The 2026 Cullman Tribune Debate Series: Alabama State Senate, District 4

0:41 Hello and welcome to the beautiful Bailey Center Auditorium on the campus of Wallace State Community College in

0:46 Hanceville. Thank you to our gracious hosts, Wallace State Community College and Dr. Vicki Colawicks, for helping

0:52 make this event possible. The 2026 Tribune Debate Series continues tonight with the race for Alabama State Senate

0:59 District 4. This debate features J.R. Bowling and Garland Gidger Jr. These events are

1:05 designed to give the public unfiltered answers, direct comparisons, and meaningful conversation. Candidates do

1:11 not receive the questions ahead of time. The goal is simple, give voters a better

1:15 understanding of who is prepared, who understands the office, and who can explain how they would serve the people

1:22 of Senate District 4. Senate District 4 includes Cullman, Marion, and Winston counties. A state

1:27 senator is responsible for representing the district in Montgomery, voting on state laws, reviewing budgets, working

1:34 through committees, handling local legislation, assisting constituents, and helping connect local needs with state

1:41 action. This race is about more than name recognition, campaign signs, or political talking points. It is about

1:47 who understands the role of state senator, how legislation works, and how decisions made in Montgomery affect

1:53 families, schools, businesses, local government, and communities across the district. The Tribune worked diligently to contact

2:00 every candidate, and we're happy to say that both agreed to appear tonight. Thank you both for that.

2:06 And now for the rules. Uh rules for the candidate, no electronic devices are permitted on

2:11 stage. Questions will alternate so no one candidate always answers first or last more than the other.

2:18 Opening statements are limited to 60 seconds. Time allotted per question will be up to

2:23 3 minutes. Closing statements are limited to 90 seconds and most must be spoken without notes.

2:30 Each candidate is allowed one rebuttal per question, but only if one candidate directly names or calls out the other.

2:38 Rebuttals are limited to 45 seconds. Facts only, no accusations without proof. If an unsupported accusation is

2:46 made, additional response time may be given to the opposing candidate. Voters deserve substance over slogans. Talking

2:53 points are not enough. Each candidate will now have 60 seconds for an opening statement. We will begin

3:00 with Garland Gudger. First of all, I thank you and the Tribune for having this. The public can

3:09 talk to us and get our answers as far as how we would treat this district and how

3:13 we would perform for this district. So, thank you for that. Wallace State, thank

3:16 you for hosting us. We appreciate it as well. Uh my name is Garland Gudger. I've been

3:21 Alabama State Senate for the last two terms, meaning that's 8 years. Hoping to

3:25 go in for the third term. I love what I do. I have built relationships for the

3:30 last 8 years down there and really before that, 14 years before on city council,

3:36 to really get a good basis for exactly what to do, how to do it, where to go,

3:40 and who to talk to when we need something in this district. I'm excited

3:44 about being here tonight, and I'm excited about us being able to talk about the future

3:49 of this district. And so, thank you for having me. Thank you, sir, for your opening

3:53 statement. And Mr. Bowling, your opening statement. Hello, everybody. I'm J.R. Bowling, uh candidate for District 4. Uh I'm 48

4:03 years old. My wife and I just uh celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary uh last week. And uh

4:11 of course, our anniversary present was a 10 by 10 dog kennel cuz we had to save

4:16 two dogs that was dumped on the on the street with us. So, [snorts]

4:20 uh very exciting times. We got two teenage kids. Uh I'm a manufacturing plant manager,

4:25 and I've been a firefighter uh with my current department for the last 24 years. Uh but, I grew up in the

4:31 fire department cuz my grandpa was a fire chief. So, uh public service has been part of my

4:37 life my entire life. So, uh you know, I'm just uh excited to be here

4:42 and uh share the stage with the senator and answer questions and uh let y'all

4:47 get a little bit better feel of who I am. Thank you, sir, for your opening

4:52 statement. And Mr. Bowling, we'll stay with you for the first question. Uh like I said, you will have up to 3

4:58 minutes. When you hear a means you have 15 seconds left. All right. So, the first question, as a

5:04 state uh a state senator represents local communities in Montgomery while voting on issues that affect the entire

5:11 state. What do you believe is the most important responsibility of a state senator? And what specific steps would

5:18 you take to make sure Senate District 4 is represented effectively? Collaboration with your local

5:28 uh county commission, your local mayors, working together with the community to figure out what the community needs, and

5:35 make sure you represent your community. Uh and that falls into working with the

5:40 other legislators on their communities because nobody knows their communities better than they do, just like nobody

5:45 knows your district better than you. So, there has be a a good working relationship and

5:52 collaboration to uh make it you know, make everything work the way it should.

5:59 Thank you for your response. Mr. Gudger, same question. Uh would you like it repeated? Okay. A

6:05 state senator represents local communities in Montgomery while voting on issues that affect the entire state.

6:11 What do you believe is the most important responsibility of a state senator and what specific steps would

6:17 you take to make sure Senate District 4 is represented effectively? Uh I'll answer the two-part answer.

6:27 First thing is we need to listen to the people back home, what their needs are

6:31 and where they're wanting us to go, what the vision that they have as we move

6:34 forward. Um there's been a big bill that I passed last year and at the same time I didn't

6:40 have enough time to stop that particular bill, but if we needed it, I had to make

6:44 a decision and that particular um answer for me at that time was if we

6:49 needed 6 weeks to pass a bill, we only had about 5 weeks left and so I moved

6:53 forward with that particular bill so that if we needed that economic incentive, the people of Cullman County would have

6:59 it. Once I got home, the people did not want that and as far as I know, it might

7:04 be the first bill that's ever been repealed in the state house. Uh but

7:07 listening to your people and doing the right thing. The second part of that

7:10 question um or my answer is that you can do whatever you want to in this community.

7:15 You can do whatever you need to, that's listening to your people, but if you

7:19 don't have the relationships in Montgomery and have built those relationships over years and years and

7:25 years, then you're not going to get anything passed down there. So, just because you

7:30 listen is one thing. The second part is going to Montgomery and passing something and there are two totally

7:36 different environments that you have to work in and one is building up the

7:40 relationships in Montgomery and the second is making sure that you're still in the community and have

7:45 people have access to you so that they know that you're listening to them. So,

7:49 that's really the best two things that you could do to make sure that you

7:51 represent not only you, but the county commission, all the town councils, all the mayors, and everybody that are all

7:58 local support and community leaders throughout this whole district. Thank you for your answer, and we'll

8:05 stick with you for this next question. If elected, what information would you commit to regularly publishing for

8:12 voters, such as votes, bill explanations, meeting notes, local funding requests, or constituent service

8:20 updates? Please explain how you would accomplish this. It's a great question and something that in the past has been

8:27 difficult because as a legislator or an elected official, you kind of get hit on both sides. If

8:34 you go out and promote giving funds away that you've worked really hard to get down in Montgomery and come

8:40 back, people say you're self-promoting. At the same time, if you don't promote, people don't know you do anything.

8:48 And so, I've been in claim this past election for the last few months that

8:53 I shouldn't be able to pass out money throughout this whole district. Just to

8:56 make sure everybody in this room knows, I do that for the last 8 years just like

9:01 I'm doing now, but I haven't publicized that just cuz I would grew up in that

9:04 environment. My father told me, "Let your actions show for you, not your words."

9:08 And that's what I've always done. But it's backfired on me this time. And the reason it's backfired is because

9:14 I haven't self-promoted. And so now, people think I'm doing it just for the

9:18 election. I've been doing that since in 2004 all the way till now. I just haven't tried

9:24 to take credit for it. But what I have learned on constituent services is that

9:28 you've got to show people that what you're doing, where your funding comes from, how you promote for them, how

9:34 legislation is coming, and giving consistent updates. So, I'm blessed to be in the Pro Tem's office, which is the

9:41 leader of the Alabama State Senate. From there, we are dedicated to making sure we get a full-time communications

9:47 person so that we can send out to everyone in the our district information

9:52 that's happening on a weekly basis and sometimes a daily basis of exactly what's going on in the State House

9:57 because what's going on in the State House sometimes is totally different than what you see and what you hear back

10:03 home. And so, making sure that we have on the media to know exactly what's happening with us

10:09 in the State House is very crucial. And then going one step further, also a

10:13 podcast or something that we're able to have the senators there the ones that are voted for legislation,

10:18 especially the legislation that has affected this district. Thank you for answering, Mr. Gutherie.

10:25 And Mr. Bowling, same question. If elected, what information would you commit to regularly publishing for

10:31 voters such as votes, bill explanation, meeting notes, local funding requests, or constituent service updates? Please

10:39 explain how you would accomplish this. Holding regular town halls, being out in the community,

10:46 going to every part of the district on a regular basis. Just community good communication.

10:54 That's what's expected of you as an elected official. I know you can't talk

10:59 to each and every person. That's you know, that's impossible. But you can reach as many people as you can with

11:04 technology we got. Anything can go live. You can We've got a whole lot of avenues that we used to

11:12 not have. So, we're at a greater advantage now than the people of the

11:16 past where it was in person or you know, paper newspaper that was in a hard copy.

11:22 Now, everything's digital and it's very easy to reach people. And people are wanting unfiltered

11:29 information. I know that's a double-edged sword Sometimes things can be taken out of context. You

11:35 can be taken wrong, but I believe it's that that raw accessibility is what

11:41 people are craving and they're wanting you know, they want to have that way they feel informed.

11:47 They know what's going on. So just communication is the biggest key. Thank you Mr. Bowling for your answer

11:55 and we'll stick with you for this next question. Senate District 4 includes multiple

12:00 counties with local governments, school systems, business, rural communities and infrastructure needs. How would you

12:06 balance the needs of Cullman, Marion and Winston counties while still voting on statewide issues?

12:14 A lot of long hours and a lot of work which is something that as a plant

12:20 manager I'm very accustomed to. You know, you've got people in different part of the

12:26 district that can help you with information. You know, you got county commissioners in each

12:33 each county to talk to. Nobody knows their infrastructure needs better than they do. They're the ones up

12:39 fighting for money coming in asking for grants and asking for the different things to help them.

12:44 So it's it's again communication talking to the right people and getting the answers that that you need

12:52 and you want unfiltered answers too. You don't want somebody just telling you what you want to hear. You need the

12:58 actual what's going on, what's wrong and try to collaborate with the right people

13:02 to try to find the answer. Thank you sir for your response. Mr. Gudger, same question.

13:09 >> [clears throat] >> Senate District 4 includes multiple counties with local governments, school

13:13 systems, businesses, rural communities and infrastructure needs. How would you balance the needs of Cullman, Marion and

13:20 Winston counties while still voting on statewide issues? Before I was brought to them I was the

13:26 chairman of economic development for the state Senate. That is a question on infrastructure

13:33 depending on what you're talking about like you just asked um no whether that's

13:36 a small business, [clears throat] school, industry, any aspect of economic development. A piece of dirt

13:47 is just a piece of dirt until you have infrastructure to it. You talk about infrastructure, we're

13:51 talking about water, we're talking about sewer, we're talking about broadband even today. And that affects everybody in this

14:00 county. What happens with economic development and being able to vote on economic development packages. First of

14:06 all, we have done that in the state of Alabama over the last 8 years.

14:11 Other states are coming to the state of Alabama to see the incentives that we

14:14 have put together for economic development and industrial growth. And they're consistently saying, "Y'alls

14:21 package is the best incentive package for people and coming here." Whether that's um the automotive industry that's coming

14:28 here, the aerospace industry that's coming here. And whether that is big box stores that are coming here for a better

14:34 quality of life. And at the same time small businesses and mom and pops that

14:37 just want to make a difference for their family and their community. Everybody's needs are a little

14:42 different, but we all need the basic infrastructure packages. And so to make sure that we balance what the state

14:47 needs along with what the community needs is the fact of you have to stay in

14:52 touch not only with your elected officials of the local county commissions and town councils and

14:56 mayors, but also your economic developers, your school presidents, and exactly where they're going and what they're

15:03 doing. If you came by here 2 years ago, you wouldn't see the buildings that are

15:08 being built on the front side of this campus. Now you do. There's a whole different

15:13 load of infrastructure that is needed to be able to not only build those

15:16 buildings, but maintain those buildings and the housing needs that we're going to have to help supplement all of this

15:21 infrastructure throughout this whole district. So, you have to stay abreast on top of updated issues,

15:27 whether that is the housing that helps supplement the schools, the small business, the commercial big box stores,

15:32 the industrial growth, and the aerospace industry, and the industry that's coming in from all over the nation to the state

15:39 of Alabama. So, I feel like I've done that already, and I'm proud of what

15:43 we've done, and I'm going to continue to work as hard as I possibly can to make

15:46 sure that Alabama stays number one in this incentive package. Thank you. We will stay with you for

15:52 this next question. State senators uh vote on budgets that affect education, public safety, health care,

15:59 roads, prisons, courts, state agencies, and local programs. What would your approach be to reviewing

16:05 a state budget before voting for or against it? The process Well, first of all, there

16:12 are two state budgets. There's three states in the nation that have two budgets. One is a general fund budget,

16:17 one is the education trust fund budget. The education trust fund budget has anything having to do with education, it

16:24 goes into that budget. The people voted on it to be that way. The general fund has everything else.

16:30 From mental health to health care to anything having to do with not education

16:35 is in the general fund. The general fund budget is about 3.4 billion dollars.

16:40 Your education trust fund is around 11 billion dollars. Um we have to regularly know the cost on

16:47 any legislation that passes the Alabama State Senate, and the legislators in the house,

16:52 there's a fiscal note that we ask for to find out how much that cost.

16:57 Just because those numbers are really, really large, doesn't mean that we cannot be fiscally responsible. We need

17:03 to make sure that if we're going to pass legislation, including the budgets, because that is also legislation that we

17:09 have to pass, that we're doing the right thing for the people and not overspending. Just like

17:14 you go home and you have to figure out I'm getting groceries, I'm getting gas,

17:17 I'm taking care of my kids, I've got to take care of my mother, I've got to take

17:22 a wheel fell off the car, and you have an emergency fund. It's the same thing

17:25 in the Alabama State Senate that we try to do for the people of Alabama, which

17:28 is 5.2 million people. As we look at those bills as they come through, the education trust fund is

17:35 very cumbersome and is difficult because it's about 200 pages thick, but we are able to go through that and

17:42 make sure that if anything we need to strike, that we get it out and eliminate

17:45 waste. Same thing with the general fund. One of the budgets starts in the house

17:50 each year. At the same time, the other budget starts in the Senate. The reason we do that is for checks and

17:55 balances in the legislative process in the legislative branch of government. As those two pass,

18:01 we get our budget in the Senate ready, and we pass that down to the house, and

18:05 they pass theirs the same day, the same time, because neither chamber needs to have the power of both budgets

18:13 at one time. And so, that's how the speaker and I've done it in the past,

18:16 and we feel very confident that's how we should be doing in the future because

18:19 there's checks and balances there to make sure that the people are covered. Thank you for your answer.

18:26 Mr. Bowling, same question. State senators vote on budgets that affect education, public safety, health care,

18:32 roads, prisons, courts, state agencies, and the local programs. What would your approach be to reviewing

18:39 a state budget before voting for or against it? Looking for ways to demand

18:49 accountability. Same thing I do managing a plant. They'll give you certain percentage that

18:56 they do not want to see you to go over when you're asking for your annual

19:00 budget, and you have to look for everything you can to cut and save

19:07 so that you are a good fiscal, you know, person for the money that

19:12 they're giving you, right? So, it takes uh I think that's their approach and I'm

19:17 not saying that's not what they're doing, but I have seen the state budget

19:20 continually to grow and grow and grow. And case in point when uh which had

19:25 nothing to do with the legislature, I don't think, but uh when the state

19:28 superintendent gets a huge raise, is making over $300,000 a year and getting all these supplements, you know, you

19:35 look at that like, what can we cut out of that? Uh what part of that is affecting the

19:42 people in the classroom? So, you got to ask yourself, what are we doing? How How bad is this

19:48 Is it needed? How does it affect the people? And start cutting some of this

19:52 waste. Uh I know it's it's a lot of money. It's a lot of different

19:56 departments, but you got a whole staff inside that state house that is handling

20:02 bits and pieces of that money. So, uh my approach would be to try to find out

20:08 what could be cut, where the waste is, to try to maximize every dollar without

20:13 always asking for more. Uh the state should really never have a surplus of money. If it's got a surplus,

20:19 that means you're taxing your people way too much. Because the government was never

20:24 intended for that purpose. It was intended for the safety and welfare of the people.

20:31 Thank you, sir, for your answer. And And audience, please turn off your phones.

20:38 Mr. Bowling will stay with you for this next question. Alabama lawmakers recently dealt with court-related

20:44 redistricting and special election legislation. How should legislators balance court compliance, election uh certainty, public confidence, and

20:55 taxpayer cost when election laws are changed close to voting deadlines? I think it should have been put on

21:03 pause. I think it should have went on the way it was. You could have uh done

21:07 your redistricting, but you could have let the elections happen with the stipulation that you would have

21:15 special primaries for like the state senate seats, wait 2 years to the next

21:19 election cycle, let it take effect then. You've got a lot of people that's put a

21:23 lot of work and a lot of money into campaigning. And for that to change and

21:28 to throw those results out, I think is a disservice to the work that the people

21:34 put in, whether you agree with them or you don't agree with them. It's a process. So, for the best

21:40 interest of the people of the state, I would have pushed it out, you know, you

21:44 could have went in passed the legislation but put the stipulation that it would take effect in

21:49 2 years at the next election cycle because that would have saved the people of Alabama a lot of money and

21:55 potentially a lot of uh legal back and forth because anything that could be challenged, you'd have

22:02 time there to kind of let it play its course before you actually went to the people for

22:07 another vote. Thank you, sir. And Mr. Guthery's second question, Alabama lawmakers recently dealt with

22:16 court-related redistricting and special election legislation. How should legislators balance court compliance, election certainty, public confidence,

22:25 and taxpayer costs when election laws are changed close to voting deadlines? To begin with, I want to make sure

22:33 everybody in this room and everybody watching, wherever you're watching, is that I truly believe that this nation is

22:40 under attack. And I believe that when you went to the federal government, or

22:44 if you go to the federal government and go to these committees that I did 2

22:48 weeks ago with Robert Aderholt in the Appropriations Committee, and you see what is happening inside those committee

22:54 chambers of Democrats versus Republicans, you understand real quick that the thin thin margin of votes which are three

23:04 Republicans more than the Democrats of a 435 Congressman. There's only three differences in vote count. So we have

23:15 the majority by three votes. When the White House called me this week and I talked to them three different

23:20 times, they said we have to get more Congress votes to be able to do what we

23:25 need to do to bring this nation back and to protect the people of this nation.

23:30 That's exactly what we did. The speaker and I got together with the governor.

23:34 The governor said we're going to go into special session. Can we do this? The

23:37 speaker and I said we can are able to do this. And as we move forward, we had a map

23:42 that was in 2023 already I'm going to say validated in quotation marks. It was voted on by the Senate. It was

23:51 voted on by the House. It had already went through the courts. And so from

23:54 that, those maps took that back to a 6-1 map and right now we're a 5-2. So we

23:59 were able to give federal government and Speaker Johnson one more vote at the

24:03 Congress. There are people that are out there saying you need a 7-0 map to do that.

24:07 You got two things you've got to think about. 7-0 vote allows it to go back

24:12 through the court systems and would get clogged back up into the same process

24:16 that we've been in for 5 years. So if we went through to try to get a

24:21 7-0 map, it would be in the same process where we are right now from 5 years ago.

24:26 So why take a chance at not doing the 7-0 when we did the 6-1? We gave

24:31 President Trump one other vote that's in Congress from the state of Alabama. I think the people made it very clear

24:38 that they wanted to have a voice and they wanted us to do what we did this

24:41 past week. And there was a difference in partisan party lines where they focused on what the Supreme

24:49 Court's ruling that came out. It said you can base these maps, congressional maps, and we're talking about Congress,

24:55 okay? The seven congressional races, you can base those on partisanship, meaning party lines, which is what we drew in

25:03 2023. That's why we automatically went back to that instead of drawing a new

25:08 map because time is of the essence because we have to get that happening

25:12 before the general election so that we didn't spend an extra money on another

25:18 election statewide. We could put it in with the November 3rd general election to save the people of the state of

25:23 Alabama a lot of money. Um through that process, it has been really interesting that the party line

25:30 vote that I was talking about a second ago, the opposite party of us

25:35 Thank you. Mr. Orr, we'll stay with you on this next question. Local governments often

25:41 depend on state support for roads, bridges, economic development, public safety, broadband, water, and sewer

25:47 projects. What role should state What should role should a state senator play in helping

25:52 local communities compete for state resources? Well, that's something that we do every day. Um we talk to the

25:59 county commissioners that's on the back row back there. We talk to our economic

26:01 developers, our presidents of the college. We talk to the town councils finding out what their needs are.

26:07 And they are supposed to have a priority sheet that allows us at the state

26:10 government to understand that. There's different ways that you can get money into the road system from the Rebuild

26:16 Alabama. From that, you can get local projects that are up to $250,000 for free for any county road or city

26:23 street. You can go through the ATRIP project where there's only three senators on there and as a freshman I

26:28 was one of them. And as when we passed Rebuild Alabama, we were able to get up

26:32 to $2 million per person that applied, whether that's the city or the county. The first year I

26:37 was on there, I got the county $2 million and then I got the city $2 million

26:43 to begin with. If you started looking at the Rebuild Alabama money or the gas

26:47 tax, as what everybody calls it, you can see exactly how much money has gone in

26:52 and how much money has gone out. The amount of money that we paid is a

26:56 little over 18 and a half million dollars. The amount of money that my projects

27:02 that I have put my head down and work so hard for since 2019 when I when I voted

27:07 for this all the way till now is 40 million 300,000 dollars. So just for example to

27:14 make that math really clear, if I gave if you gave me a dollar and I could turn

27:19 around and give you two dollars and 25 cents, that's a pretty good deal. Any

27:22 businessman would do that. That's what's happening in our district right now because I put my head down and I worked

27:27 hard and I did that because I knew that vote was going to be tough when I got

27:31 back home because I don't want taxes. I've got two flatbed dually trucks and I've got to

27:36 fill them up and it cost me about $200 each. I don't want to pay those taxes.

27:40 But in the end, if we want good roads and you want money to do your roads and

27:43 you want to be able to support your county commission and your town councils, you're going to have to pay 12

27:47 cents of every gallon goes to the rebuild of Alabama money. And it the key

27:51 for us and in our job as senators is to get that money back into our district

27:56 and I can prove every project and the numbers that I just said so that you can

27:59 have those if you would like that. Thank you. Thank you, sir, for your response. Mr.

28:05 Bowling, same question. Local governments often depend on state support for roads, bridges, economic

28:10 development, public safety, broadband, water, and sewer projects. What role should a state senator play in helping

28:17 local communities compete for state resources? Look at how the money's actually being divided to the counties.

28:26 Uh right now it's by population, not by road mile. Cullman County's one of the

28:30 top uh road miles in the state of Alabama. And you've got some of the

28:36 uh smaller counties that's got more population. You know, for the state to actually

28:41 truly fund these rural counties that's got more road miles than they've got to change

28:48 the way it's allocated. Uh and as far as the Rebuild Alabama Act, uh from what I understand talking

28:54 to some of the commissioners when that first hit, they lost money. They took the farm-to-market road money

29:00 away from the county, so there actually was a net loss on what they was

29:04 guaranteed to have. Now, what you fight and bring in, that's not always guaranteed.

29:11 Whoever's putting up the biggest fight gets the most money, so where where does that leave you?

29:18 But, I think the allocation of the the funds to the counties need to really be

29:22 looked at, and I think truly that's what I feel uh the senator should do. Look at how

29:28 the money is allocated to these counties and try to come up with a little better

29:32 system. Uh the problem we face in Alabama is we we tend to stick with what

29:36 was good 50 years ago. Times has changed. So do we. And uh I think there's a lot of things

29:45 on the books that need to be revisited that may actually help the counties.

29:51 Thank you, sir, for your response. We'll stay with you for this next question.

29:54 State legislation can have consequences for cities, counties, schools, small business, law enforcement, and

30:00 taxpayers. How would you evaluate whether a bill helps the district, hurts the district,

30:06 or creates unintended problems? Well, like [clears throat] the senator said, they goes through a committee that

30:13 tells you the financial impact before you ever vote on it. So, you take the

30:17 information that's given to you, you look at it, you research it, you make

30:21 sure it's accurate the best you can, and uh you let that play into your decision.

30:26 You don't want to make any decision that's going to negatively impact the citizens, especially not the citizens in

30:32 your own district. But, there are information and tools out there to help you make an informed decision and not

30:39 just one that goes along with everybody else. Uh far too long, I've seen a lot of that

30:44 in Montgomery. Just because two people two or three people agree, they just pass it. I think we need to actually

30:50 look at what we're passing. Thank you, sir, for your response. Mr. Gothier, same question. State

30:58 legislation can have consequences for cities, counties, schools, small business, law enforcement, and taxpayers. How

31:06 would you evaluate whether a bill helps the district, hurts the district, or creates unintended problems?

31:13 That is a process that I've been dealing with since 2004 when I first became an

31:17 elected official. Um, as a city councilman, you understand or I understand how those bills affect

31:26 um, the cities. How they How they affect county commissions. And you don't want anything from the

31:32 state coming down as an unfunded mandate that you've got to pay something because

31:36 the state's telling you to, but they don't give you any money to do it,

31:39 right? So, that's number one on the financial side. As far as number two, the process

31:43 that we deal with on looking at and evaluating legislation is number one, you have a fiscal note

31:50 that we ask the LSA office to pull for us on every bill that comes our way.

31:54 Number two, if it affects your locals, and all automatically, and some of the

31:59 elected officials that are here in the audience can tell you this, everybody thinks that you're an expert on

32:03 everything that comes your way in the moment that you get elected. It doesn't

32:07 matter what it is. And it drives you crazy because you know you're not, right? So, what do you do?

32:12 You call the people that are the experts in your community of how it affects them

32:18 and how their information can come back to you to make an informed and educated

32:22 decision. That's just part of that. The other part of that is looking at the

32:26 experts statewide of how this particular bill affects the state as an overall, not

32:32 only your district. But, you have certain bills that are good for the state, but they're bad for your

32:38 community. So, you you have to vote or what I do is I vote no if it's not good

32:43 for our community, even though it's a good state bill. There's been times in

32:47 the Alabama Senate where I was the only Republican that voted no because I knew it was going to hurt my

32:53 community. And I got tremendous pressure from the speaker. This is when I was a

32:58 ranking file member as chairman of economic development. Uh voted no. Governor, speaker, my

33:04 leadership hammered me. And I didn't care because it didn't matter because it didn't help the people back home that I

33:09 voted for. You talking about pressure? That's pressure. At the same time now being a leader, there's not going to

33:15 things come up statewide that's going to hurt us that I'm going to put out there

33:19 because I'm partially in control of what hits that floor. And so, when I'm making sure that it's

33:25 what's going to be best for this district and this county, I'm going to

33:28 make sure also that it parallels being good for the state. We have to analyze

33:33 and go through diligently every aspect of a bill because there's unintended consequences. And if you do not

33:40 thoroughly look through those bills, it can come back and bite you. And we've

33:44 done the best job that we possibly can, but we're all human. And if I miss

33:48 something, so be it, but I always try to do the right thing to for this district

33:52 first. And as everybody in this room knows from the bill last year, when the

33:56 people didn't want it, I turned around and it was the first bill on the agenda

34:00 this year that I repealed. And so, I think you just got to stand up and stick

34:05 your feet in the ground and make your mind up. This is what I'm going to do

34:09 for this district and do it. So, thank you. Thank you, Senator. We'll stay with you

34:13 for the next question. A state senator must work with other legislators, the governor's office, state agencies, local

34:20 officials, and constituents. How would you build those working relationships while still maintaining independence and

34:27 accountability to voters in District 4? >> All right. So, that's similar to what

34:30 what my answer was earlier. And that is there's two different areas that you

34:34 have to work on as a legislator. One is the area in Montgomery, and the people

34:39 that are in Montgomery, you have to build relationships with because even the people across the aisle I'm not

34:45 out. Because there's times where something that we need for this district, I've got

34:50 to get enough votes to get it across the finish line. And sometimes you have to work across

34:55 the aisle to do that because it's also good for the own the Democrats sometimes

35:00 because they're in rural settings just like Cullman County is. Now, everybody that's on your team, the

35:05 Republican team, is not always there for you because they're in urban sections sometime and we have to compete against

35:10 each other. So, you have to rely on the body to be able to get across the finish

35:15 line the legislation that you need to that impacts the people back home. And

35:19 so, as we move forward and working those relationships, you have to also go back to your local

35:27 officials and have that They have to see proof that you're working for them just

35:32 like getting them road money, taking care of money that we're taking back to

35:35 the library, nonprofits that we're giving money back to, and doing your job. There's a lot of people that are out

35:41 there that want a title. But, the question is will they work and do what

35:45 they've got to do and put in the hours to bring the money back home? The only

35:50 way you're going to get money back home is that you have to build those

35:53 relationships in Montgomery and with the elected officials back here and the community's pillars of strength

35:59 that are here so that we can all work as one. Andy Page that was on the city council

36:05 with me said it best. He said there's a one-word motto that you should always

36:08 live by in politics, and that's teamwork. If you're not doing it as a team, you're

36:12 not going to get accomplish your goals down the road for your old district. And

36:16 I truly live by that and I talk about that pretty much in every speech that I

36:19 do. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Mr. Bowling, same question. A state senator must work with other

36:26 legislators, the governor's office, state agencies, local officials, and constituents. How would you build those working

36:34 relationships while maintaining independence and accountability to voters of District 4? Same way I manage a plant. I managed the

36:43 union plant for several years and building relationships was very important. You had to go

36:51 by the contracts that you was given. There was a fine line to walk, but you

36:55 also had to know how to push back. I built more relationships because of my

37:00 ability to push back than I did just giving in. Some people respond differently than

37:08 others, so you have to understand the people you're working with, get to know

37:11 them, and know whether how they respond. Uh some people like credit, so you have to

37:18 make sure that they feel like they're getting the credit for whatever you're working on. That's how they respond.

37:23 Some people don't want credit, so they don't want to even be seen in the

37:26 limelight. So, you have to work with them to try to get their ideas and get

37:30 them to engage and get them out of their comfort zone. So, it's all about

37:35 teamwork and and collaboration. Uh people want to be heard more than they want to be seen most of

37:41 the time, but they actually want to be heard. There's a difference between listening and just hearing somebody. And

37:48 uh I've built a lot of relationships like that, actually listening to the things

37:52 that they were telling me. Um it's not always easy to decipher at times.

37:58 You know, people people like to go the long way around the room just to get to

38:04 the where they're trying to go instead of taking a straight shot through the

38:07 middle, and you have to figure those people out cuz those are the ones that

38:10 take the extra effort and the extra work to try to build that relationship with.

38:15 So, it's all about relationships, but it's how you approach building them. And uh

38:21 just going along to get along is not always the best way to do it. Sometimes

38:25 people like to be challenged and I've earned more respect from people by challenging them than I have just by uh

38:33 you know, being nice. Thank you for your response and we'll stay with you for this next question.

38:40 Voters often hear promises about infrastructure, but the actual money moves through budgets, grants, agency

38:47 programs, and legislative relationships. What would you do differently to help local governments compete for roads,

38:54 bridges, broadband, water, and sewer funding? Make promises. All you can do is try your best, work

39:03 with the right people, and try to accomplish the goal. You've got a lot of good people in the

39:10 county commission, in their offices, people running numbers, looking at things. They know what the needs are.

39:17 They've got a good handle on what it'll cost. I've always found when you go into

39:21 a meeting well informed when you're asking for money, if you can pass the documents over and

39:28 everything's all the the T's been crossed, dotted, the I's been dotted, you get a lot better response when

39:34 you're asking for stuff. And being a good steward, not going over budget, staying within budget, there's a lot of

39:40 things that go along with with trying to ask people for money. In the corporate

39:45 world, um they they look at that real closely. They want to know whether you're going

39:51 to stay on target, you're going to give them a return for their investment.

39:56 That's what they're looking at. So, you have to be a good steward. The people

40:00 that's making the decisions on who to give the money to, they're going to give

40:03 it to you if you're um you're actually accomplishing something. If you're out just wasting money, I mean, we had a

40:09 highway that had the couple bridges built for 20 years, seems like, before the rest of the road was ever built. You

40:16 know, did they rush in and and build the wrong thing first? How did How did that

40:20 process work? Why did you hit a roadblock on funding? Maybe it's because it wasn't well

40:26 thought out. Um so, before you go asking people for money, you need to talk to the people

40:31 that have been doing the the studies, uh have been involved in it, get the

40:36 right information, and start beating the bushes to try to get the funding for

40:40 these counties. Thank you, Mr. Bolling and Mr. Godsey. Same question. Voters often hear

40:47 promises about infrastructure, but the actual money moves through budgets, grants, agency programs, and legislative

40:55 relationships. What would you do differently to help govern local governments compete for roads, bridges,

41:01 broadband, water, and sewer funding? The best thing is that I wouldn't do much different than what I'm doing now,

41:09 which is building relationships. Um just because you have a good plan and you have paper that you slide across the

41:15 desk in a in a in a business meeting doesn't mean you're going to get it,

41:18 especially if you haven't built a relationship with the ALDOT director, the mental health coordinator, the

41:23 secretary of commerce. The key for that is being able to go to them, they understand what you're going

41:28 to do, and that you're going to take the money that you give them in your

41:31 district, and the people that you represent and yourself work together to multiply the money that they give you on

41:38 a grant, say for example. And when they come into your town, because they do, they get audited every

41:43 year just like we do, right? From that, they're going to come in and

41:47 see that we have produced with the money that has come into our district. If they

41:52 don't see that you're going to produce, just like any other business, they're not going to give you any more money,

41:56 whether you got the facts straight or whether they don't have the facts straight.

41:59 The best thing that we can do is continue to be a team where your local

42:02 officials work with the with us as the senators and our house representatives, so that we're able to go to these

42:08 directors, to the cabinet members of the governor, to the secretaries that are there for

42:14 depending on which department it is, which there's over 30 departments in the state of Alabama. And each one of them

42:19 have a specific task that the people of state of Alabama has given them, whether

42:24 that's economic development, whether that's mental health, whether that's the roads and bridges, ALDOT, okay? ALEA for

42:30 law enforcement safety. Everybody there of those cabinet members need to know who you are, that you're

42:37 going to produce. If they help you, you're going to be able to make this

42:41 state a better place to do that. Now, part of that is fiscal responsibility

42:45 and making sure there's transparency in everything that you give them. The second part of that is you have to work

42:51 and produce so that when they come into your district, they're seeing the product that your community has done.

42:58 I'm very proud to say Cullman County has done that. We're getting more now than

43:04 we've ever gotten. And the reason I said I wouldn't do much of anything different is because I've

43:09 already got those relationships. I'm doing everything we can to get the money back into this district right now, and

43:15 there's nobody that can do it better than I can, and I truly feel that way. I

43:19 need to be back in Alabama State Senate to represent you and to make sure that

43:22 this continues to get better and better as we move forward. Thank you, sir, for your response. We'll

43:28 stay with you for this next question. Campaigns often talk about transparency, but voters rarely see how a senator

43:35 reads bills, handles lobbyists, reviews amendments, or decides whether to support a substitute bill.

43:43 Walk voters through your process from the moment a bill is filed to the moment

43:48 you vote. One follow-up question, is that a bill that I file, or is that a bill somebody

43:54 else files? It's a bill that you file or anyone files. So, either one. Okay, let's just

44:00 talk in general then. So, if there's a bill that is filed, just make sure that it gets into law,

44:06 there has to be go through the state house, and that means it's got to go

44:09 through two chambers. Each bill has to be read three times. In the Alabama State Senate, that is

44:16 agreed upon. A lot of times during the process of the first time it's read on the floor,

44:22 we figure out what committee it goes to. That's the first reading. So, number

44:25 two, it goes to a committee. You have about 14 of the guys in the Alabama

44:29 State Senate, which is 35 of us total, around 12 to 14 on a committee.

44:34 They have a hearing, usually, on that particular legislation that has to pass that committee.

44:39 If it passes that committee, and it goes to the third reading, the third reading

44:43 is back to the floor for the full vote of the people. If it goes through all three of those

44:49 and passes in the Senate, then it goes down to the house, the same process has

44:54 to happen. If the House [clears throat] of Representatives changes anything in that bill, even a comma,

45:02 it has to come back up to the Senate so that we can approve it.

45:06 If If we don't, then it's null and void. To go back to my original statement, if

45:12 they go through on the first reading, there's not really any changes. The second reading and during committee, it

45:17 can be amended 32 different times in the same committee. It can be substituted, and you take that

45:23 whole bill out and put a whole new bill in. And so, if we pass 450 bills,

45:28 there's about 2,500 bills that it actually is during the process that we eliminate that much down to 450 bills

45:35 that we pass and goes through to the governor's signature. Um you're asking about transparency, and

45:42 the best way to do that is to keep up with what we talked about communications

45:45 earlier, which our office will be doing that as we go back in, having a full

45:49 communications, talking about the bills that were affected this particular community each week, what bills they

45:55 were, what they do, how much money it's going to be costing us, and call our

45:59 office if there's any issues so that our my secretary can take information and we

46:03 can call you back. Again, I'm going to be calling a lot of you that's in the

46:06 audience because you're never an expert on everything like we said earlier and I

46:09 need your input. The other side of that is if you're interested, let us know.

46:13 We'd love for you to read bills. There are some gentlemen here that has helped

46:17 me like crazy and I want to say thank you because without him there's some

46:21 bills that I wouldn't have noticed that affected Colquitt County and Mr. Cripps, I appreciate you, brother. Thank you.

46:27 Now I have to say that I think that's the transparency part. I believe I

46:29 answered your question. Thank you for your response. Mr. Bolling, same question. Campaigns often

46:35 talk about transparency but voters rarely see how a senator reads bills, handles lobbyists, reviews amendments,

46:42 or decides whether to support a substitute bill. Walk voters through your process from the moment a bill

46:49 would be filed to the moment you would vote. Well, seems like we've got way too many

46:56 bills going through the legislature. Uh the ones that I've read are anywhere from

47:04 10 pages up. So, I feel that we need to reduce the amount of nonsense that's in a bill so

47:10 everybody reads what's in the bill. If you have to have a law degree to

47:14 understand what's in the bill, no wonder things get passed in this state that uh

47:19 you look back and go, "Oh, no, maybe I made a mistake." Well, it's cuz you

47:22 didn't understand what you was reading. Uh that's one of the things I when I

47:25 took in college, I couldn't stand uh in my engineering degree. They wanted me to write procedures like I was a

47:32 lawyer. There was more garbage in there than substance and all it did was confuse the people that

47:39 was reading it. So, from start to finish, I think we need to reduce the

47:43 amount of unnecessary stuff in bills so that everybody actually understands what they're reading. If people can't

47:51 understand what they're what they're about to vote on, how are going to make a good decision?

47:57 And I've I've read enough of them to know that there is unless you've got a

48:01 law degree, it's going to be hard to follow a lot of it. So, think we need to

48:05 go back to the beginning and the basics and try to make it easier for people to understand,

48:11 and that's where your transparency will come in. If anybody in this audience can

48:16 look up a bill and read it and understand that what's in them in the

48:20 bill, then you're being transparent. When you start putting 26 pages of something that shouldn't took more than

48:26 a page and a half, then it looks like you're burying stuff in the bill that

48:30 shouldn't be there. And I think that's where we have a problem with transparency because people can't read

48:36 the bill and understand actually what it is. Thank you for your response, and we're

48:41 going to stay with you for the second to final question. A senator from District 4 may have to

48:48 choose between party leadership, statewide strategy, and direct concerns of Cullman, Marion, and Winston

48:54 counties. When those con When those interests conflict, how would you decide which obligation comes first?

49:03 My county comes first. There's no question. I'm not worried about leadership. I'm worried about this county.

49:11 Because what I do affects this district, this county. I can be voted out the next day.

49:20 That only affects me. The decisions I make affect the county. And that's one thing I've never been as

49:28 a follower. I've always been a leader, and I'm not going to start following

49:33 just because leadership wants something. Now, there's some things you have to compromise on, sure.

49:39 But you got to take care of your county and the people in the county first and

49:42 foremost over anything else. And you also need to look at what's constitutional and what's not. There's a

49:50 lot of things I've seen go through that are they're not not very constitutional, but uh

49:56 that's just my opinion. But, I think your county comes first, the people here

50:00 come first. Everything up there second nature. I mean, you build relationships fine, but I I don't couldn't tell you the last

50:07 time I got mad at somebody because I had a different opinion than me and uh

50:11 decided not to say yes just because I wanted something. I go against my management all the time.

50:17 If it's not good for my plan, I say no. Regardless, and then I'll explain why

50:23 I'm a no, you know, why my answer's no. Um because they're dependent on me to

50:28 tell them the reasoning behind my decisions. And I imagine same thing with leadership.

50:34 Everybody can make a decision and and it's it's it's perfectly great in their

50:38 mind and they could be just off base. So, sometimes you have to explain to

50:44 people why you're why you're choosing which side, but I would always choose the county.

50:51 Thank you for your answer, Mr. Badger. Same question. A senator from District 4 may have to

50:58 choose between party leadership, statewide strategy, and the direct concerns of Cullman, Marion, and Winston

51:03 counties. When those interests conflict, how would you decide which obligation comes first? It's very easy. We

51:13 um as far as the senators are elected by the people of our district, not just

51:17 Cullman County, but Winston County and Marion County as as a whole. So, the

51:21 whole district is the people that put us into office. That's where we need to be.

51:26 Whether that's leadership that goes against you, which is what we talked about earlier when I voted against

51:30 leadership and the statewide machine, because there's one out there that pushes, and depending on what topic it is,

51:39 you can still go against them, and it's hard. But, I've done that and I've shown

51:43 that I've done that. I've shown that I'm can to and put my feet in the ground and the waves can go

51:49 back and forth with negotiations and back and forth. But whatever I believe is where I am and I'm not moving.

51:56 The only other part of this whole question is interesting to me because the people of Senate District 4 has an

52:02 enhancement that some people don't know of and that is that I'm the pro tem. I

52:06 am the leader in the Alabama State Senate. Nothing's going to come to hurt this

52:11 district because I'm there. I've already shielded this district from bills that were coming this year and last year.

52:19 I've been there for 2 years and God willing me allowing me and me honored to

52:23 go back in for another 4 years. I believe that I'll be the pro tem again.

52:28 Just to make sure you understand what the pro tem does. The pro tem is at the

52:31 top of the totem pole in the Alabama State Senate. When seniority in the Senate, whether

52:38 it's federal Senate or state Senate, matters. And if somebody comes in new, they're at

52:44 the bottom of that totem pole and they have to work all the way back up to

52:48 where the top of that pole. The last time somebody's been where I am as pro

52:53 tem to help take care of this district was 50 years ago. I'm not willing to have somebody else

52:59 come in and start us off at the bottom just because they're upset with

53:03 something I did. They've never asked me if they were upset with me about anything. They've

53:08 never asked me about any bills. But I will tell you this, if you have an

53:12 issue, I'll go eat lunch with you. I'll go talk to you. Which I've done to that

53:16 to some of the people that are on Facebook and I'm not scared to talk to

53:19 you face-to-face because of my motives of why I did something, my intent of why

53:24 I did something. But by God, you're not going to get any better than Garlan Gudger for the

53:28 Alabama State Senate. I'll tell you that right now. I want to say thank you

53:31 because I will represent this district better than anybody else in the history of the state of Alabama in 119 years.

53:40 Thank you, sir. Now for the question, Mr. Gudger. This office carries responsibilities for state laws, public

53:47 money, local needs, constituent service, and the long-term direction of Alabama. Based on the duties of the office, why

53:55 should voters trust you to serve as state senator for Alabama Senate District 4? That is a great question,

54:01 and my answer is this, because I've been tried, and tested, and proven. Since I was a kid, I was made for this

54:08 particular position. And I was the youngest city councilman ever elected to the city of Cullman.

54:14 I learned for the first 4 years, and then the people that were in front of

54:17 me, all the rest of the city council, the mayor, the city clerk, all left.

54:22 I didn't know how to put it together, and how to really focus on a budget,

54:24 besides my store budget, because again, I was a rank and file member at that

54:27 time. I was shot from the bottom of that totem pole we just talked about to the top for

54:32 the city of Cullman. In 2008, if you could see the city of Cullman where it was, to where it is

54:39 now, I helped put that on a trajectory to where it is today, and I'm proud of

54:44 that. I know what it takes to build projects. I know what it takes to build

54:49 relationships to get this community above everybody else. I know what it takes to put a budget together to make

54:55 sure that we're not turning upside down with physical irresponsibility. I know what it takes to tell people no.

55:03 And I know what it takes for those long hours that I sacrifice for my family

55:08 when I'm away, because I'm doing it for the good of the people. They're the proven part of that. Just

55:15 look around. This campus. Look at the front of those buildings that are going up there. I've gotten

55:21 this campus over $40 million in the last 8 years. $40 million just through us,

55:27 not including what comes in from the junior college system. You go downtown and look at those

55:32 streetscape projects. I started that. 100% started that with the first two blocks, put in for a grant 2004, didn't

55:40 get it. First time I ever got turned down on a grant, I didn't understand

55:43 why. Didn't understand government. I didn't quit. I kept going, got it, and look at it now.

55:49 We didn't have some social things that we needed downtown. We started a night

55:52 parade with my father-in-law. That's turned into the the Christmas market and the night parade because of

55:58 that man right over there and I talked about doing something for the downtown

56:01 merchants. I love this community. I love everything about my district. I love Winston County

56:08 and I love Marion County. I'll be honest with you, just as much. But my heart and

56:12 soul is in this community and I will do everything I can to protect it and make

56:16 sure it's the best it possibly can be. But I have been proven, have been

56:21 through the fire, came out the other side on a thousand different issues. And I'm the only one on this stage that

56:28 can say that I will make sure that this where we are today, we're only going to

56:32 get better if you put me back in office. Thank you, sir, for your response. Mr.

56:37 Tuberville, final question. This office carries responsibility for state laws, public money, local needs,

56:44 constituent service, and long-term direction of Alabama. Based on the duties of the office, why

56:51 should voters trust you to serve as state senator for Alabama Senate District 4?

56:59 Well, >> [clears throat] >> I have took a underperforming plant that was at the bottom of the list in our

57:09 corporation and it was number 10 when I left that company. The only reason it

57:16 was number 10 is because I was the smallest plant with the smallest capacity and I was kicking everybody

57:21 else's tail in the company. Because I managed the the projects, I had the

57:27 vision, I looked ahead, I knew what it took. I spent 20 hours a day in that

57:32 plant building it, making it the best. I want to see Alabama come up from the

57:37 bottom on several things, education, pet welfare. There's plenty of things out there that I want to see Alabama rise

57:44 in, and I know I can put in the work because I've done it. I've got a proven

57:48 track record. I managed the money. I've managed millions of dollars in capital projects building up what I was

57:56 managing. I didn't just walk into a new facility or a well-kept facility. I walked into a

58:03 facility that was neglected and left to die. The only reason it was there was to

58:10 serve the city of Nashville, and I took it and built it into something so much

58:14 more. And I know I can do the same thing in the Senate for not only Cullman, Marion,

58:20 and Winston County, but for this state. Winston and Marion County has not been

58:26 afforded the same opportunity as Cullman has. Cullman's had better infrastructure. They had easier access

58:33 to the road, to the interstate. Well, now you've got an interstate that goes

58:37 right through Marion. You've got some access. You need to build up the infrastructure. You've got a road to

58:43 nowhere that was started 20 years ago going right through Winston County that would have helped attract some kind of

58:50 jobs. We need to put in the work to build the counties up and the state up.

58:59 As a plant manager, I have fought those fights. I have fought for infrastructure. I fought for the

59:04 funding. I have had the vision, and I built upon it. And I know I can do the same thing as a

59:11 senator. There is no one person that's ever the best for a job. Everybody can learn something from

59:20 somebody else. I was the youngest multi-craft maintenance guy at Wolverine Tube when they closed down. I didn't rise to that

59:30 position because I didn't know what I was doing. I was willing to listen. I

59:34 learned from the older guys that was there. I did my you know, put in the

59:38 time and worked for where I was at. I've done that my entire career, whether it

59:43 was fighting or whatever. I've always worked hard. Thank you, sir. And that concludes the questions. Now

59:52 we'll get to our closing statements. Each candidate will now have 90 seconds for a closing statement.

59:58 Uh and we will begin with Mr. Bowling. Alabama's standing at a crossroads. We truly are.

1:00:12 You either go left or right. And it's a gamble whichever way you go.

1:00:21 Truly is. But I know there's good things ahead. I didn't just wake up and decide to run

1:00:31 for Senate. Yes, I disagreed with what was happening. Yes, I disagreed with legislation.

1:00:38 Not just from what was coming out of our county, but as the state. I watched the

1:00:42 voting records and I seen too many times where the Senate voted unanimously on

1:00:47 bills. I don't think that does Alabama any justice. You can't agree on everything all the

1:00:55 time and expect progress and things to get better. There has to be some sort of

1:01:01 disagreement to know that the process is working. And as a state senator, I will always

1:01:09 look at what needs to be done for the district as a whole. Because that's what I've always done as

1:01:18 a public servant. Thank you, sir. For your closing remark, Mr. Gudger, you have 90 seconds.

1:01:27 I love this district. I love this community. I love my job. I am blessed cuz I love my wife and my

1:01:34 two boys and my family back there. And I love everybody that's in here

1:01:38 because you all you all are staring at me and we have a relationship through

1:01:41 something that is meant to me me, something to make this community the best it possibly can make. Even my new

1:01:47 ones that came into the state house. We have to know where we're going.

1:01:55 And if we're here, which I think is already on the incline and doing great.

1:02:00 But we're here, the key for everyone in this room is to have strategic plan to

1:02:04 know where we are going, which is here, and the steps to get there year by year.

1:02:11 Ladies and gentlemen, the only time that we have power as Alabama state senator

1:02:13 is when we're in session, period. The other time, we have a title. All right, we have influence, but the

1:02:21 only time that we do that is when we're in session. You have to work together.

1:02:25 You have to build relationships in Montgomery. You have to know what your community wants and you have to listen.

1:02:31 We are blessed to be able to be here. I am thankful and honored to be the state

1:02:35 senator for the last 8 years. And I'm asking for your prayers and your support

1:02:38 and as we move forward, I would like to ask for your vote on May 19th. Thank

1:02:42 you. Thank you, sir. Thank you both. That concludes this portion of the 2026

1:02:48 Tribune Debate Series. Thank you to both our candidates, J.R. Bowling and Garland Gudger Jr., for being here today and for

1:02:55 giving voters the opportunity to hear directly from each of you. Thank you to everyone who attended in

1:03:01 person, everyone watching online, and everyone who continues to take part in the local election process. An informed

1:03:08 public makes for a stronger county, a stronger district, and a stronger state, and these conversations matter. We We

1:03:15 want to thank Wallace State Community College for hosting us here at the Bailey Center Auditorium and thank you

1:03:21 Dr. Vicki Carwelix and the Wallace State team for their hospitality and support. The Tribune will continue working to

1:03:28 give voters direct access to candidates, clear information and meaningful public conversation throughout this election

1:03:34 cycle and others. Thank you all for being here and have a good evening.

1:03:41 >>