Karla Knight Maddox is the Republican nominee for Alabama House of Representatives District 69. District 69 includes much of southern Montgomery County and parts of Lowndes, Wilcox, and Autauga County. Long a safe Democratic district, this sprawling rural Black Belt district is now one of the most purple districts in the state due to migration and redistricting.
Maddox is challenging Democratic incumbent Kelvin Lawrence who has represented District 69 since 2014.
Maddox is a wife and mother in Autauga County who has suspended her small business to run full-time for this office. In a lengthy phone interview on Wednesday, Karla spoke with Alabama Today about her campaign.
“There are a lot of eyes on this district,” Maddox said. “This district has been blue for so long that they were not aware that it was now winnable after the new lines were drawn.”
“I talk to people all the time that thought they were in District 88, that just became aware that they are in District 69,” Maddox said. “Some people are still not aware that they are now in 69.”
“There are 10,000 registered Republicans in this district and 9,000 registered Democrats,” Maddox explained. “I am not just talking to Republicans. That would be a waste of time, but I am also talking with Democrats, independents, Libertarians, and whatever third party groups people identify themselves as now.”
Greg Pool is the chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party.
“I can’t believe how competitive this seat has gotten,” Pool told Alabama Today.
“I want my children and my future grandchildren to be able to look back at the 2022 midterm election and realize that this election made a huge difference in their lives,” Maddox said. “I don’t make promises. I just don’t because too much can happen, but I am the person that the mayor, the county commission, the police chief, and the school board can come to with a problem, and I will do everything possible, including writing a grant for them to help them with that issue. I want to represent this district in a way that it has not been represented in a long time.”
Alabama is one of a handful of states that taxes basic foodstuffs.
“We have an opportunity to finally do away with the grocery tax,” Maddox said. “My plan is to take it off of fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, butter, eggs, bread, flour, and all the things that you need to prepare a meal for your family at home and keep it on Coca-Colas, Tostitos, beer, and all the extra things that you buy.”
Maddox said that her plan would benefit families and low-income people without all of the cost of eliminating the tax altogether.
“If the Legislature wants to pass a full removal of the grocery tax, I will support it,” Maddox said. “Either proposal, I will vote for it.”
“My children are 16 and 13, and my grocery bill has doubled. That’s tough on families,” Maddox said. “Families need the help (the reduction on the food tax). With the cost of food now, there is not a lot of money left over for gas.”
Maddox favors a lottery, but only if it is patterned after the Georgia Hope Scholarship lottery.
Maddox grew up in Houston County but was in Georgia for her college years, where she attended college.
“Gambling is already in Alabama,” Maddox said. “I am a huge fan of Georgia’s lottery scholarships. That helped pay for me to go to college: all of my tuition and part of my books. It also paid for my brother’s college and part of my sister’s.”
The state of Alabama is expected to finish this week with approximately $2 billion in surplus that it did not need for anything in the 2022 fiscal year. That money has rolled over into the 2023 fiscal year that begins Saturday – October 1. Alabama Today asked Maddox what the state should do with that money: make tax rebates to citizens or use it to make strategic investments.
“As a wife and mother, I like the tax rebates, but as a businesswoman, I can see making the investments with the money,” Maddox said. “I am still studying this issue. I need to see exactly what they are talking about before giving an opinion.”
The state has been facing a lot of criticism lately on prisons. They are understaffed, aging, and the prisoners complain about the horrible conditions, violence, and the poor-quality food. There is currently a work stoppage by some of the inmates.
“We have underfunded prisons and jails,” Maddox said. “We need to look at where these issues are coming from. We can find funding, but instead of putting a band-aid on the problem, we need also address what is causing the problem. In some cases, that teen or young adult would be better served in a mental health program rather than in jail or prison, and in some instances, drug rehab would be a better option rather than being locked up.”
“If you are some drug kingpin, you are going to jail,” Maddox said, emphasizing that the state needs to be tough on crime.
“I am in favor of the death penalty,” Maddox. “I do believe that some crimes are so bad that they need to be paid for through the death penalty.”
“From the research I have done, lethal injection is the most humane method of execution,” Maddox said.
Gov. Ivey recently awarded $82 million in grant money to build a middle mile network to expand rural broadband in the state. Alabama Today asked Maddox if that benefitted District 69.
“Absolutely, that will definitely benefit district 69,” Maddox said. “Wilcox and Lowndes have big coverage gaps, and even here in Autauga County, the schools have to deploy the school buses out around the county to serve as mobile wi-fi hot spots so that the children can do their work on e-learning days.”
“There is the cost of the driver and the fuel; how much money is that costing?” Maddox said. “Technology is a game-changer. We need broadband.”
Maddox is a strong supporter of school choice in Alabama.
“A lot of families can’t afford private school,” Maddox said. “Children should not be limited just because they are zoned to a poor school that tells them they can’t do something because they are from here.”
The Maddox versus Lawrence race is on the November 8 general election ballot.
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