Mayor John Hammock was one of dozens of GOP candidates at Veterans Park in Hoover on Sunday for the Pie and Politics event hosted jointly by the Jefferson and Shelby County Republican Parties. Hammock is running in the Republican primary for Public Service Commission Place 1.
“I am in my second term as Mayor of Tallassee,” Hammock said. “I am a member of the Republican Executive Committee of Elmore County. I have served on utilities boards for the city of Tallassee.”
“Alabama Power gets 40% of their electricity from natural gas,” Hammock said. “President Biden’s executive order to ban fracking has driven up the cost of natural gas. The Biden administration hopes that raising the price of fossil fuels will help us transition to clean energy, but what they are going to do is transitioning us to bankruptcy.
“On January 27, 2021, Biden signed an executive order to stop fracking on Federal reserve land. This has caused the [million British thermal unit (MMBTU)] price (for natural gas) to soar up from 2.89 to 5.25 per MMBTU. A lot of people use gas heat in Alabama. Poultry is the second-largest business in Alabama and the poultry farmers use natural gas and propane to heat the houses. This is making poultry prices rise. Alabama Power also uses natural gas for 40% of their electrical production.”
Hammock said that the Biden administration has also targeted coal.
“Coal jobs are a $370 million payroll in Alabama,” Hammock said. “82% of the coal mined in Alabama is metallurgical coal that is used to make steel all over the world. Some 50% of the exports from the port of Mobile are coal. There are 3,000 coal mining jobs in Alabama.”
Hammock is challenging incumbent PSC Commissioner Jeremy Oden.
“We need someone who will show up to work and make a difference.,” Hammock said.
Hammock was arrested in Orange Beach for suspicion of domestic violence. He maintains his innocence.
Hammock, Stephen McLamb, Oden, and Brent Woodall are all running in the primary for Public Service Commission Place 1.
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