CULLMAN—Republican candidates for House District 12 met in Cullman on Saturday to talk with voters, answer questions on policy, and explain their reasons for running.
The panel of candidates, including Clint Hollingsworth, Cindy Myrex, Heather Doyle, and Dan McWhoter, discussed education, budgeting, farming, and their involvement in the local community, as well as more controversial issues like the lottery and Senate Bill 322, which creates a community development district.
Despite opposition from residents, Governor Kay Ivey signed SB322, sponsored by State Senate Pro-Tem Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman), into law in May, allowing for the annexation of a section of Cullman County by Smith Lake to establish a framework to attract a resort to the area.
The HD12 candidates were nearly split on whether they would have supported the bill.
Myrex and Doyle were both a hard no.
“Garlan and I have talked about this numerous times, and he knows that I would have definitely voted no. I think we needed more discussion about this,” Myrex said. “...I don’t think we need to be annexing property that’s 30 miles out of the city limits into the city limits, and I think we need to make sure we know what the people want before we do such as that.”
Doyle said, “The consensus of the people is that it compromises the character and the safety of the lake. And I don’t think any investors should profit at the community’s expense. I just think that the people should have been listened to.”
Hollingsworth and McWhoter said they would have voted for the bill, but only under certain conditions.
“I would have voted yes if it went to the vote of the people,” McWhorter said. “I think a lot of the problems we have in Montgomery is the fact that the people of Alabama don’t get to vote on the legislation that goes through.”
Hollingsworth said Smith Lake had been “tremendous” for Cullman County, though it likely faced many objections before it was built, much like SB322.
“We’ve all heard these different comments on social media, and everybody with all this information, some of it true, some of it false,” he said. “If this development was going to be something that brought significant jobs, different types of jobs, revenue for our schools, our roads our volunteer fire departments and made a massive impact in our econo,uy for all of Cullman County and it would change everybody’s lives and their insurance rates on their businesses, their homes and that would be tremendous. Why would I vote against that? However, if it doesn’t do all those things, then why would I vote for it? It’s one of those things that I would be a ‘no’ vote if it doesn’t produce what it’s going to do… It’s still up in the air if this will happen or not… If it happens, I’m going to make sure my district benefits.”
As the meeting was about to adjourn, Gudger addressed the crowd, saying he planned to be available in the coming months to meet with constituents and “defend” himself regarding SB322.
“There’s a lot of false information out there, and this is really my first week back to work here in Cullman, Alabama, in the last, might as well say year, because of my accident and running for [Pro-Tem],” Gudger said. “Anyone that would like for me to come and speak anywhere to anyone, I’m open to do that.”
He added, “I haven’t been able to really defend myself with stuff that’s on Facebook, and I want everyone in this room to know if there’s questions that you have, I would like to answer those with true facts instead of just opinion."
The special election primary for HD12 is set for July 15, with a possible runoff in August.
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