Last month, former Henry County Commission president and probate judge David Money announced he is running for House District 85.
“Nobody has a deeper love for the Wiregrass than I do. I was born here, and I’ll die here,” Money told 1819 News in an interview.
Money was elected in 2012 and again in 2018, then decided not to run for a third term.
When asked, "Why now?" Money explained, “Four years ago, I was approached by numerous people, but I had two years left on my probate judge term, and those people had elected me. I wasn't about to quit on them, so I just told them there was no way I could.”
In his kick-off speech, Money added levity by noting the viral trend of kids saying "six-seven" (67).
"They're talking about the six seven all over the country, and I just raised it one number to six eight," he told 1819, referring to two of his favorite Bible verses, Isaiah 6:8 and Micah 6:8.
"Those have been my goalposts," Money explained.
Henry County is one of 14 counties in the state where the probate judge also serves as the county commission chair. According to the Alabama Probate Judges Association, the other counties are Blount, Cherokee, Choctaw, Cleburne, Dallas, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Hale, Lamar, Lee, Monroe and Tuscaloosa.
“The probate side is really a ministry. When you're talking about adoptions, you're talking about dealing with families who have mental challenges within their family, and trying to help them find some relief on that. I miss it. I really do miss it,” Money said of what he was able to do as part of his responsibilities as probate judge. “This is an excuse for us to expand it to a little larger platform.”
“So I think the timing was great, and I just love trying to help people," he added.
In addition to serving as the chairman of the Henry County Commission, Money also served as the president and vice president of the Alabama Association of County Commissioners.
He believes this experience in public service and business will set him apart from his opponent, the incumbent, State Rep. Rick Rehm (R-Dothan), whom he described as “a good guy,” saying, “We’re both pretty conservative.”
According to Money, both have pledged to run a positive campaign.
“I've met a lot of people from all over the state, developed great relationships, and know a lot of folks in the state house. I think I would have an inroad that a lot of other ‘rookies’ might not have.”
Thanks to his experience with the county, Money is familiar with Alabama's simplified sellers' use tax (SSUT), a hot topic as big cities around the state seek to change the formula.
"I'm still pretty active with SSUT, you know, sales and users tax are kind of a big topic right now. And I know what it means for counties and cities. So from that standpoint, I want to be involved in that."
Money said that Headland, the largest city, and Henry and Abbeville, would lose money if the current formula were changed.
The SSUT is an 8% tax applied to eligible sellers, such as online retailers. Currently, 50% of SSUT revenue is allocated to the state, with the remaining half being used to supplement municipalities (30%) and counties (20%) across Alabama.
“So, the formula needs to say the same,” he said. “There was some talk about going to 8.5%, which I would not be opposed to as long as the formula stays the same."
Money raised several important topics in his launch speech, including workforce development.
"So I just speak to many young people who just kind of fall into a trap of college for five or six years and come out looking for a job. So I'm really big on workforce development and career tech," Money said.
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