Here’s who’s qualified to run for the Alabama State Senate thus far
Alabama candidates began qualifying for major 2018 races last month. Now, with just four days remaining to officially qualify for the June Democratic and Republican primaries several more candidates both parties are filing documents to make cut. Thus far, 54 total candidates have qualified to run for the State Senate. Of those candidates, 41 are Republican and 13 are Democrats. Republicans are running in 28 of the 35 State Senate Districts and Democrats in 11. District 24 has no candidate running from either party. Below is the list of candidates the Alabama Republican and Democratic Parties have qualified thus far: District 1 Tim Melson (Republican) District 2 Tom Butler (Republican) Steve Smith (Republican) Michael L. Smith (Democrat) Amy Wasyluka (Democrat) District 3 Arthur Orr(Republican) District 4 Paul Bussman (Republican) District 5 Greg J. Reed (Republican) District 6 Larry Stutts (Republican) Johnny Mack Morrow (Democrat) District 7 Sam Givhan (Republican) Mary Scott Hunter (Republican) District 8 Max D. Fuller (Republican) Steve Livingston (Republican) District 9 Clay Scofield (Republican) District 10 Mack N. Butler (Republican) Andrew Jones (Republican) District 11 Jake Lane (Republican) Jim McClendon (Republican) District 12 Del Marsh (Republican) Wayne Willis (Republican) District 13 Randy Price (Republican) Mike Sparks (Republican) Tim Sprayberry (Republican) Darrell Turner (Democrat) District 14 Cam Ward (Republican) District 15 Slade Blackwell (Republican) District 16 J.T. “Jabo” Waggoner (Republican) Lindsey Deckard (Democrat) District 17 Shay Shelnutt (Republican) District 18 Rodger M. Smitherman (Democrat) District 19 Priscilla Dunn (Democrat) District 20 Linda Coleman-Madison (Democrat) District 21 Gerald Allen (Republican) District 22 Greg Albritton (Republican) District 23 Hank Sanders (Democrat) District 24 District 25 Will Barfoot(Republican) Ronda Walker (Republican) District 26 D. J. Johnson (Republican) District 27 Tom Whatley (Republican) Nancy Carlton Bendinger (Democrat) District 28 Billy Beasley (Democrat) District 29 Donnie Chesteen (Republican) District 30 Clyde Chambliss, Jr. (Republican) District 31 Jimmy W. Holley (Republican) District 32 Jeff Boyd (Republican) Chris Elliott (Republican) David Northcutt (Republican) Bill Roberts (Republican) District 33 Vivian Figures (Democrat) District 34 Mark Shirey (Republican) Jack Williams (Republican) District 35 David Sessions (Republican) Tom Holmes (Democrat)
Will Barfoot announces candidacy for Alabama State Senate
Will Barfoot is hoping to bring a bevy of fresh ideas to the Alabama State Senate come the 2019 legislative session. On Tuesday the Montgomery-attorney announced he’s seeking the GOP nomination for the District 25 seat, which covers parts of Elmore, Montgomery and Crenshaw counties, in next year’s election. “We can’t continue to elect career politicians and then be surprised when our problems get worse, not better,” Barfoot said. “I am running to bring fresh ideas and a new approach to problem-solving to the Alabama Senate. Some people say my ideas are out of the box thinking but I think they are just a combination of good common sense and applying tried and true conservative business principles to the legislature.” The seat is currently held by Pike Road-Republican Senator Dick Brewbaker who announced in November 2015 that he will not seek re-election. Barfoot says he believes that the citizen legislature should be filled with more new people and fewer career politicians and thus promises to serve no more than three terms in the Senate. “Government solutions come from elected officials far too often,” Barfoot explained. “Little effort is made to talk to the state employees and public school teachers who are doing the work everyday and ask them what they see in terms of waste and what ideas they have for streamlining processes and making operations more efficient and more effective.” Barfoot wants to sponsor legislation that would create an incentive program for non-management level state employees and teachers to come forward with cost saving ideas. Under his plan, employees who identify cost saving measures that also increase government efficiency would receive a portion of the money that was saved as result of their suggestion. He also wants to utilize his business experience to help existing companies expand and to help encourage new companies to locate in District 25. “Small businesses can’t grow and create new, high paying jobs if they are overburdened by too many regulations and too much unnecessary paperwork,” Barfoot said. “As a small business owner, I know that over-regulation is costing this area jobs and too much red tape is killing businesses. A better business environment will lead to more jobs and higher wages and that is what we need.” Barfoot also says he will examine regulations on all sectors, including the agricultural industry which is responsible for a large percentage of Alabama’s job growth. “Farmers feed us and I remember that three times a day,” Barfoot added. Barfoot is a partner with Barfoot & Schoettker, LLC. He is married to Kathy Barfoot and has five children. They are members of Thorington Road Baptist Church. The Republican Primary will be held on June 5, 2018.
55% of the Alabama Legislature is on Twitter
Years ago, a lawmaker’s official website used to be sole clearinghouse for information — functioning as hub of schedule updates, press releases, contact information, and more. While those websites aren’t going anywhere any time soon, gone are the days where they’re the only platform lawmakers use to communicate with constituents. But with the advent of social media — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, to name but a few — it’s become increasingly important for members to take the extra effort to engage more directly, and frequently with those who put them in office. In 2016, 78 percent of Americans had at least one social media profile, making a strong argument that if lawmakers want to continue to be re-elected they should go where the people are — online. Which is why Alabama Today wanted to see just how many Alabama lawmakers have a social media presence on Twitter — a digital platform where users “tweet” 140-character messages to the world, and one another. In our research, we found that 55 percent of the current 135 member Legislature is on Twitter. To break it down further, we found 77 percent of the Senate is on Twitter, while on 47 percent of the House has jumped on the platform. Further still, the make-up of the Alabama Legislature on Twitter is 56 percent Republicans and 49 percent Democrats. But merely having an account on Twitter by no means the users are active. We discovered the vast majority of Alabama lawmakers on the platform only used to first get elected, and that most accounts are years out of date, like Rep. Thad McClammy who’s not tweeted since 2009, or Sen. Rodger Smitherman who’s not tweeted since 2010. While others, like Sen. J.T. Waggoner (R-AL-16) and Rep. April Weaver seem to have missed the entire point of being a public official with a Twitter account in the first place — to communicate with constituents — and have their accounts hidden behind privacy filters. Then there’s the smallest population of users, like RepublicanRep. Victor Gaston and Democrat Rep. Barbara Boyd who have created accounts, but have never actually tweeted from. Take a look at our findings: Alabama State Senate Sen. Greg Albritton (R-AL-22): N/A Sen. Gerald Allen (R-AL-21): @SenGeraldAllen Sen. Billy Beasley (D-AL-28): @senbillybeasley Sen. Slade Blackwell (R-AL-15): @SladeBlackwell Sen. Dick Brewbaker (R-AL-25): @dick_brewbaker Sen. Paul Bussman (R-AL-4): @PaulBussman Sen. Clyde Chambliss (R-AL-30): @Clyde_SD30 Sen. Linda Coleman (D-AL-20): @senlindacoleman Sen. Gerald Dial (R-AL-13): @sengeralddial Sen. Priscilla Dunn (D-AL-19): N/A Sen. Vivian Figures (D-AL-33): @vivian_figures Sen. Rusty Glover (R-AL-34): N/A Sen. Bill Hightower (R-AL-35): @hightower_bill Sen. Jimmy Holley (R-AL-31): N/A Sen. Bill Holtzclaw (R-AL-2): @billholtzclaw Sen. Steve Livingston (R-AL-8): N/A Sen. Del Marsh (R-AL-12): @SenatorDelMarsh Sen. Jim McClendon (R-AL-11): @SenJimMcClendon Sen. Tim Melson (R-AL-1): N/A Sen. Arthur Orr (R-AL-3): @SenatorAOrr Sen. Trip Pittman (R-AL-32): @PittTrippman Sen. Greg Reed (R-AL-5): N/A Sen. Quinton Ross (D-AL-26): @SenQuintonRoss Sen. Henry Sanders (D-AL-23): @SenHankSanders Sen. Paul Sanford (R-AL-7): @CitizenLawmaker Sen. Clay Scofield (R-AL-9): @ALConservative Sen. Shay Shelnutt (R-AL-17): @shelnutt417 Sen. Bobby Singleton (D-AL-24): N/A Sen. Harri Anne Smith (I-AL-29): @HarriAnneSmith Sen. Rodger Smitherman (D-AL-18): @alsenateprotem Sen. Larry Stutts (R-AL-6): @Larry_Stutts Sen. J.T. Waggoner (R-AL-16): @JaboWaggoner (protected account) Sen. Cam Ward (R-AL-14): @sencamward Sen. Tom Whatley (R-AL-27): @SenTomWhatley Sen. Phil Williams (R-AL-10): @SenPhilWilliams Alabama State House of Representatives Rep. Will Ainsworth (R-AL-27): @WillAinsworth27 Rep. Louise Alexander (D-AL-56): N/A Rep. Alan Baker (R-AL-66): N/A Rep. Mike Ball (R-AL-10): N/A Rep. George Bandy (D-AL-83): N/A Rep. Paul Beckman (R-AL-88): @RepPaulBeckman Rep. Elaine Beech (D-AL-65): N/A Rep. Marcel Black (D-AL-3): @marcel_black42 Rep. Chris Blackshear (R-AL-80): @chrisblackshear Rep. Alan Boothe (R-AL-89): N/A Rep. Barbara Boyd (D-AL-32): @131Babs (never Tweeted) Rep. Napoleon Bracy (D-AL-98): @hiphopstaterep Rep. K.L. Brown (R-AL-40): @RepKLBrown Rep. James Buskey (D-AL-99): N/A Rep. Mack Butler (R-AL-30): @RepMackButler Rep. Jim Carns (R-AL-48): @JimCarns Rep. Donnie Chesteen (R-AL-87): @DonnieChesteen Rep. Adline Clarke (D-AL-97): N/A Rep. Steve Clouse (R-AL-93): @RepSteveClouse Rep. Merika Coleman-Evans (D-AL-57): N/A Rep. Terri Collins (R-AL-8): @RepTerriCollins Rep. Danny Crawford (R-AL-5): N/A Rep. Anthony Daniels (D-AL-53): @anthonydaniels Rep. Randy Davis (R-AL-96): N/A Rep. Dickie Drake (R-AL-45): N/A Rep. Barbara Drummond (D-AL-103): @Drummond103 Rep. Christopher England (D-AL-70): @RepEngland70 Rep. Allen Farley (R-AL-15): @RepAllenFarley Rep. David Faulkner (R-AL-46): @RepFaulkner Rep. Joe Faust (R-AL-94): N/A Rep. Bob Fincher (R-AL-37): N/A Rep. Craig Ford (D-AL-28): @RepCraigFord Rep. Berry Forte (D-AL-84): N/A Rep. Matt Fridy (R-AL-73): @MattFridy Rep. Danny Garrett (R-AL-44): @DannyGarrett44 Rep. Victor Gaston (R-AL-100): @VictorGastonAL (never Tweeted) Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-AL-60): @RepJuandaGivan Rep. Lynn Greer (R-AL-2): N/A Rep. Dexter Grimsley (D-AL-85): N/A Rep. Laura Hall (D-AL-19): @RepLauraHall Rep. Micky Hammon (R-AL-4): @RepMickyHammon Rep. James Hanes (R-AL-23): N/A Rep. Corey Harbison (R-AL-12): N/A Rep. Alan Harper (R-AL-61): N/A Rep. Ed Henry (R-AL-9): @Ed_Henry_HD9 Rep. Jim Hill (R-AL-50): N/A Rep. Alvin Holmes (D-AL-78): N/A Rep. Mike Holmes (R-AL-31): N/A Rep. Ralph Howard (D-AL-72): N/A Rep. Steve Hurst (R-AL-35): N/A Rep. Reed Ingram (R-AL-75): N/A Rep. Thomas Jackson (D-AL-68): N/A Rep. Ken Johnson (R-AL-7): @KenCJohnson Rep. Ronald Johnson (R-AL-33): N/A Rep. Mike Jones (R-AL-92): N/A Rep. John Knight (D-AL-77): @alrep77 Rep. Kelvin Lawrence (D-AL-69): @Lawrencekj Rep. Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-AL-24): @RepLedbetter24 Rep. Paul Lee (R-AL-86): N/A Rep. Richard Lindsey (D-AL-39): N/A Rep. James Martin (R-AL-42): N/A Rep. Artis McCampbell (D-AL-71): N/A Rep. Thad McClammy (D-AL-76): @thadmcclammy Rep. Mac McCutcheon (R-AL-25): @MacDistrict25 Rep. Stephen McMillan (R-AL-95): @RepMcMillan Rep. Mike Millican (R-AL-17): N/A Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-AL-43): @Arnoldfor43 Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL-91): @RepBarryMoore Rep. Mary Moore (D-AL-59): N/A Rep. Johnny Morrow (D-AL-18): N/A Rep. Becky Nordgren (R-AL-29): @RepBeckNordgren Rep. Jim Patterson (R-AL-21): N/A Rep. Phil Pettus (R-AL-1): N/A Rep. Dimitri Polizos (R-AL-74): N/A Rep. Bill Poole (R-AL-63): @GoBillPoole Rep. Chris Pringle (R-AL-101): @ChrisPringle101 Rep. Kerry Rich (R-AL-26): N/A Rep. John Rogers (D-AL-52): N/A Rep. Connie Rowe (R-AL-13th): @rowe_reprowe13 Rep. Howard Sanderford (R-AL-20): N/A Rep. Roderick Scott (D-AL-55): N/A Rep. Chris Sells (R-AL-90): N/A Rep. David Sessions (R-AL-105): N/A Rep. Randall Shedd (R-AL-11th): N/A Rep. Harry Shiver (R-AL-64): N/A Rep. Kyle South (R-AL-16): @RepSouth16 Rep. David Standridge (R-AL-34): @JudgeStandridge Rep. Patricia Todd (D-AL-54): @RepTodd Rep. Allen Treadaway (R-AL-51): N/A Rep. Mark Tuggle (R-AL-81): @MarkMTuggle Rep. Tim Wadsworth (R-AL-14): @AlabamaLaw Rep. Pebblin Warren (D-AL-82): N/A Rep. April Weaver (R-AL-49): @aprilcweaver (protected account) Rep. Isaac Whorton (R-AL-38): N/A Rep. Ritchie Whorton (R-AL-22): N/A Rep. Margie Wilcox (R-AL-104): N/A Rep. Jack Williams (R-AL-102): @AlabamaWilliams Rep. Jack Williams (R-AL-47): @RepJack Rep. Phillip Williams (R-AL-6): : @PhilHouse44 Rep. Rich Wingo (R-AL-62): N/A Rep. Randy Wood (R-AL-36): N/A
