GUNTERSVILLE — Candidate for Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Corey Hill made a campaign stop last week in Guntersville, where he spoke about his plans for deregulation, bringing back a rural crime task force, and expanding Sweet Grown Alabama, should he take office.
"We're eating Chick-fil-a today, and not a single person in here got the box, sat down and said, 'Hmm, I wonder if this chicken is safe to eat.' We don't think about that in this country," Hill said Thursday during a Marshall County Republican Women's meeting.
"We have the safest food in the country… The Ag department regulates that, and we're going to continue to work to make sure our food is safe to eat and you don't have to think about food safety."
Hill said he would revive the rural crime task force, which virtually disappeared when it was consolidated in the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA).
"There's one guy with ALEA that works on rural crimes in the entire state. Back in its heyday, there were 10 guys, and many, many years, they recovered over $10 million worth of property. That stuff was stolen from me and you," he said.
Hill is a native of Douglas, where he currently serves as mayor and operates a chicken and cattle farm and local grocery store.
"I think the federal government should send me a thank-you note about once a quarter, thanking me for paying taxes. But it seems like they're always trying to trip you up," he said. "… I'm an advocate for lower taxes, fewer regulations, and I work hard to make sure that our farmers and our industries can work hard to make a living, pay their bills, employ people without a bunch of crazy regulations."
Hill said he may not always be "the smartest guy in the room," but he makes up for it with a healthy dose of common sense.
"In most cases, I got as much common sense as anybody in the room, and you can solve a lot of problems with good, old-fashioned common sense," he said.
Hill is running against State Sen. Jack Williams (R-Wilmer) and Christina Woerner McInnis to take over the position held by Rick Pate, who is term-limited.
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