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  Ken Barnett Ray Boles   Brian Taylor

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We sent the following questions to the candidates:

1. Why are you seeking the office of State Senate and what specific policy issues or legislative items do you plan to address ?

2. In recent sessions, gambling has dominated the session because the legislature has failed to act to define gambling laws or draft a constitutional amendment that would answer the issue once and for all, in addition, the Indian casino operators have benefitted from the lack of clarity which with the closure of the private venues, Indian gambling operations have expanded, would you support a referendum that would define gambling in Alabama including a referendum that would eliminate the legality of paper bingo since this is the only way that Indian gambling operators could be stopped ?

3. Job creation is the most important issue based on polling of evangelicals across the state. Previous constitutional amendments including the Capital Improvement Projects Amendment has been used for a number of purposes such as the closure of Bryce Hospital and other pork projects instead of long term job creation, Would you agree with the present utilization of the Amendment 666 money and how would you recommend it be used differently?

4. What experience do you bring to the state senate that would be valuable to the voters as you represent them ?

5. What other qualities and issues would you embrace to limit the control of the legislature by special interests ?


The following are the candidates responses in alphabetical order
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Ken Barnett

My name is Ken Barnett and I am running for the Alabama State Senate District 30. I am asking for your vote on June 1, 2010.

MY RECORD PROVES I AM THE STRONGEST CONSERVATIVE AND BEST QUALIFIED CANDIDATE RUNNING AS A REPUBLICAN

In the 70’s & 80’s I owned and operated a contracting business. I wrote the budgets; I wrote the rules and regulations and I achieved financial success while dealing with the terrible recession of the early 1980’s. 

In the mid 1980’s I accepted a position with a fortune 500 corporation and was promoted to the position of general manager with total operational responsibility for a multi-million dollar facility.  I wrote the budgets; I wrote the rules and regulations; I increased the work staff by 34%; I brought innovation and economic growth to this business. This business management work experience from 1970 to 1990 gives me a 20 year qualification edge on the other candidates.

In the early 1990’s I received my Alabama State license for health insurance, life insurance, property/casualty insurance and series 6 & 63 limited broker’s license and then I accepted a position with the Alabama Department of Finance. I have worked for the Alabama Finance Department for the past 17 years dealing with complex government rules and regulations. 

 
MY EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS INCLUDE 40 YEARS OF WRITING BUDGETS, WRITING RULES AND REGULATIONS, AND GROWING JOBS WHICH MAKES ME THE MOST QUALIFIED CHOICE FOR THE SENATE

THOSE ARE MY QUALIFICATIONS; NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I AM ELECTED

I will work hard in cooperation with other legislators to improve the economy in Alabama. To grow jobs I will reduce taxes, pass ethics reform, eliminate government corruption, require financial responsibility in all state budgets, reform education, reform health care, pass strong immigration law, and lower energy prices. This will grow jobs and increase revenue which will adequately fund the state education system and all government agencies. 

EDUCATION: I attended Indiana University and later Fairhaven Baptist College receiving a Bachelor Degree in Theology. I attended many National Fire Code Schools and took course work at the Alabama Fire College in Tuscaloosa. I am presently a certified Alabama State Fire Inspector.

PERSONAL LIFE: I have been married to my wife Georgia for 42 years. Our children live and work in Alabama building traditional homes with strong faith in the Word of God. They work hard every day and pay their taxes. 

MILITARY SERVICE: I served from 1964 to 1967 in the Army Airborne on constant stand by alert due to the war in Vietnam. I made 20 airborne combat situation jumps out of C 130’s & H 34’s. My brother was deployed to Viet Nam and was killed in combat. He received the DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS for valor during aerial warfare. My son served 4 years active duty in the Marines in danger zones such as Bosnia. I have profound respect for every sacrifice made by our Military personnel.

You may telephone at 361-1822 which is listed in the Prattville telephone directory. I will provide detailed straight answers to all questions. Elect Ken Barnett to the Senate and together we will make Alabama a better place to live. May God bless you & may God bless America.

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Ray Boles

1) I decided to seek the office of State Senate because there are things that affect small businesses and families in Alabama that I could not change from the City Council level.

2) I support the people to decide by referendum the issue of gambling, and be allowed to outlaw it entirely or limit its extent and legality of electronic bingo. The only way to decide this issue is by a vote of the people, and the legislature allowing the people to vote on the issue. Otherwise, there will be endless court battles over the issue and clarity on this issue is necessary. Otherwise, Indian gambling operators will have a total monopoly on gambling without any controls by the state.

3) I do not believe in using taxpayer money for any other purpose than that which is authorized by the taxpayers. Amendment 666 money was sold to the taxpayers as money for job development. The sale of Bryce Hospital does not fall into the category of job development because it created no identifiable employment.

4) I am a small business owner and family man. I understand what it takes to create jobs and maintain them. I understand what it will take to make Alabama the most attractive place for industry to locate. The negative impact that government interference has on our economy and our families affects me just like it affects every other hard working taxpayer in Alabama and I want to change that.

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Brian Taylor
1. Alabama desperately needs a new generation of honest, conservative leadership in the State Senate – people with servant hearts who will always do what’s right.

Sadly, Alabama ranks in the top five for public corruption, which hurts our reputation internationally and drives away jobs to other states. As the governor's policy director, I wrote legislation to fight corruption, including bills to impose term limits on legislators, ban double-dipping, require lobbyists to fully disclose all spending, and end the unlimited wining-and-dining of public officials. But the Democrat majority in the Legislature habitually kills these anti-corruption measures year after year. Not only that, they don’t even read the bills.

The people of Alabama have had enough of the backroom deals, the broken promises, and the outright corruption in the State Legislature under the control of the Democrat majority. Alabama deserves better.
I got into this race because I decided the only way to reform the Legislature is to get into the arena, myself, and lead the way.

2. Experience, education, and my record of public service. I am an Eagle Scout, an Iraq veteran, and a member of the Alabama National Guard. I believe that record demonstrates my heart for public service. Having graduated college and law school, I understand the legislative process, and because of my legal training, I don’t have to rely on paid lobbyists I don't trust to explain bills to me. All of us in this race oppose big government and support cutting wasteful spending. We’re all for tax relief and job growth. But I have the boots-on-the-ground experience to know how to get it done, and I can hit the ground running on day one. I have helped cut government spending in State budgets; I’ve written legislation to cut taxes, jumpstart jobs, and clean up corruption; and I’ve helped pass bills in the Legislature. This experience makes me the strongest Republican to take on the incumbent Democrat in November.

3. My understanding is that the State Mental Health Board approved the sale of the Bryce Hospital property to the University of Alabama, which will pay the full purchase price. Therefore, I’m not aware of any bond proceeds being used to purchase Bryce Hospital. I do know that the Alabama Department of Mental Health plans to build a new hospital using the proceeds from the sale of Bryce and additional proceeds from a state bond issue, but I have not been involved in the decisions of the Bond Commission. All information about the sale of Bryce Hospital is publicly available from the Department of Mental Health at (334) 242-3417 and the State Finance Director at (334) 242-7160.

4. I oppose the legalization of casino gambling in Alabama. All illegal casinos in Alabama should shut down immediately, no matter who operates them. No one is above the law. As a conservative, I support bringing law-breakers before the criminal courts under the Alabama Criminal Code because that is the fundamental role of our judicial system. I strongly oppose the casinos’ persistent attempts to use the courts to try to legalize and expand slot-machine casinos in Alabama by judicial decree. Judges should not make law, and I am pleased that the Alabama Supreme Court has rejected this type of judicial activism in its repeated rulings against the casinos. Finally, I am deeply disturbed by this question’s apparent acceptance of the casinos’
argument that the so-called “bingo” slot machines at Indian casinos in Alabama are legal. Federal law expressly prohibits slot machines on tribal lands without a state compact, but the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Indian Gaming notified the State in 2008 that as long as it goes on at places like Victoryland, Indian casinos will be allowed to do it, too. 

5. I am a pro-life conservative. I believe life begins at conception, it is expressly protected by the Constitution, and it is a gift from God. As a father-to-be who just saw an ultrasound of our 11-week-old unborn child, I am convinced that we need a state law to require that ultrasounds be shown to women before they choose to have an abortion. I believe marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman, and I oppose the efforts of liberal judges to redefine marriage by judicial decree.


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