Our opinion
The late Tip O’Neill, longtime Speaker of the House in the U.S. Congress, once said “all politics is local.”
He is right. Nothing matters more to voters than those things that impact their daily lives.
Using O’Neill’s thoughts, there’s another mantra we hope the candidates for state offices will take to heart: all campaigns are local, too.
There are eight candidates seeking Alabama’s top office: Republicans Dr. Robert Bentley, Bradley Byrne, Tim James, Bill Johnson, Judge Roy Moore and James Potts and Democrats Artur Davis and Ron Sparks. They’ve all made promises of what they’re going to do for the state, how they will help the economy or improve education. What we haven’t heard a lot of is how they will work to improve North Alabama. Until they address the unique challenges and opportunities that face North Alabama, we’re not offering our endorsement to any candidate.
North Alabama has become the economic engine that drives the state. The region is a hub for high-tech companies and has maintained a strong economy when compared to the rest of Alabama. North Alabama, however, has suffered from years of neglect from state leaders, a fact that has as much to do with familiarity as it does ill intent. Alabama’s had few governors from North Alabama, with only Albert Brewer hailing from Morgan County. In this race, only Sparks, who hails from Ft. Payne, and Judge Roy Moore, of Gadsden, are from above the state’s Mason-Dixon line of Birmingham. Sparks, the long-time agriculture secretary and Moore, former state supreme court justice, are more linked with Montgomery than North Alabama. Bentley is from Tuscaloosa, Byrne from Mobile, James is from Greenville with business interests all along the state’s coast, Johnson hails from Birmingham and resides in Prattiville and Potts lives in Montevallo. Sparks’ opponent, Davis, is from Montgomery and spends most of his time in Washington DC where he represents the state in Congress. It’s natural they are more aware of the issues involving their respective areas. However, much of Alabama’s future success is going to depend of North Alabama’s growth and that growth depends on receiving the full support of our state leaders.
Alabama taxpayers currently pay $3,144 per capita in state and local taxes. North Alabama traditionally has paid out more than its received in return. We hope our next governor will see North Alabama as the valuable resource it is. As O’Neill said, politics is local and we’d like to see our locale receive the attention it dserves.
