By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Tuesday, June 27, 2017, Montgomery attorney, Charles Williamson “Will” Barfoot, announced that he is running for the Republican nomination for the District 25 seat in the Alabama State Senate.
Barfoot said in a statement, “We can’t continue to elect career politicians and then be surprised when our problems get worse, not better. I am running to bring fresh ideas and a new approach to problem-solving to the Alabama Senate. Some people say my ideas are out of the box thinking but I think they are just a combination of good common sense and applying tried and true conservative business principles to the Legislature.”
Barfoot said that he believes that the citizen Legislature should be filled with more new people and fewer career politicos. Barfoot is promising to serve no more than three terms in the Senate.
Barfoot says fiscal responsibility will be his primary focus as an elected official and that he believes that there is a great deal of money that is being spent unwisely. Barfoot says that he has a new plan for identifying the wasteful spending of taxpayer money and cultivating solutions for operating government more effectively and efficiently.
Barfoot said, “Government solutions come from elected officials far too often. Little effort is made to talk to the state employees and public school teachers who are doing the work everyday and ask them what they see in terms of waste and what ideas they have for streamlining processes and making operations more efficient and more effective.”
Barfoot promised to sponsor Legislation that would create an incentive program for non-management level State employees and teachers to come forward with cost saving ideas. Under his plan, employees who identify cost saving measures that also increase government efficiency would receive a portion of the money that was saved as result of their suggestion.
Barfoot said, “Small businesses can’t grow and create new, high paying jobs if they are overburdened by too many regulations and too much unnecessary paperwork. As a small business owner, I know that over-regulation is costing this area jobs and too much red tape is killing businesses. A better business environment will lead to more jobs and higher wages and that is what we need.”
Barfoot wants to utilize his business experience to help existing companies expand and to help encourage new companies to locate in District 25.
Barfoot said that decreasing burdensome and unnecessary regulations, especially on small businesses, will be a priority for him. Barfoot said, “Small businesses can’t grow and create new, high paying jobs if they are overburdened by too many regulations and too much unnecessary paperwork. As a small business owner, I know that over-regulation is costing this area jobs and too much red tape is killing businesses. A better business environment will lead to more jobs and higher wages and that is what we need.”
Barfoot says he will examine regulations on all sectors, including the agricultural industry which is responsible for a large percentage of Alabama’s job growth. He believes that we should do everything possible to foster the growth and success of our State’s agricultural sector.
Barfoot said, “Farmers feed us and I remember that three times a day.”
Barfoot is a partner with Barfoot & Schoettker, LLC.
Barfoot is married to Kathy Barfoot and they have five children. They attend Thorington Road Baptist Church.
“Will” Barfoot grew up in Pike Road, Alabama and has lived in Montgomery County all of his life. He attended Auburn University Montgomery where he received a Bachelor degree in International Studies. Will got his Law degree from Jones School of Law in Montgomery. Will represents clients involved in automobile collisions, wrongful deaths, premise liability claims, general civil litigation, probate matters, juvenile matters and criminal cases.
In 2006, Will was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Senate in Alabama’s District 25. Will has served on the Alabama Republican Executive Committee and in 2008, Will was elected by the voters in Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District to serve as a delegate for Gov. Mike Huckabee at the National Republican Party Convention. Will also served as legal counsel for Gov. Mike Huckabee during the 2008 Alabama Republican Presidential Primary. Will is active in the Republican Party and is currently a member of the Montgomery County Republican Executive Committee.
Will Barfoot has served on the City of Montgomery Board of Adjustments and as Vice President of the Board for Capitol Heights Place.
Senate District 25 covers parts of Elmore, Montgomery and Crenshaw counties.
Incumbent Senator Dick Brewbaker (R) has announced that he will not run for reelection. Vice Chairman of the Montgomery County Commission, Ronda Walker (R) has also announced her candidacy for Alabama State Senate District 25.
The Republican Primary will be held on June 5, 2018.
