Dick Brewbaker dismissed the national opioid emergency tearing apart families as a “feel good” issue
In 2017, the Federal Department of Health and Human Services declared a nationwide federal health emergency as a result of the opioid crisis. The results of which were already ravaging the state of Alabama. A report produced by the Alabama Department of Public Health highlighted the threat posed by the drug crisis, saying, “In 2017, 836 drug overdose-related deaths were reported; 419 (50%) of those involved opioids.” With the Alabama Department of Public Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and lawmakers raising alarm bells about the devastating impact on families across the state, everyone was taking note, well, almost everyone. State Senator Dick Brewbaker, a current candidate for U.S. House district two, went on record opposing the attention the issue was getting. A story run by WSFA Channel 12 with the headline “Montgomery lawmaker says not to be ‘fooled’ by opioid crisis.” WSFA quotes Brewbaker as saying, “Because most people just nod and go yeah people are getting addicted to drugs and that’s bad you need to go fix that.” The story noted that Brewbaker’s concern “centers around other issues in the state which may go unaddressed. The Montgomery senator said prisons and the education system are both more immediate crises than opioids. Brewbaker said they could go unaddressed because they are harder to solve.” “In Alabama, we have a lot of real crisis that we ought to be paying attention to,” Brewbaker said. In a statement released by the Caroleene Dobson campaign, Dobson spokesman Drew Dixon said, Brewbaker demonstrated “bad judgment, misplaced priorities, and a complete lack of understanding” as a state senator when he downplayed the threat of fentanyl and the opioid crisis and said improving living conditions for convicted felons was a more urgent priority. “Like so many career politicians, 20-year office holder Dick Brewbaker was guilty of the triple threat of bad judgment, misplaced priorities, and a complete lack of understanding when he flippantly said that the comfort of incarcerated felons was more important than protecting families and communities from the threat of fentanyl and the opioid crisis.” Dixon said, “I am certain that the parents, families, and friends who lost loved ones to opioid addiction do not agree that ensuring prisoners have cable television is more important than removing dangerous drugs from our cities, towns, and streets.”
Secretary Pete Buttigieg in Birmingham to announce $14.5 million federal grant to revitalize Alabama’s ‘Black Main Street’
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg came to Birmingham on Wednesday to celebrate a $14.5 million federal grant that will restore two-way traffic to Fourth Avenue North in the city’s historic Black business district. “We’re here because everybody recognizes all the ways in which infrastructure shapes our lives, and we feel it when something goes wrong,” he said. “Sometimes we don’t pay attention to it when everything goes right, but a lot of work goes into making sure that it goes right. And that’s what today is about.” The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program, which is designed in part to help reconnect underserved communities that were adversely affected by past transportation projects. Buttigieg was joined by Congresswoman Terri Sewell, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, community leaders, and Fourth Avenue business owners for an event outside the historic Carver Theatre, home to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and near the Birmingham Civil Rights District. The transportation secretary said his visit was “about better infrastructure for the future” and “about putting right things that have been done wrong in the past.” “Part of what brings me to Birmingham today is recognizing the consequences of infrastructure decisions that were made generations ago and our regard for a community’s vision,” Buttigieg said. The grant will restore two-way traffic along 15 blocks of Fourth Avenue and add additional features designed to revitalize the commercial district and help reconnect the important corridor to the broader neighborhood. “People are going to find it easier and more comfortable and safer to move on this quarter, whether walking, biking, riding the bus, or driving,” Buttigieg said. Sewell said many past infrastructure projects created barriers between people and adversely impacted neighborhoods, especially in African American communities. She said what happened to the Fourth Avenue business district – the city’s “Black Main Street” – is a prime example. “We know that the historic Fourth Avenue business district has a very rich legacy of African American ingenuity and entrepreneurship. We also know that we’ve seen the crippling effects of infrastructure policy that has sought to divide us,” she said. “Our people deserve better,” Sewell added, saying the project will “… help us right these wrongs and level the playing field for Fourth Avenue business district.” Woodfin said that to create a thriving downtown and thriving neighborhoods, “we need streets where a mother can safely push a stroller across a crosswalk.” “Our vision is to create a truly multimodal, model city, a city where people can walk, ride public transportation or ride a bike to get to their destination.” He said some of the changes won’t happen overnight, with many in the community still “trapped in a culture of car dependency.” “It will take us some time to undo this infrastructure and redesign our streets and systems,” Woodfin said, calling the Fourth Avenue project a “major step” in creating safer streets. Republished with permission from Alabama News Center. A version of this story originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.
