By Representative Danny Garrett (R-Trussville)
A lot is happening during this legislative offseason!
First, congratulations to Clay Mayor Charles Webster and council members Becky Johnson, Ben Thackerson and Bo Johnson for being reelected to the Clay City Council. Also, I want to congratulate new council members Don Baker and Dennis Locke for winning their elections. Best wishes to departing councilmen Ricky Baker and Kevin Small, who chose not to run for election. Thank you, Ricky and Kevin, for your service!
Congratulations also to Pinson Mayor Hoyt Sanders and council members John Churchwell, Dawn Tanner, Robbie Roberts and Joy McCain for their reelections to the Council. I also want to congratulate new council member Shannon Galamore for winning her election. And a big “thank you” to former councilman Joe Cochran for his many years of dedicated service to the Pinson community. Stay involved, Joe!
I also want to congratulate new Trussville Mayor Buddy Choat and councilmen Brian Plant, Alan Taylor and Perry Cook for being reelected to serve the citizens of Trussville. Congratulations to new councilmen Jef Freeman and Zack Steel for their elections to the Council. I want to thank former councilman Anthony Montalto for his commitment and service to Trussville. And thank you, Gene Melton, for your 20 years of service as Mayor. On November 6, I was honored to present Mayor Melton with a resolution from the Alabama House and Senate and signed by Governor Bentley acknowledging his contributions to Trussville.
In September, I was appointed by the Speaker of the House to serve on the Joint Legislative Budget Reform Task Force and was elected by the Task Force to serve with Sen. Clyde Chambliss(R-Prattville) as co-chair. The 14 member bi-partisan Task Force is focused on reforming Alabama’s budgeting system, with special focus on five areas: the budget process; review of state agency spending; earmarking of funds; tax credits and deductions; and tax fairness and reform. We have formed study group subcommittees for each of these areas, and these groups are actively gathering information. The Task Force has held two meetings in Montgomery, both of which were well-attended. We will meet at least monthly before delivering an interim report to the legislature when it reconvenes in February.
Recently, I was asked to address the Governors Consumer Lending Task Force about payday lending reform in Alabama. Predatory lending reform has gained momentum all across the United States and an increasing number of Alabamians are becoming involved in reform efforts. The Alabama “Silver Haired Legislature”, a group of senior adults active in state politics, recently held their annual session in Montgomery and passed ten resolutions. Payday and title lending reform was their number two priority agenda item. This past week, voters in South Dakota – with 73 percent voting in favor—adopted a statewide ballot measure capping interest rates on payday and title loans at 36 percent. I was encouraged listening to the Governor’s Task Force discuss the issue and am hopeful they will provide recommendations for meaningful reform in the near future.
All of us witnessed the historically significant election of Donald Trump as President. Defying all the political pundits, pollsters and conventional wisdom, President-elect Trump defeated two political dynasties – the Clintons and Bushes—and was elected president in his first run for political office. The campaign between Trump and Hillary Clinton was one of the nastiest and most contentious in history, and both candidates had substantially higher “unfavorable” ratings than “favorable” ratings among voters.
However, the American electorate sent a clear message to Republicans, Democrats and to the mainstream media, and it would behoove each group to hear what the voters said.
First, the American people are tired of the status quo and chose the candidate that most embodied change. Republicans, who will now have the Presidency and both houses of Congress must follow through on their promises and proactively pass legislation. However, because the GOP majorities are “thin”, Republicans will have to cooperate with Democrats in order to avoid gridlock. The American people are expecting action. Democrats must not be seen as obstructionists and must work with Republicans to pass legislation in order to not lose seats in the 2018 elections. On the other hand, mid-term elections are usually unkind to the party in power, so Republicans have a two-year window to prove themselves effective in making changes. The GOP doesn’t have the numbers to “steamroll” over the Democrats, so cooperation and reasonable compromise between both groups will be necessary. But make no mistake about it, the people expect the new administration and congress to enact changes.
The voters also sharply rebuked the actions of an elitist mainstream media, whose smugness, condescension and bias was evident to many throughout the campaign. I heard someone state that the media had “determined a conclusion and was looking for supporting facts” rather than “gathering facts to find a conclusion”. I believe the mainstream media’s reputation may have been irreparably damaged in the eyes of a significant number of people, and I would expect (and hope for) extensive shake up in the industry in the near future.
Like many, I have some concerns about President-elect Trump. I hope and pray that he will heed wise counsel, reach out to others with sincerity and help bring our divided nation together. But I am excited, relieved and grateful that under his leadership, Republicans – working with Democrats – now have an opportunity to reduce the role of federal government, cut taxes, eliminate overreaching regulations, replace a costly and ineffective Obamacare health care model, improve fiscal policy, increase economic and job opportunities, secure our nation’s borders and prevent a sharp left turn on the U.S. Supreme Court for generations.
The new administration needs to hit the ground running. It’s clear the American people expect results.