Democrat Richard Lindsey announces retirement from Alabama House

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Richard Lindsey

Centre-Democrat State Rep. Richard Lindsey announced his retirement Monday saying that he will not run for another term in the House of Representatives next year.

Alabama House District 39

First elected to the State House in 1938, over 34 years ago, Lindsey serves District 39, which includes parts of Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, DeKalb counties.

“I truly love serving the people of my district, and making this decision was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do,” said  Lindsey. “I wrestled with this decision for months. I turned to God’s word for guidance and the third chapter of Ecclesiastes came to mind: ‘To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven…’ These words helped me find peace with the decision that required divine guidance.”

Elected when he was only 27 years old,  Lindsey is the seventh most senior member in the Alabama Legislature.

“We have been very fortunate to have Richard in the Legislature all these years,” said Gadsden-Democrat, State Rep. Craig Ford. “He’s certainly earned his right to retire, but I sure do hate it for the people of our area because, now more than ever, we need people of his integrity and caliber in the Legislature.”

During his tenure in office, Lindsey served for ten years as chairman of the Education Finance and Appropriations Committee, which was responsible for writing the education budget. He also served for three terms as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, and also served on several regional and national legislative committees.