Gary Palmer holds meet-and-greet town halls
Congressman Gary Palmer (R-AL06) was back home in the district this week. Palmer, his wife, Ann, and his staff hosted meet-and-greet format town halls with constituents in Alabaster on Monday and Trussville on Wednesday. Alabama Today caught up with Palmer on Wednesday in Trussville. Despite severe weather, approximately 80 people attended the Trussville Civic Center for the congressional town hall. “I was here Friday for the Prayer Breakfast, and it is still raining,” Palmer said. “Trussville is growing. I am really excited about the direction we are going.” Trussville Mayor Buddy Choat said, “Thanks for taking the time to come out and meet with us. Welcome back to you, your wife, and staff.” Palmer told the residents that construction would resume again on the long-delayed Northern Beltline. “It won’t be I-459 – I think it will be I-422,” Palmer said. “I think it will make a big difference.” “In just eight years, Birmingham has gone from the number one city in Alabama to number three,” Palmer continued. “I think that is because we have not been bringing in the companies like we should have.” Palmer said that it is important to attract companies and jobs for this area rather than them going to Charlotte or Dallas, “so you don’t have to fly to Dallas to meet the grandkids.” Palmer said that he brought his D.C. staff out to meet the people of the district because “they need to meet the people that they work for: you.” “Thank you for coming,” Palmer said. “We have the Washington staff as well as the district staff. I chair the Republic Policy Committee, so I also have the Committee staff.” “Ethan Vice is my District Director, while William Smith is my Chief of Staff,” Palmer said as he introduced the various members of his staff. “These are some of the absolute best people that I have ever worked with across the board. I am blessed to work with them.” Palmer said that if a constituent has a question about a veteran’s benefits issue, he has a staff person there who specializes in that and a staff person who specializes in IRS issues. Palmer made reference to the growing passport delay situation. Palmer said he has staff that specializes in passport issues. “We get about fifty of those calls a day.” The renewing, issuing, and replacing lost or stolen passports has become a major issue. The State Department is months behind on the work. If you are planning on international travel within the next ten to twelve months, apply for a passport or passport renewal as soon as possible due to the bureaucratic delays and new European security rules that will not allow American visitors whose passports will expire within the next three months. State Representative Danny Garrett (R-Trussville) was also there to chat with constituents. Palmer grew up on a small farm in Hackleburg in North Alabama. He attended the University of Alabama and played football for then-head football Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. He co-founded the Alabama Policy Institute (API) with Tom Parker, which he headed for over 25 years. In 2014, when Congressman Spencer Bachus announced his retirement, Palmer entered the crowded Republican field to replace Bachus. Palmer and then State Representative Paul DeMarco advanced to the Republican primary runoff, where Palmer prevailed. Palmer advanced in the Republican leadership under then Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Ohio) to head of the Republican Policy Committee. Palmer recently announced that he is seeking a sixth term representing Alabama’s Sixth Congressional District. CD-06 presently includes all or parts of Shelby, Jefferson, Blount, Bibb, and Chilton Counties. In the map that the Legislature passed three weeks ago, the district would lose Blount County but would pick up parts of Autauga and part of Elmore counties. That map, like the previous map, is currently being challenged in federal court by civil rights activists. The ongoing legal saga means that there is currently a great deal of uncertainty about what those congressional districts will actually look like in next year’s election. The major party primaries will be on March 5. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Dale Strong begins building congressional staff
On Monday, newly elected Congressman Dale Strong announced two senior staff appointments. The Yellowhammer News reported that Strong has hired veteran congressional staffer Payne Griffin and Yellowhammer News editor Dylan Smith to serve on his congressional staff. Payne Griffin is a former Sen. Jeff Sessions staffer. He has served in policy roles since 2014 in Congress and, with President Donald Trump’s administration, will serve as Strong’s chief of staff. “I am thrilled to have Payne Griffin leading my team in Washington,” said Strong. “His experience on Capitol Hill and in the Trump administration will be invaluable as I assemble my staff and work to protect and grow north Alabama.” Dylan Smith has been named as Strong’s district director. “Dylan Smith is one of our great young conservative leaders and, through his work in the media, he understands the issues that drive our local economies and affect north Alabama families,” said Strong. “I want my district staff to be proactive, and team with local leaders and businesses to help our communities achieve their full potential, and Dylan is the right guy to lead that effort.” Griffin most recently served as the deputy legislative director for U.S. Sen. Mike Braun. Prior to that, he was the deputy chief of staff at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative during the Trump administration. Griffin worked for Sessions on trade policy and other economic issues. He has also previously worked for former Congressman Spencer Bachus and Rep. Mike Rogers. Prior to his joining the Yellowhammer News, Smith was the chairman of the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Smith also sat on the former Jackson County Health Care Authority Board of Directors. Smith was the founding managing editor of the Jackson Blaze and a contributor to The Daily Caller. Smith served as vice chair of the Jackson County Republican Executive Committee, chairman of the Young Republicans of Northeast Alabama, and as a member of the Alabama Republican Party State Executive Committee. Dale Strong was recently elected to Congress, representing Alabama’s Fifth Congressional District. Strong is the longtime chairman of the Madison County Commission. CD5 was an open seat due to incumbent Congressman Mo Brooks’ decision to run for U.S. Senate – where he was defeated in the Republican primary runoff by Katie Britt, who ultimately won the Senate Seat. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Mighty Alabama Strike Force to deploy to Georgia to help Herschel Walker win Senate
Shelby County Republican Party Chair Joan Reynolds spoke at the River Region Republican Club meeting at the Farmer’s Market Café on Tuesday. The Mighty Alabama Strike Force, which she heads, will begin making trips on Sunday to Georgia to help football legend Herschel Walker, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senator, win the November 8 general election. Walker is challenging Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock. Reynolds said that the idea for the Mighty Alabama Strike Force began when then-Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL06) noted that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) needed help with a congressional race in North Carolina and asked Reynolds for her help. “My job was to recruit volunteers and train them,” Reynolds said. “The volunteers were all from in the area. When I got back home, I said I need to get two or three people that can help me. I ended up spending two or three weeks in Durham. I realized then how important volunteers are.” “It started under the Bush Administration,” Reynolds explained of her involvement in out-of-state congressional campaigns. “That is what I have been doing for the last 14 years.” Reynolds said she took her first volunteers from Alabama to a Senate race in Arkansas, where they campaigned in Jonesboro. “In 2012, I was asked to go to Sioux City, Iowa,” to help the Mitt Romney campaign, Reynolds explained. “There was a religious factor there as they (Iowa voters) were not going to vote for a Mormon.” Reynolds is married to Alabama’s Republican National Committeeman Paul Reynolds. “Paul put together a busload,” Reynolds said. “It was a small used school bus, and they went to Sioux City. Coming back, they ran into a problem when they broke down. After that, I realized we needed some money.” “My volunteers did not mind staying in homes, but they would rather stay in hotels,” Reynolds said. “In 2014, we went to Indiana and campaigned for Bill Cassidy. We went to Tennessee and campaigned for Marsha Blackburn. We won both of those.” “In 2016, Donald Trump decided to run,” Reynolds said. “He was such a forceful figure that it was easy to get volunteers. It was also easy to raise money.” “We spend a week, or we won’t go,” Reynolds said of the duration of the trips. “We were asked to go to Florida in 2020.” “In 2021, I was asked by one of my donors to see if we can go to Virginia to go to campaign for Glenn Youngkin,” Reynolds said. “That was the first time we got involved in a governor’s race.” “That was the first time that we had to fly,” Reynolds said. “It was right after we were getting over COVID, and the economy was just opening up. I contacted every bus company in Alabama, and it was cheaper to fly.” Youngkin won his election. “He said it was so important that we came and actually talked to people in the Commonwealth,” Reynolds said. Reynolds asked for help from Republicans across Alabama. “We cannot do it without funding, and we cannot do it without volunteers,” Reynolds said. “We do not charge them (the volunteers) for their rooms or their transportation. There is no administrative fee, and I don’t get one red cent out of it, and that is ok because I don’t do for profit.” Reynolds said that volunteering is demanding. “If you cannot walk three miles, then don’t go,” Reynolds said. “You have to be able to use an iPhone, a google phone, or an android in order to be able to download the maps that we use.” “We do not go to Democrat homes,” Reynolds said. “We will run into some where people have moved and changed homes, but we go to Republican homes. We are strictly about getting out the Republican vote. We have got to get the turnout. The turnout (in the primaries) has been awful. Even in Shelby County, we were at a measly 18 percent.” “Lindy Blanchard is our inhouse Captain,” from the Montgomery area, Reynolds said. “She is going to Savannah.” Pat Wilson with the Montgomery Republican Women announced that Terri Hasdorff will speak to the group on Tuesday, October 26, about her book, Running into the Fire. “I still need poll watchers to make sure that our election is strong as it can be,” Wilson said. “I was disgusted when I looked at our voter turnout last time. Less than 15% of our voters cared enough about our county and state to come out and vote. We need to get people involved.” Greg Pool is the Chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party. State Rep. Charlotte Meadows (R-Montgomery) and Republican House District 69 candidate Karla Knight Maddox also spoke to the group asking for their efforts to get out the vote in the Montgomery area. Maddox thanked the River Region Republicans for their help and said she had been working hard traveling around House District 69, campaigning and meeting people. Pool said the latest polling by the Alabama Republican Party has Maddox moving into an evenly split with the Democratic incumbent. Meadows said, “If Karla and I get elected, that will mean a Republican majority on our (Montgomery County) legislative delegation.” To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Steve Flowers: Birmingham’s political inside man
Historically, political power in the state has rested in the rural counties. Birmingham has been the home of the “Big Mules,” where the money that fueled the gubernatorial campaigns came from, but very few Birmingham politicians have ascended to governor or U.S. Senator. Counties like Barbour and Cullman have been where governors are bred, not imperial Jefferson. Indeed, the small-town boys that ran for governor would demagogue and make fun of and run against the “Big Mules” of the Magic City, especially the village of Mountain Brook. Therefore, the legendary kingmakers in the state were the probate judges in the rural counties throughout the Heart of Dixie. The giants of Alabama political lore, Big Jim Folsom and George Wallace, won their races in the rural counties. They would run against the “got rocks,” Big Mules and silk-stocking Mountain Brook and Over the Mountain elite, so it was not surprising that Wallace nor Big Jim ever carried Jefferson County. Business, not politics, prevailed in Jefferson County. Therefore, Birmingham did not yield as many inside political men as might be expected of the major city of the state. However, there has been one go-to political kingmaker in Birmingham in my generation. Joe Fuller has been the go-to man to see in the Magic City, especially in Republican primaries. Joe was proudly born and raised in Birmingham and knows the city like the back of his hand. Fuller has been a successful, independent insurance agent his entire career and has led the Alabama Independent Insurance Agents Association for decades. He began his civic political involvement in his 20’s through the legendary Birmingham Jaycees. He, like a good many of Birmingham’s civic and political leaders, cut their teeth in the Birmingham Jaycees. This group were the original founders of Birmingham’s Legion Field. The Birmingham Jaycees were the training ground for the leaders of the city. Some of Fuller’s contemporaries in the 1960s and early 70s were Fox DeFuniak, J. Mason Davis, David Wheeler, Julian Smith, George McMillan, and George Siebels. The Birmingham Jaycees became the springboard for George Siebels to be elected Mayor of Birmingham in 1965. Joe Fuller was instrumental in helping to orchestrate Siebel’s victory. Thus, began Joe Fuller’s reign as the kingmaker of Birmingham politics. Fuller would start candidates off in his stately home on top of a hill in the historic Redmont neighborhood in Birmingham. He would have a gathering of 20 to 30 at an elegant meal, which he primarily prepared. His first major horse he bet on was George McMillan. He helped George get elected to the legislature and then helped mastermind McMillan’s historical upset of state senator George Lewis Bailes. He then helped manage his successful run for Lt. Governor and then saw him almost beat George Wallace for Governor in 1974. It has been my honor and privilege to have known Joe for almost 40 years and have had the opportunity to be invited to his great political gatherings over those years. I have watched him as he helped launch the careers of Birmingham Congressman Spencer Bachus, who served in the legislature before serving in Congress 20 years. Joe was extremely close to legendary state representative John Hawkins. He has been a loyal supporter of iconic State Senator Jabo Waggoner over all of his almost five decades in the state legislature. Joe Fuller has been and was one of the early supporters of my great friend and legislative colleague, Mike Hill. Mike served three decades in the House from Shelby County and is now the State Banking Commissioner. Fuller has been close-to another longtime veteran state legislator, Jim Carnes. Jim has been at almost all of Joe’s political dinner parties as he helped launch the political careers of legislators Paul DeMarco, David Wheeler, and Dan Roberts. Joe was instrumental in the election of state senator Steve Windom as Lt. Governor. Joe’s house was Windom’s first stop. Joe was one of the founders of the renowned Mid-Alabama Republican Club, which meets monthly in Vestavia. It is a sought-after invitation to speak for all aspiring statewide Republican candidates, as are his dinner parties. The first place that Jeff Sessions came to when he first began his political career as Attorney General of Alabama was Joe Fuller’s home. Joe supported Jeff Sessions during his entire 20-year career in the United States Senate. Jeff will never forget it. A good many of Alabama’s political leaders have found their way to the home of “ole” Joe Fuller atop Red Mountain over the last 40 to 50 years. See you next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Powering up for EVs at Alabama’s port and the rest of the state
Kay Ivey announced this week that multiple agencies will work to expand electric vehicle charging stations throughout the state.
Gary Palmer presents medals to family of fallen 6th District solider
Alabama 6th District U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer and former Alabama U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus presented several awards and medals to the family of one of Alabama’s fallen war heroes, Melvin Spruiell this week. The long overdue recognition was given for Spruiell’s part in the World War II D-Day Invasion of Europe. In the summer of 1944, Spruiell served as a Forward Artillery Observer with the 377th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, First Lt. He exposed himself to enemy fire to locate a working radio in order to call in artillery to suppress and dislodge the enemy from their defensive position. He then volunteered as an infantryman, separating himself from his battalion, and led a charge across an open field to take out an enemy machine gun nest. During that action, First Lt. Spruiell was killed. “His actions are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the 101st Airborne Division, and the Army of the United States,” Palmer said in a Facebook post. Spruiell graduated from Auburn University with a degree in chemical engineering, received a Masters at Tennessee, and a Doctorate at OSU. First Lt. Spruiell’s family was presented with the following medals: the American Campaign Medal the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Arrowhead Device one Bronze Service Star the World War II Victory Medal the Purple Heart the Distinguished Service Cross. “Men like First Lt. Spruiell are the reason America remains the home of the free and the land of the brave,” Palmer concluded.
#Hope4Gabe family excited to see “Right to Try” Act move closer to finish line
One family’s winding journey to secure medicine they hope could save their son’s life is several steps closer to the finish line. A group of Alabama lawmakers voted Wednesday in favor of House Bill 463, also known as the Right to Try Act. The bill says that doctors caring for people with terminal illnesses can prescribe medications that the Food and Drug Administration has deemed promising, but not yet ready for mass consumption. The Griffin family and their son, Gabe, are at the center of the legislation. Scott Griffin and his wife Traci live in Birmingham with their four children: Turner, age 14; Cooper, age 11; and 9-year-old twins, Gabe and Addie. In an interview with Alabama Today, Griffin said he and his wife had suspected since the twins were babies that Gabe wasn’t developing as quickly as his sister. “When you have a twin right beside him and she’s hitting all her benchmarks, and he’s not, it becomes a little evident that something’s not right,” Griffin said. “Our doctors kept saying, ‘Nothing’s wrong. He’s just a boy twin and they’re slower to develop.’ So we just kind of dismissed it. But something didn’t seem right.” The Griffin’s neighbor was the first to suggest that Gabe might need to be tested for muscular dystrophy. An occupational therapist, she sometimes babysat the kids and noticed subtle differences in Gabe’s attempts to stand and walk. She told the Griffins about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and recommended that 3-year-old Gabe see a doctor. Duchenne is one of nine types of Muscular Dystrophy. It causes generalized weakness and muscle wasting that increases over time and with muscle activity. The disease primarily effects boys and shows up between ages 3 and 5. According to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, boys with Duchenne typically did not survive beyond their teens. But advances in medical treatments and care have increased their life expectancy: “Survival into the early 30s is becoming more common and there are cases of men living into their 40s and 50s.” Scott Griffin says those medical advances could save Gabe’s life. “He’s 9 now. The typical progression of the disease is that by 10 or 12, they’re wheelchair bound. And then, between 17-20, they usually die.” He says that’s why the family started looking into cutting-edge therapies to slow – or even reverse – the degeneration of Gabe’s muscles. However, the drugs that the Griffins and their doctors feel would help Gabe are still going through the FDA approval process. “We believe those drugs could save him, but we can’t get them because they’re not FDA approved,” said Griffin. “And after years of petitioning the FDA, we decided to take our fight to the state level.” The Griffins started a foundation called Hope for Gabe (H4G) to raise awareness about Duchenne. They also enlisted the help of Michael Staley, former chief of staff to U.S. Congressman Spencer Bachus and current lobbyist at Birmingham law firm Waller Landsen Dortch and Davis, to educate legislators about the proposed law. Two lawmakers, Sen. Cam Ward and health committee chair Rep. April Weaver, agreed to sponsor legislation that would allow doctors to prescribe medication in the earliest stages of FDA approval to terminally ill patients. Sen. Ward’s bill has already passed the Senate. Today, Rep. Weaver’s legislation received a favorable report from the health committee and can move to the House floor for open debate. “Right to Try is the right thing to do,” Weaver said just after the committee vote. “I’m a mother and a nurse with more than 20 years in health care. I believe that anything that we can do to help doctors and terminal patients work together on their plan of care and remove barriers to treatment that might be beneficial is just the right thing to do.” Griffin said that the timing of the legislation is critical to securing medical treatment for Gabe. “Getting him these drugs now means that we can stop the disease before he needs a wheelchair or breathing tubes. They could even turn his condition around.” For Gabe, passing the Right to Try Act means being able to “ride a bike, run, and climb stairs like everybody else.” He said that he’s also looking forward to excelling in his favorite subject in school: physical education. Weaver said she hopes to see the bill head to the House floor by late next week.
