By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Thursday, October 13, the Greater Birmingham Young Republicans (GBYR) will hear from UAB professor of biology and past President of Birmingham Mountain Pedalers (BUMP), Dr. Mickie Powell on how Alabama’s Amendment 2 will affect Alabama State Parks.
Dr. Powell wants to make sure the State Parks remain open to the public and are no longer under the threat of closure due to budget manipulations by the State legislature.
If the voters ratify amendment 2 the legislature would be prohibited form reallocating park funds for other uses.
From 2011 to 2015, the legislature reallocated $15 million from the State Parks budget to the General Fund. As a result of the budget shortfall, the Bentley Administration closed five state parks. Other parks limited their services and hours of operation.
Amendment 2 would also allow the State Park system to contract out the operation and maintenance of State Park land and facilities to non-state entities rather than having everything handled by State workers.
The GBYRs we will begin their monthly meeting with a 30 minute happy hour followed by club business, then Dr. Powell’s presentation.
Organizers said that, “Attendees will have plenty of opportunity to ask questions about how our parks are funded and what Amendment 2 will change.”
October is also the beginning of the election process for the GBYRs. If you or someone you know is interested in serving in leadership at GBYR for the coming year, now is the time to make nominations. Elections will be held at their November meeting.
The meeting starts at 6:00 pm at Sidebar in Birmingham’s Sidebar.
The Young Republican Federation of Alabama is organizing a deployment of Young Republicans to work for Jefferson County Republican candidates. The YRs will lead GOTV (Get Out The Vote) efforts in Jefferson County, Alabama. “We have District Attorneys, Brandon Falls and Bill Veitch, four incumbent judges, and many qualified judicial candidates on the ballot this year. Jefferson County is one of the only true “purple counties” in the State, which makes this our biggest in-state battleground to defeat Democrats. Republicans of all ages are welcome to join in the fun!”
This four day deployment will incorporate many different projects: door-to-door, phone banking, polling place sign placement on Election Eve, and poll watching. There will also be fun evening activites planned each night of the deployment. Check back as we finalize the details for those.
All hotel and meal costs will be covered for volunteers. Contact YRFA Chair Jacke Curtiss at Jackie.Curtiss90@gmail.com for more information.
The GBYRs are the largest affiliate member of the YRFA.
Original Reporting by Ballotpedia contributed to this report.
