By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — The three Republican candidates for the vacant House of Representatives District 44 seat answered 16 questions about present issues in the state and country at the Trussville Civic Center on Thursday night.
John Amari, Joe Freeman, and Danny Garrett, all from Trussville, answered questions about limited home rule, wasteful spending at the state level, restrictions on the job market, lobbyists, Common Core Standards, Medicaid expansion, the Second Amendment, education funding, prison overcrowding, custodial rights, term limits for politicians, and why they want to run for the seat.
The District 44 seat is being vacated from the retiring Arthur Payne, who has spent 30-plus years in the House of Representatives. District 44 includes Clay, Pinson, Trussville and part of northeast Jefferson County.
In his opening statement, Amari said he’s running because of his kids, John Paul, Maya and Vinny, to give them and others better lives. He said he will “work tirelessly” to bring jobs to the District 44 area and state and more money for education.
Freeman said he’s running because he learned at a young age that to make change, you can’t sit on the sidelines.
“You’ve got to get involved to make change,” Freeman said.
Garrett said in his opening statement that he wants to reduce government’s involvement. He called himself a “problem solver” and plans to help bring jobs to the District 44 area and state.
Primaries are June 3.
Read more about the political forum in the April 9, 2014 issue of The Trussville Tribune.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.