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As the Alabama Legislature convenes for their 2025 Regular Legislative Session this week, the State Senate will have a new President Pro Tem. Forty-nine year old State Senator Garlan Gudger of Cullman will ascend to the top leadership post in the Alabama Senate.
He will succeed Senator Greg Reed of Jasper, who has moved into Governor Kay Ivey’s Cabinet as head of the new Department of Workforce Development. The State Senate has a solid super Republican majority. There are 27 Republicans and only eight Democrats in the 35-member upper chamber.
Senator Gudger was chosen by the Republican caucus in a December meeting and will be affirmed and elected officially this week. He is a solid Republican but is liked by the Democrats. They believe that he will be as fair as Greg Reed.
Garlan Gudger is a well-liked young Senator, he is very gregarious, welcoming, and sincere. He has been a superstar since his arrival in the Senate in the 2018 class. His 2018 class is special. Included in that class were two other superstar Senators, Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, and Dan Roberts, R-Jefferson. Gudger and Barfoot bonded and were suitemates. Three other veterans came to the Senate after successful tenures in the House of Representatives, Senator Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva/Houston, Senator David Sessions, R-Mobile, and Senator April Weaver, R-Bibb/Shelby. Former successful State Senator Tom Butler, R-Madison/Limestone, came back to the Senate after a leave of absence and has added a lot. Also in the class is Senator Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, who is a State Senate legacy. His grandfather, Walter Givhan, was a legendary Black Belt Senator from Dallas County. There are several other sterling Senators who were in that 2018 class, Senator Andrew Jones, R-Cherokee/Etowah, Senator Chris Elliott, R-Baldwin, Senator Randy Price, R-Lee, and Senator Jack Williams, R-Mobile. They are outstanding and seemed to be bonded and stick together.
Gudger is young enough to be a lifetime Republican. He is a solid mainstream Republican and not relegated to a right-wing corner, which bodes well with working with the eight Democrats. He represents the counties of Cullman, Marion, and Winston. It is one of the most Republican areas of the state. In fact, one of his counties, the “Free State of Winston,” was Republican when the other 66 counties in the state were voting Democratic. Garlan is close with his popular conservative Congressman, Robert Aderholt, who represents this same neck of the woods in Washington. These two gentlemen work well together for their constituents. You could say these counties are well represented in Montgomery and Washington, especially Cullman.
Garlan Gudger is Cullman through and through. He was born and raised in Cullman. His daddy passed away seven years ago and was Dean of Students at Wallace College in Cullman. His mom, Dot, is beloved in the county and is a big influence in Garlan’s life. She is a pillar of the First Baptist Church and remembers the days when legendary Governor “Big Jim” Folsom, who was from Cullman, would attend First Baptist. He had gotten old and deaf and would talk aloud during the sermon over the preacher talking to his wife, Mrs. Jamelle.
In 2004, Garlan Gudger became the youngest member in the history of the City of Cullman to be elected to the Cullman City Council. He served on the Council for 14 years and was elected to serve as President of the Council for the last ten years. He was elected to the State Senate in 2018.
In 1999, Senator Gudger became the second-generation owner of the architectural salvage business that was established out of a garage in 1969. Since that time, Southern Accents Architectural Antiques has grown into one of the top five architectural salvage companies in the nation. Southern Accents was awarded “Best Antique Store” in Alabama by Alabama Magazine in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
Garlan is a graduate of Cullman High School. He played football awhile at Samford University before transferring to Auburn. He graduated from Auburn with a BA in Building Science. Senator Gudger is married to Heather Pierce Gudger of Cullman. They have two sons, Tripp and Pierce.
Garlan Gudger will make a good President Pro Tem of the Alabama State Senate.
See you next week.
