By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
The Mid-Alabama Republican Club held a forum Saturday for Republican lieutenant governor candidates in Vestavia Hills.
State Rep. Will Ainsworth, R-Guntersville, said, “I moved to Boaz when I was one. My father started a business just him. Today they manufacture locomotives and have thousands of employees. My mom founded the crisis pregnancy center in Marshall County.”
“I have introduced an adoption tax credit,” Ainsworth said. “It expands the adoption credit at to any other state or country.”
“I love Donald Trump and what he has done for the country,” Ainsworth added.
Ainsworth said that people outside the stat know about Nick Saban, but they also know about the Luv Guv and the corruption.
Ainsworth said that his first bill he passed in the legislature eliminated double voting.
“The second bill I passed eliminated something called the revolving door,” Ainsworth said. “People were going straight from government to lobbying. That is a big difference between me and Twinkle. She went straight from the governor’s cabinet to lobbying.”
Ainsworth said that he has an education plan.
“We have got to make sure that all kids have access to technology,” Ainsworth said. “Some parents aren’t doing their job any more. Children are arriving in school that have never read a book before and don’t know their colors. The biggest crisis facing our state is workforce development. I talk to businesses across the state. They say we can’t find people qualified to fill the roles that we have open and when we do they can’t pass a drug test. We forgot the trades. When I went to high school, it was all about where are you going to college. We have got to give parents choice through charter schools.”
“The future of the next 5 to 10 years in Alabama is very bright,” Ainsworth said.
Ainsworth said that he comes from the private sector, is a Christian, is endorsed by the Alabama Forestry Association and the Alabama Farmers Federation.
“I support term limits,” Ainsworth said. “I fought against tax increases. I stood up to Mike Hubband and Governor Bentley and killed a billion in new taxes.”
“It is an honor to serve in the House and would be a privilege to be your lieutenant governor,” Ainsworth said.
Public Service Commission President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh said, “I am running for Lt. Gov. for three reasons: to cut the government fat; we have strong Christian conservative values and they are under attack. It is important to have someone strong in this office and the third is jobs, jobs, jobs.”
“When I was elected to the Public Service Commission they wanted to know what kind of new car I wanted, offered to purchase new furniture for my office and asked how many new cell phones I needed,” Cavanaugh said. “I refused a state car, we didn’t redecorate my office, we did not get a slew of new phones.”
Cavanaugh said that she has cut the number of PSC employees from 119 to 72.
“We had 59 state cars. We changed that,” Cavanaugh said. “Today, you only have a state car if you are going to an audit or you are doing inspections on things like pipelines. I have cut my personal office space by two thirds. We are now sending $13 million back to the state in savings. Thats what we need to do as a state.”
Cavanaugh said she was the first woman chairman of the Alabama Republican Party.
“President Trump has given us a reprieve,” Cavanaugh said. “Now we need to take this chance to reclaim our country.”
“In three years we will have a shortage of 100,000 skilled jobs in our state,” Cavanaugh said. “We have got to improve our workforce. Not every child is going to college; but we need to make sure that every child reaches their potential.”
“I want Alabama to be a beacon for the rest of the country,” Cavanaugh said.
State Senator Rusty Glover, R-Semmes, said we have three good candidates running for this office.
He was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2002 and has been in the Senate since 2006.
“I come from a very conservative district and they are very happy with my vote,” Glover said.
“The lieutenant governor presides over the Senate, assigns bills to the Senate Committees and approves travel,” Glover said. “He makes the determination if these trips worthy of your money.”
Glover said that he opposed the tax increases in Amendment one.
“I voted against every one of those taxes,” Glover said. “There was a shortage of state troopers on the roads and the Speaker of the House, both pro-tems, and the majority leader all had state troopers driving them back and forth to work. In 2010, the Republicans took control of the legislature and those Trooper drivers were done away with. If I am lieutenant governor, I won’t have a state trooper driving me around.”
“I pledge to be a full-time lieutenant governor,” Glover said. “I am not going to have any other jobs or businesses. I pledge to work with the governor on economic development and workforce development.”
The Mid-Alabama Republican Club meets on the second Saturday of each month in Vestavia.
The major party primaries will be on June 5, 2018.
