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Northwest Alabama is a very special place. Nestled in the lowest foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is known for coal mining and includes so many beautiful wonders and remarkable people. I call it home, and I have for almost my entire life.
I was born in Jasper and grew up in Cordova in south Walker County with my mother, Patsy, my father, Rufus, and my sister, Angie. My father worked for the power company, and my sister and I attended Walker County public schools. Upon graduation from high school, I went to Walker College, now Bevill State Community College, before I attended and graduated from the University of Alabama.
In 1988, I married my high school sweetheart, Mitsy Harbison, daughter of Charles and Betty Harbison of Cordova. We settled in Jasper, where we raised our three sons: Andrew, James, and John Michael. Our sons all attended Jasper City Schools before going off and graduating from college. My family has attended Jasper’s First Baptist Church for decades, and Mitsy and I have taught Sunday school to adults for many years.
All of that to say, this area of our wonderful state means everything to me, and I could not be more grateful for the blessings it has bestowed on me and my life. It is because of these blessings I always felt the responsibility to give back to my home through public service, and with that spirit, I decided to run for the Alabama State Senate in 2010 after many months of prayer.
Serving you as the Senator from Senate District 5 for almost 15 years has been the honor and privilege of my life. At different times, my district has encompassed parts of Jefferson, Walker, Winston, Fayette, Tuscaloosa, and Lamar Counties, and I could not be prouder of all that we have accomplished together.
When I entered the Senate in 2010, I was a part of the red wave of Republicans that flipped the Statehouse from Democrat control for the first time in over 130 years. Alabama was in a tough place, and between overcoming the Great Recession and runaway spending, our state did not have any money. Through diligent cost cutting measures and conservative budgeting, we have completely righted Alabama’s economic woes and made our economy a true strength of our state.
Because of our budgeting efforts, money began to return, and we were able to pay back money borrowed from the Alabama Trust Fund. Those efforts have proved to be a wise choice for Alabama, and it has greatly benefitted Senate District 5. Because of conservative budgeting, funds increased, which provided the opportunity for new investment across Alabama. It was my goal to steer as much of those investments to Senate District 5 as I could.
One of my top priorities when ensuring resources were coming to Senate District 5 was educational dollars. Over the course of my legislative career, strong partnerships brought tens of millions of dollars to entities like Bevill State Community College and our local city and county school systems. One of my proudest achievements was helping secure the necessary funds to replace the old elementary school Mitsy and I attended in Cordova with a new school building. It will benefit aspiring students for years to come.
Investing in Senate District 5 was a part of larger economic growth and workforce development projects I helped lead. I helped Alabama bolster incentives to recruit businesses to rural counties by sponsoring the AIM Act in 2019. One keen focus to help boost efforts like the AIM Act in rural Alabama was increasing broadband internet access across our state. During a short window of time, Alabama has gone from a national rank of 47th to 24th in broadband connectivity with our area in Northwest Alabama benefitting greatly from it.
Additionally, in 2023 as part of The Game Plan, I helped renew the Growing Alabama Act and the Alabama Jobs Act, both of which I worked on since their original passage. These bills helped increase investment in rural areas, lower taxes for businesses, and promote capital opportunities throughout Alabama. They have been a game changer for rural Alabama bringing jobs and opportunities. Furthering that mission, I was proud to help lead legislative efforts in the Working for Alabama bill package this past legislative session. This package has focused our efforts on making sure we are recruiting and training the right people to do jobs that Alabama will need for a bright future. The work being done, particularly in trade skills, in Senate District 5 in high schools and community colleges like Bevill State will be monumental in achieving those goals.
While ensuring Senate District 5’s success in Alabama’s economic growth was important, there were other policy items that were important during my time in the Senate, particularly on social issues. One big topic that spanned my entire legislative career was protecting life. In 2012, I sponsored a piece of legislation that opted Alabama out of receiving federal funds from the Affordable Care Act that would be used to provide free abortions. Additionally, in 2019 I joined my Republican colleagues in voting to ban abortions in Alabama altogether. Recently, this issue of protecting life in Alabama came full circle when Jasper became a part of the Safe Haven network where mothers can safely and anonymously surrender an infant that can then be put up for adoption. Every life matters, and I am so proud of the work that we did to protect life in Alabama.
As I look back on my time in the Alabama Senate, I am filled with gratitude for the privilege of representing you. It has been one of the joys of my life, and I beam with pride when I think of the boy from Cordova that grew up to represent his friends, colleagues, and neighbors. I may be leaving the Senate, but I am not going far. Alabama has more work to do to achieve all that she can, and it is my expectation that Senate District 5 will be at the forefront of that mission.
Representing you has been an honor. God bless you and your family.
