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Former Member, Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, Alabama State Senate
Former Member, County and Municipal Government Committee, Alabama State Senate
Former Member, Finance and Taxation Education Committee, Alabama State Senate
Member, Geneva County Republican Executive Committee
Former Member, Health and Human Services Committee, Alabama State Senate
Former Member, Law Enforcement and Firefighter Service Medal Review Committee, Alabama State Senate
Board Member, Southeast Alabama Regional Development Council
Member, Southern Alabama Regional Council on Aging Board
Member, State of Alabama Agribusiness Council
Former Member, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, Alabama State Senate
— Awards:
1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer
2. Abortions should always be legal.
- No Answer
3. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester.
- No Answer
4. Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
- X
5. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- X
6. Dilation and extraction or "partial-birth" abortion procedures should be legal.
- No Answer
7. Medicare, Medicaid, and federal subsidies should be prohibited from being used on abortion procedures.
- X
8. Other or expanded principles.
- No Answer
1. Agriculture
- Slightly Increase
2. Arts
- Maintain Status
3. Defense
- Greatly Increase
4. Education
- Slightly Increase
5. Environment
- Slightly Decrease
6. FEMA
- Maintain Status
7. Homeland security
- Greatly Increase
8. International aid
- Eliminate
9. Law enforcement (Federal)
- Greatly Increase
10. Law enforcement (State)
- Greatly Increase
11. Medical research
- Greatly Increase
12. National parks
- Maintain Status
13. Public health services
- Maintain Status
14. Scientific research
- Slightly Increase
15. Space exploration programs
- Greatly Increase
16. Transportation and highway infrastructure
- Slightly Increase
17. United Nations
- Eliminate
18. Welfare
- Greatly Decrease
19. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
1. Armed forces personnel training
- Greatly Increase
2. Intelligence operations
- Greatly Increase
3. Military hardware
- Greatly Increase
4. Modernization of weaponry and equipment
- Greatly Increase
5. National missile defense
- Greatly Increase
6. Pay for active duty personnel
- Greatly Increase
7. Programs to improve troop retention rates
- Greatly Increase
8. Research and development of new weapons
- Greatly Increase
9. Troop and equipment readiness
- Greatly Increase
10. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
1. Less than $12,000
- No Answer
2. $12,001-$40,000
- No Answer
3. $40,001-$100,000
- No Answer
4. $100,001-$180,000
- No Answer
5. $180,001-$350,000
- No Answer
6. $350,001 and above
- No Answer
7. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
1. Alcohol taxes
- No Answer
2. Capital gains taxes
- No Answer
3. Cigarette taxes
- No Answer
4. Corporate taxes
- No Answer
5. Gasoline taxes
- No Answer
6. Inheritance taxes
- No Answer
7. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
1. Charitable contribution deduction
- No Answer
2. Child tax credit
- No Answer
3. Earned income tax credit
- No Answer
4. Medical expense deduction
- No Answer
5. Mortgage deduction
- No Answer
6. Student loan credit
- No Answer
7. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
8. Do you support the permanent repeal of the federal estate tax?
- Yes
9. Do you support requiring the federal budget to be balanced each year?
- Yes
10. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support increasing the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns.
- X
2. Prohibit Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions to candidates for federal office.
- No Answer
3. Allow unregulated soft money campaign contributions to political parties or committees.
- X
4. Remove all contribution limits on federal campaigns and parties.
- X
5. Support prohibiting ads containing candidates' name that are paid for by third parties from airing 60 days before a primary and 30 days before a general federal election.
- No Answer
6. Support instant run-off voting (IRV).
- No Answer
7. Support designating Election Day as a national holiday.
- No Answer
8. Support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations.
- X
9. Support limiting the President's use of signing statements in order to prevent an alternative interpretation of the bill.
- X
10. Support a federal shield law to protect reporter-source privilege.
- No Answer
11. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support the use of the death penalty for federal crimes.
- X
2. Eliminate the use of the death penalty for federal crimes.
- No Answer
3. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X
4. Support programs to provide prison inmates with drug and alcohol addiction treatment.
- X
5. Reduce prison sentences for those who commit non-violent crimes.
- No Answer
6. Support mandatory jail sentences for selling illegal drugs.
- X
7. Support strict penalties for internet crime (e.g. hacking, identity theft, worms/viruses).
- X
8. Require that crimes based on sexual orientation be prosecuted as federal hate crimes.
- No Answer
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support the federal government funding universal pre-K programs.
- No Answer
2. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
- X
3. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
- X
4. Allow teachers and professionals to receive federal funding to establish charter or magnet schools.
- X
5. Increase funding for the Pell Grant program.
- X
6. Decrease interest rates of Stafford Loans.
- X
7. Support federal tax incentives to help families save for college.
- X
8. Ban university financial aid officers from owning stock in or accepting gifts from student loan lenders.
- X
9. Require universities to disclose financial relationships with lenders.
- X
10. Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
- X
11. Eliminate all federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
- No Answer
12. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Increase funding for national job-training programs that retrain displaced workers or teach skills needed in today?s job market.
- X
2. Reduce government regulation of the private sector.
- X
3. Encourage employers to offer child care services, flex-time scheduling, comp-time, and unpaid leave for family emergencies.
- X
4. Increase the federal minimum wage.
- No Answer
5. Support the right of workers to unionize.
- No Answer
6. Eliminate all federal programs designed to reduce unemployment.
- No Answer
7. Include sexual orientation in federal anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer
8. Include gender identity in federal anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Water Act.
- X
2. Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
- X
3. Support increased development of traditional energy resources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil).
- X
4. Strengthen emission controls on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles.
- No Answer
5. Strengthen fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles.
- No Answer
6. Support domestic oil exploration in areas that are currently restricted.
- X
7. Encourage further development and use of alternative fuels.
- X
8. Support the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel.
- X
9. Support research and development of nuclear reactors as an alternative energy source.
- X
10. Allow energy producers to trade pollution credits under "cap and trade" laws.
- No Answer
11. Support international mandatory emission targets to limit global warming.
- No Answer
12. Support international voluntary emission targets to limit global warming.
- X
13. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Allow individuals to carry concealed guns.
- X
2. Ban the sale, ownership or possession of handguns except by law enforcement and other government officials.
- No Answer
1. Enforcement of existing restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- Maintain Status
2. Restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- Greatly Decrease
3. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Implement a universal healthcare program to guarantee coverage to all Americans, regardless of income.
- No Answer
2. Expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts.
- X
3. Allow the importation of prescription drugs into the United States.
- X
4. Support expanding prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
- X
5. Offer tax credits to individuals and small businesses to offset the cost of insurance coverage.
- X
6. Support expanding child healthcare programs.
- X
7. Providing healthcare is not a responsibility of the federal government.
- No Answer
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Decrease the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country.
- No Answer
2. Establish English as the official national language.
- X
3. Support a temporary worker program.
- X
4. Support harsher financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
- X
5. Support amnesty for illegal immigrants already working in the United States.
- No Answer
6. Illegal immigrants should have to return to their countries of origin before being considered for citizenship.
- X
7. Illegal immigrants should be given a pathway to citizenship.
- No Answer
8. Support merit-based visas over family-based visas.
- X
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support the United States granting aid to countries when extraordinary circumstances cause disaster and threaten civilian lives.
- X
2. Support the United States granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States.
- X
3. Eliminate United States aid for any nation with documented human rights abuses.
- X
4. Aid granted by the United States should be scaled back and eventually eliminated.
- No Answer
5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Should the United States continue to provide leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?
- Yes
2. Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state?
- Yes
3. Should the United States impose greater international sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates?
- Yes
4. Should the United States support the Lebanese government against insurgent forces?
- Yes
5. Should the United States maintain its troop levels in Iraq?
- Yes
6. Should the United States withdraw its troops from Iraq?
- No
7. Discuss your proposals for Iraq.
- No Answer
8. Should the United States apply greater economic and diplomatic sanctions against North Korea if it fails to abide by its agreement to suspend its nuclear program?
- Yes
9. Should the United States increase financial support for Afghanistan?
- Yes
10. Should the United States increase military support for Afghanistan?
- Yes
11. Should the United States trade nuclear fuel to India for civilian purposes?
- No
12. Should the United States decrease financial support for Pakistan?
- Yes
13. Should the United States decrease military support for Pakistan?
- No
14. Should the United States be involved in bringing an end to the violence in Darfur, Sudan?
- No
15. Should the United States be involved in bringing an end to the violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo?
- No
16. Should the United States provide economic and military support to the Transitional Government of Somalia?
- No
17. Should the United States use sanctions to encourage the government of Zimbabwe to end its human rights abuses?
- No
18. Should the United States support the creation of an independent nation of Kosovo?
- Yes
19. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support the United States imposing economic sanctions on China?
- Yes
2. Do you support the United States imposing trade sanctions on Venezuela?
- Yes
3. Do you support the United States involvement in free trade agreements?
- Yes
4. Do you support the United States involvement in intergovernmental organizations dedicated to trade?
- Undecided
5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support using military tribunals to try suspected terrorists when ordinary civilian courts are deemed inappropriate or impractical?
- Yes
2. Should law enforcement agencies have greater discretion to monitor domestic communications, to prevent future terrorist attacks?
- Yes
3. Should the United States hold foreign states accountable for terrorists who operate in their country?
- Yes
4. Should the federal government increase funding to states and cities for homeland security?
- Yes
5. Do you support pre-emptive military strikes against countries deemed to be a threat to United States national security?
- Yes
6. Do you support the creation of a federal identification card system?
- No
7. Do you support long-term use of National Guard troops to supplement the armed forces in assignments overseas?
- Yes
8. Should the United States expand its missile defense shield?
- Yes
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
- Undecided
2. Do you support a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman?
- Yes
3. Do you support federal funding for research on existing embryonic stem cell lines?
- Yes
4. Do you support federal funding to create lines of stem cells from new embryos?
- Yes
5. Should the federal government consider race and gender in government contracting decisions?
- No
6. Should the federal government continue affirmative action programs?
- No
7. Should the federal government regulate internet gambling?
- Yes
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts that they manage themselves.
- X
2. Ensure the viability of Social Security by increasing the payroll tax.
- X
3. Decrease benefits paid to retirees.
- No Answer
4. Support proportional increases of Social Security benefits based on the cost of living index.
- X
5. Raise the retirement age for individual eligibility to receive full Social Security benefits.
- No Answer
6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Require welfare recipients to spend at least 40 hours a week in a combination of work and training programs.
- X
2. Continue to give states and local governments flexibility in and responsibility for welfare programs through federal block grants.
- X
3. Support housing assistance for welfare recipients.
- No Answer
4. Abolish all federal welfare programs.
- No Answer
5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
Please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- No Answer
Type: bill Chamber: upper
Type: bill Chamber: upper
Type: bill Chamber: upper
Bobby Bright will begin his general election campaign for Congress today, but won't know his opponent for another six weeks. Montgomery's mayor won 70 percent of the vote, handily defeating his two Democratic challengers -- civil rights advocate Cheryl Sabel and dentist Cendie Crawley -- in Tuesday's primary election. But the race for the Republican nomination was much tighter, ending with two Alabama legislators advancing to a July 15 runoff. State Rep. Jay Love of Montgomery, who won 35 percent of the votes, and state Sen. Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb, with 22 percent of the votes, came out on top after months of intense, competitive campaigning. The nine hopefuls began their quest to replace retiring District 2 Rep. Terry Everett last fall. The Rehobeth Republican has represented the district, which spans 16 counties throughout south and central Alabama, since 1992. The Associated Press declared Bright the winner shortly before 9 p.m., after he had 76 percent of the voters with one-third of the returns counted. Bright, who celebrated the victory with family and friends at his headquarters on Zelda Road, said it's time to "really get to work now." "This is just one of the first hurdles of many that I have to face in order to prove to the people of District 2 that I am one of them and that I can represent their interests in Washington," Bright said after receiving the call from the AP. Bright said that while voters won't start seeing TV commercials until closer to the Nov. 4 general election, people in the 2nd District can expect to see even more of him as he increases his campaigning efforts throughout the district. Bright said his challenge will be to "pierce the Republican veil," referring to the Republican-leaning district that could discount him based solely on his party affiliation. He said he plans to overcome that by showing voters that his morals and views are like theirs. Meanwhile, Love celebrated his lead above the five other Republican candidates. His showing was not strong enough to escape a runoff in six weeks (a candidate must win 50 percent of the votes plus one in order to be declared the victor). Love, knowing a run-off election was likely, already had a game plan in place before the primary votes were tallied. "We're on the road tomorrow to Troy and to Enterprise," Love said, moments after it was confirmed that he won 52 percent of the votes in Montgomery County. Love watched as volunteers updated a board showing the county-by-county vote breakdown as precincts reported throughout the district. He looked on anxiously as the numbers came in for the counties that his campaign had targeted. Love said he focused his efforts on Coffee, Covington and Pike counties, to name a few, because there were no candidates with "geographical loyalties" in those areas. He said he has visited Enterprise as many as 30 times and Troy at least 50 times. "No candidate was really that well known. I wanted to be the first one there -- work as hard as I could -- and try to win their support," Love said Tuesday night at his campaign headquarters at 605 N. East Boulevard. Smith and political newcomer Craig D. Schmidtke, an oral surgeon in Dothan, battled each other for the No. 2 spot, but Smith narrowly secured her place in the runoff by two percentage points. "We always knew it was going to be close," Smith said. "We're just glad to make it tonight, and we appreciate everyone who helped us get here." Smith, who celebrated with more than 100 supporters at her Dothan headquarters, said she planned to "get back on the campaign trail" and show people that she is the best candidate. Smith is trying to do something that has never been done -- be the first woman to be elected to Alabama's 2nd District seat. The district has had a female congressional representative, but that woman, Elizabeth Bullock Andrews, was appointed to serve after her husband died while in office. It's been a Republican district since 1964 when Bill Dickinson won during the Goldwater Sweep. Dickinson, who died earlier this year, lived in Montgomery. Everett, who hasn't had any serious opposition during his tenure, lives in the Wiregrass and is retiring for health reasons. The race up to the primary has been a costly one -- especially for the six Republican candidates. Collectively, the Republicans have spent $1.56 million on getting their name out in the 16-county district. The district covers 10,608 square miles and is half rural, half urban. The biggest spender has been Schmidtke, who has saturated the 2nd District with commercials and billboards. Schmidtke had spent $574,750 as of May 14, with the majority of that money -- specifically, $527,855 -- coming from his own pocket. Not far behind him is Love, who had spent $426,086 as of the same date. Like Schmidtke, Love's personal money accounted for a chunk of his campaign funds. Love loaned himself $349,000 of his own money. Martin had spent the least of the Republicans and was the second to last in total money raised on both sides. The only candidate who raised and spent less money -- Crawley, a Democrat and a dentist living in Troy -- reported collecting and spending no money. Martin had spent $11,087 as of May 19 and had $5,269 left. The Longbow Apache instructor at Fort Rucker contributed $14,400 to himself. Martin won 1 percent of the votes. The rest of the Republican candidates had spent the following as of May 14: Smith, $298,524; Woods, $237,057; and Grimes, $13,590. Woods earned 17 percent of the votes, and Grimes won 4 percent. The race was significantly less expensive on the Democrat side. Sabel spent $16,514 and Bright spent $61,459 as of May 14.
Rep. Jay Love cruised into a runoff in the race for the Republican nomination in the 2nd Congressional District, but had to wait until well into the evening before learning he will face Sen. Harri Anne Smith. With 99 percent of the vote reporting at press time, Love collected about 35 percent of the vote. Smith finished second with 22 percent. Dothan oral surgeon Craig Schmidtke was a close third with 20 percent and Montgomery businessman David Woods was a close fourth with 17 percent. Rep. David Grimes was a distant fifth with 4 percent and Dothan's John Martin garnered 1 percent. Meanwhile, Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright won the Democratic race easily, avoiding a runoff by collecting 71 percent of the vote, well ahead of Cheryl Sabel's 16 percent and Cendie Crawley's 13 percent. Some expected a close race between Love and Smith, but Love said the 13-point gap between first and second were similar to his campaign's internal polls. "It has almost been exactly on the number with our polling," Love said. While Love was able to enjoy the evening comfortably in the runoff from the beginning, Smith, Woods and Schmidtke had a roller coaster night with each enjoying second place at different points during the evening as votes were tallied. Smith said the race was tighter than she expected. "We knew there was going to be a runoff, but I think the other candidates ran wonderful races. Now we're just going to continue talking about the issues and let the people of the district know how we feel."Love was the first person to announce his intentions to run and began blanketing the district with radio and television ads, stressing his Christian conservative philosophy and opposition to higher taxes. Woods' ads stressed family and his experience as a business leader, while Smith touted her experience in the state Senate along with her opposition to higher taxes. Schmidtke stressed his position as a political outsider. "I think to start this race with zero name recognition, to get this far, we can hold our heads high," said Schmidtke, who said he plans to take some time before determining his plans for endorsing a candidate. Turnout was reported as generally light throughout the district. Bright said he plans to focus on his message and prepare for the November general election. "Alabama's working families are ... ready for a leader who puts aside political fights and works for solutions," Bright said Tuesday evening in a prepared statement.
Dothan Eagle - "Congressional Hopefuls Battle for Recognition at Debate" A Democratic candidate for the 2nd Congressional District seat appealed to conservatives and a Republican candidate unveiled a new initiative to secure the border during a debate Monday at Troy University. Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright said being a Democrat was not synonymous with being a liberal, and explained to the 150 in attendance that he would not be held hostage by the Democratic majority leader or the potential Republican president. "Nancy Pelosi is not going to tell me what to do. John McCain is not going to tell me what to do either," Bright said during the two-hour debate sponsored by Troy University, WSFA-TV, the AARP and the National Federation of Independent Business. Meanwhile, Republican candidate Dr. Craig Schmidtke of Dothan said instead of constructing a wall to secure the United States' southern border with Mexico, he would construct a "solar panel fence" that could be used for security as well as providing power for a good portion of the Southern United States and Northern Mexico. "It's so hard to explain these things in a minute," Schmidtke said. "But something like this provides a business solution to a problem that needs solving. Do I know how much it would cost? No. But the money is there. Who knows, it could be something that would pay for itself." Eight candidates scrambled to separate themselves from the pack during the debate. Each candidate had two-minute opening and closing statements and one minute to answer six questions, three from a previously-selected panel and three from the audience. The debate was the second of three sponsored by the four entities, and the first one attended by State Sen. Harri Anne Smith, who missed a Friday debate at WSFA studios in Montgomery due to a previously scheduled engagement. On the Democratic side, Bright and opponent Cheryl Sabel provided a stark contrast. While Bright was championing the conservative wing of the party, Sabel - president of the state chapter of the National Organization for Women - trumpeted several traditionally-liberal causes including reproductive rights and referred to current President George W. Bush as a "president who has gone wild with power." Sabel said the first bill she would introduce if elected to Congress would be a renewed Equal Rights Amendment, which she said would "make sure women are no longer treated as second class citizens." The race's other Democratic candidate, Cendie Crawley, was ill and could not attend.On the Republican side, candidates agreed on most of the issues presented. All said they would fight to repeal the estate tax, would seek new areas in the United States for drilling in hopes of breaking the dependence on foreign oil, and would resist supporting federal mandates for nursing home standards, instead allowing the states to set most standards. "Not only do I think that is a state issue, but I think families should take more responsibility in the care of their loved ones," Smith said. Martin appeared to be the only candidate of either party to support what is known by supporters as the Fair Tax, a proposal that would do away with all federal taxes in favor of a general consumption tax. The next debate will be held at Sony Hall on the campus of Troy University-Dothan April 29 at 10 a.m.
