On Monday, Montgomery mayoral candidate Barrett Gilbreath spoke regarding incumbent Mayor Steven Reed’s upcoming reelection concert featuring several rappers with lyrics promoting crime in the city.
1819 News recently reported on Reed’s scheduled Monday night concert to highlight his campaign and encourage people to vote. The concert is slated to feature several Montgomery-based rappers with explicit lyrics featuring violent and drug-related themes.
Gilbreath, who has made Montgomery’s rampant crime a primary talking point in his campaign, appeared on the 93.1 "News & Views" with Joey Clark to address the scheduled concert.
“I’m a free speech guy. I’m all for free speech, artistic expression,” Gilbreath said Monday. “I understand the differences here. I guess to me, I wouldn’t have this type of rhetoric in any sort of campaign activity. I just don’t believe that’s what our campaign would be about. And I don’t believe that’s what we want to promote in Montgomery. I think it already speaks to some of the issues we’re dealing with in those lyrics. It’s almost like we hear those songs in real life when we read the news about the homicides in Montgomery, we’re up over 50 now for this year. From an administrative perspective, from a governmental perspective, that would never be something I would want to highlight as far as my candidacy or my campaign."
"I just don’t think that’s very responsible," he added.
Montogmery’s municipal elections will be held on Tuesday, with Reed leading in preliminary polls and Gilbreath coming in second. With four total candidates on the ballot, any candidate must get over 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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