporters at a May event. “We need leadership that reliable production of energy that we’ve got. And that’s when I go over there to that light understands what it means to choose between food and utilities. Because it is expensive fixture or that light switch, I cut it on and that light’s going to come on.” to be neglected by the people who are supposed to represent us.”

Public Service Commission, Place 2

KARI POWELL (D) CHRIS “CHIP” BEEKER JR. (R) (I*) Website: electkaripowell.com Facebook: facebook.com/chipbeeker2014

Kari Powell’s campaign declares that big utilities gouge Alabama rate-payers and that Chris “Chip” Beeker’s Facebook page says that he knows first-hand about the impor- the present Public Service Commission is letting it happen. tance of reliable energy to the state’s economy. In his younger days, he worked at two of Powell, the Democratic challenger for PSC Place 2, is running on a platform of “Lower Alabama Power Co.’s generating plants, Barry and Gorgas. Bills,” “Clean Energy” and “Open Doors,” the latter involving her pledge to conduct public Beeker, 70, running for a second term to the Public Service Commission Place 2 slot, regulatory hearings. handily won the Republican nomination in June. Powell, 36, describes herself on her website as a mom, a graphic designer, an experi- He’s a timber company owner and farmer, and former two-decade-long member of the enced marketer, and a committed volunteer who’s active in social justice causes. (Her blue Green County Commission. campaign T-shirts feature a clever line: “Powell to the people.” Beeker is campaigning as a stalwart conservative and robust supporter of President Don- “My message is clear. I’m fighting now and, once elected, a new fight begins. A fight for ald Trump. “Some of the things that he has previously done with the EPA to allow people to fairness and transparency at the Alabama Public Service Commission. The current com- get back into the coal industry is very exciting to me,” Beeker, in an August interview with missioners are not fighting for Alabamians, but for their Big Business Buds!” she writes on Yellowhammer News, said of the president. her Facebook page. In a 2014 news conference, Beeker, denouncing Obama administration clampdowns In campaigning, she repeatedly emphasizes that in Alabama, one of the poorest states, on coal, said that God had put the coal in Alabama. “Who has the right to take what God’s the electrical rates are among the nation’s highest. given a state?” he said. Powell says that the present PSC is beholden to “fossil fuel interests” and imposes Beeker pledges “fiscal responsibility” and to ensure that Alabama enjoys “the most reli- obstacles to solar energy and other renewable energy sources. able and affordable energy possible.” In an August campaign video, she says in a speech to College Democrats, “It is a prob- In 2017, Beeker also made a point to emphasize the PSC’s role in regulating the truck- lem when the Public Service Commission actively blocks clean energy. It is a problem ing industry, writing a commentary on the subject published by the St. Clair Times. Refer- when we lose good jobs to our neighboring states because of our inability to embrace the encing a Merle Haggard song, he wrote: “I recognize that ‘the white line is the lifeline to the clean energy economy.” nation.’’

AMENDMENT 3 AMENDMENT 4 trustees Filling vacancies

This amendment pertains to the structure of the University of Alabama Board of Trust- in the Legislature ees. It says: (1) there will be two trustees from each congressional district, as the six dis- This amendment says that if a seat in the Legislature becomes vacant on or after Oct. tricts presently exist. Thus the number of trustees wouldn’t change if the number of con- 1 of year three of a four-year term, the seat will remain vacant until the next general elec- gressional districts increases or declines; (2) the state superintendent of education will be tion. At present, the governor must call a special election, expending public funds to fill removed from automatic membership on the board; and (3) trustees will no longer have to the seat until the next general election, even if it’s just a few months away. retire after turning age 70.

CONTINUED ON A12 A12 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018 THE PRESS-REGISTER AL.COM

2018 midterm elections

1st Congressional District

ROBERT KENNEDY JR. (D) (R) (INCUMBENT) Website: kennedy4alabama.org Website: byrneforcongress.com

Three words stand at the forefront of Robert Kennedy Jr.’s message as he introduces Having made himself a familiar face in his 1st Congressional District, and become a himself to 1st Congressional District voters: faith, family and freedom. force in the region’s civic and industrial affairs, Bradley Bryne might have his eyes on a Kennedy, 48, who grew up in the Prichard area, won the Democratic nomination with- bigger prize — the Senate — in 2020. But for now, he’s running hard for re-election, posi- out opposition. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he served for nine years in active- tioning himself as a fierce conservative who’s proud of his record of service. duty Navy positions before transitioning into the business world, receiving a MBA from He’s also talking up the economy. “The one message I continue to hear from the peo- Duke University in the process. ple in my district is, ‘Keep doing what you’ve been doing — do more of it — because it’s In 2017, Kennedy ran for the U.S. Senate, finishing second in the seven-candidate Dem- making the lives of everybody in this community better. Our towns are not dying, they’re ocratic primary to Doug Jones. thriving,’” he said at a Republican “Better Off Now” event in September in Washington. “The reason why I decided to enter public life, and the reason why I decided to enter Byrne, 63, a lawyer, by profession, faced no opponent in the June GOP primary. public life from the Mobile, Alabama, area, is I’m simply doing why my mother told me to He’s a longtime presence in the public arena, serving on the state school board and in do when I left home over 30 years ago. She told me to ‘never forget where you came from,’” the state Senate, and later as chancellor of the state’s two-year college system. he said in remarks on a recent Sunday at Yorktown Missionary Baptist Church in Mobile. Byrne won a rugged special election for the 1st District House seat in 2013, then claimed He’s makes a point to focus on improving the Affordable Care Act, and expresses a firm a first full term in the 2014 regular election. comittment to public schools, environmental stewardship, fiscal responsibility and per- As a congressman, he’s gained notoriety, even from CBS News, for his prolific town hall sonal honor. events in the southwest Alabama region. “Byrne does more town halls than nearly any- Kennedy maintains that the political system is wrongly beholden to high-rollers who one in Congress: 87 of them since he began representing Alabama’s 1st District in 2013,” can write big checks. “Does anyone actually think that Washington is working right now? CBS News chief congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes told viewers in August, as The whole system is dysfunctional,” he told a meeting of Bay Area Young Democrats in Byrne prepared to embark on another 11 town halls in four days. September. “If somebody had to make one guess as to what the problem with the dysfunc- tion is, the root cause of dysfunction, what would you guess? Money! That’s the problem.”

Local contested races

Baldwin County Main issues: Clarke plans to continue efforts (R) Baldwin County Commission, District 2 to close the gender pay gap, strengthen public State Senate, District 32 Age: 78 schools, raise teacher pay, and advocate for Occupation: Insurance broker, state represen- Amber Smith (D) capital improvements at Bishop State Commu- Jason Fisher (D) tative Age: 30 nity College. Age: 46 Political experience: Elected twice to the Bald- Occupation: Public relations specialist Occupation: Founder and CEO of Jason Fisher win County Commission, elected to Alabama Political experience: None Stephen McNair (R) Consulting Group House of Representatives, District 94, in 2002, Main issues: Smith says she is dedicated to Age: 36 Political experience: None 2006, 2010 and 2014. smart growth practices for Baldwin County. Occupation: Owner of McNair Historic Preser- Main issues: Fisher believes his experiences Main issues: A longtime state representative, She says her No. 1 goal is cleaning up area vation dealing with the healthcare system from the Faust supports investment in infrastructure, waterways and Mobile Bay and helping foster Political experience: None patient perspective put him in position to foster insurance reform and a continued focus on environmentally conscious communities. Main issues: McNair’s platform includes a needed reforms, and he promises to encourage education. focus on infrastructure, especially easing the job and wage growth in Baldwin County. Joe Davis (R) burden on the I-10 corridor. Also, he describes State Representative, District 96 Age: 70 public education as the “silver bullet” to solving Chris Elliott (R) Occupation: City councilman, retired banker, economic and social problems that impact Age: 38 Maurice Horsey (D) college provost and business manager Mobile Occupation: President and owner of The Elliott Age: n/a* Political experience: Appointed to the Daphne Companies Inc., which operates ServiceMaster Occupation: Retired teacher and coach, and City Council, District 7, in 2013 State Representative, District 99 Restore franchises; vice president with his former director with the YMCA Main issues: Davis says he will focus on con- family-owned construction firm and real estate Political experience: None tinued economic development and job growth Sam Jones (D) development company. Main issues: Horsey says his top priorities in Baldwin County, along with improvements Age: 71 Political experience: Elected to Baldwin are investment in public schools, as well as job to infrastructure and traffic management and Occupation: Director of programs and commu- County Commission, District 2, in 2014. growth and infrastructure. stormwater runoff. nity outreach for Ball HealthCare Services Main issues: Elliott is running on a platform of Political experience: Served four terms as coalition-building to help him fight for needed Matt Simpson (R) Baldwin County Commission, District 3 Mobile County commissioner and two terms as state appropriations for Baldwin County. Age: 38 Mobile mayor Occupation: Assistant Baldwin County district Heather Brown (D) Main issues: Jones supports justice reform, State Representative, District 64 attorney Age: 43 infrastructure investment and small business Political experience: None Occupation: Freelance writer development for minorities. Amber Selman-Lynn (D) Main issues: Simpson said his No. 1 priority is Political experience: None Age: 37 improving roads and bridges, and points to his Main issues: Brown says infrastructure is Charles Talbert (R) Occupation: Stay-at-home mom with a back- experience as a prosecutor in fueling his focus her No. 1 priority, pledging to improve roads, Age: 32 ground in mental health and a career concen- on public safety and mental health. bridges and sewer systems. She is also a Occupation: Minster, vegetable farmer trating on child and adolescent services and proponent of better long-term planning and of Political experience: None integrated health care. Matt Shelby (Libertarian) Medicaid expansion. Main issues: Talbert says he supports the Political experience: None Age: 35 legalization of medicinal and recreational mari- Main issues: Selman-Lynn says that she will Occupation: Attorney Billie Jo Underwood (R) juana, and will place a priority on roads, bridges strive to raise the standard of education in the Political experience: None Age: 51 and other infrastructure. state, while improving health care and lowering Main issues: Shelby’s platform calls for Occupation: Certified public accountant the poverty level. reforms on several fronts, such as state gam- Political experience: Has served on the State Representative, District 104 bling laws, term limits, civil forfeiture laws, and Summerdale and Baldwin County planning (R) marijuana and drug laws. commissions. Arlene Cunningham Easley (D) Age: 72 Main issues: Underwood says she is a pro- Age: 55 Occupation: Retired school teacher, state Baldwin County Board of Education, ponent of smart and sustainable growth in Occupation: Accountant, college adjunct representative District 1 Baldwin County. She says she will protect the professor Political experience: Elected to Alabama county’s natural resources and manage the Political experience: None House of Representatives, District 64, in 2006, Heather Karras (D) impacts of growth upon roads, schools and Main issues: Easley calls for more transpar- 2010 and 2014. Age: 36 public safety. ency in government, better workforce training Main issues: Shiver plans on keeping his focus Occupation: Stay-at-home mom and an expansion of Medicaid in Alabama. on education and prisons, as well as infra- Political experience: None Mobile County She’ll also pursue new resources for public structure, such as the highways and bridges of Main issues: Karras calls for further educa- schools. Baldwin County and the state as a whole. tional investment in north Baldwin County, and State Senator, District 35 wants greater security in Baldwin schools and (R) State Representative, District 66 more public engagement. Tom Holmes (D) Age: n/a* Age: 73 Occupation: State representative, owns Mobile Susan E. Smith (D) Mike Johnson (R) Occupation: Retired chief of science and Bay Transportation and Yellow Cab of Mobile/ Age: 71 Age: 62 technology in the Alabama Department of Eco- Baldwin Occupation: Retired public school supervisor Occupation: Retired pharmacist nomic and Community Affairs, former executive Political experience: Elected to the Alabama and nurse; city councilwoman Political experience: None director of Mobile Arc House of Representatives, District 104, in 2014. Political experience: Serving her second Main issues: Johnson says he will fight to Political experience: None Main issues: Wilcox says she’ll press for term on the Atmore City Council, represent- make sure that schools are safe. He also urges Main issues: Holmes calls for improved bridges improved infrastructure, stronger ethics laws ing District 4. Was selected as a replacement increased transparency in the county to pre- and roads, and for expanding the statewide and a permanent attrition policy in hiring within candidate in the 2014 race for state Senate pare for future growth. broadband internet network. He also supports the state government. District 22. wide-reaching education reform. Main issues: Smith says education reform is Baldwin County Board of Education, Judicial Circuit, Place 6 her No. 1 focus. She wants to increase teacher District 2 David Sessions (R) pay, and bolster K-4 and dual-enrollment pro- Age: n/a* Karlos Finley (D) grams statewide. Clyde Jones (D) Occupation: State representative, president Age: n/a* Age: 52 of Grand Bay Water Works and Producers Gin Occupation: Attorney, city of Mobile Municipal (R) Occupation: Training specialist at FMC Agricul- Company Court judge Age: 62 ture Solutions, retired U.S. Army first sergeant Political experience: Elected to the Alabama Political experience: Named to a Municipal Occupation: Former high school teacher and Political experience: None House of Representatives, District 105, in 2011, Court judgeship by the City Council in 2015; coach, and director of a mortgage and finance Main issues: Jones says he will seek a major and re-elected in 2014 candidate for state House of Representatives business. renovation of Daphne High School. Main issues: Sessions says he will press to in 2013 Political experience: Elected to Alabama improve the state and local economies, and to Main issues: Finley is running on his record as House of Representatives, District 66, in 2006, Andrea Lindsey (R) pursue infrastructure improvements, especially a former assistant district attorney and judge. 2010 and 2014. Age: 61 as they pertain to transportation. He’s also proud of his leadership roles in com- Main issues: Baker says he plans on continuing Occupation: Retired schoolteacher munity and civic endeavors, and of his family’s his work to improve infrastructure, workforce Political experience: None State Representative, District 96 deep roots in Mobile. development, economic development and Main issues: Lindsey is focused on improving education. school safety, increasing student services, Information about the candidates in this Brandy Hambright (R) tackling attendance problems and addressing two-county district can be found in the Baldwin Age: 46 State Representative, District 94 issues involving the county’s rapid growth. County list on this page. Occupation: Attorney Political experience: None Danielle Mashburn-Myrick (D) Michael Reeves (Libertarian) State Representative, District 97 Main issues: Hambright is running on her Age: 34 Age: n/a* many years of courtroom experience and Occupation: Attorney Occupation: Works in the IT and finance Adline Clarke (D) community involvement. She says that funding Political experience: None departments for a locally owned and operated Age: 61 issues plague the courts, making it difficult for Main issues: An Eastern Shore native, national property adjuster. Occupation: State representative, freelance the judicial system to consider alternatives to Mashburn-Myrick says she wants to preserve Political experience: None journalist incarceration. the state’s natural resources, invest in infra- Main issues: Reeves says that, if elected, he will Political experience: Elected to the Alabama structure and educate the current, and future, do everything in his power to “reclaim and retain House of Representatives, District 97, via spe- workforce. local control of our curriculum and our funding.” cial election in 2013, and re-elected in 2014.