Intercession; I need your prayer because this country has a heart problem. We’ve got to have people who will stand up for what is right and believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.”Jonathan McConnell, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate
CULLMAN – On Saturday, Feb. 6, the Cullman County Republican Party held a breakfast meeting at the Cullman Elks Lodge, where a variety of area Republican candidates spoke in anticipation of the upcoming March 1 primary. The meeting’s special guest was Jonathan McConnell, who is running against incumbent U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby. All three Cullman County Commission Chairman candidates, including incumbent Kenneth Walker and his two challengers, Darrell Hicks and Eric L. Parker, also addressed the crowd.
Each of the commission chair candidates had around two minutes to speak to the audience. Parker, new to the politics, was up first. He stated his priorities are, “to improve the county through community action groups and to improve county roads and water systems by cutting wasteful spending from the commission budget.” Parker said he wants “a transparent commission with an open door policy.” He promised no closed-door meetings if elected.
Former Cullman County Associate Commissioner, Place 1 Hicks spoke second. Hicks is running on a campaign of experience, and he laid out what he would like to focus on if elected. He said he would like to “increase the miles of roads paved each year and will work hard to complete the Highway 157 and St. Bernard four-lane (expansion).” Hicks also said he wants “to begin planning for a new judicial building and finish the county’s first public shooting range so that it will meet standards.”Hicks believes that senior centers need support.
“I promise to meet everyone with respect and in a professional manner,” Hicks said.
Rounding out the commission chair forum was incumbent Walker, who was quick to remind the crowd of his accomplishments in the position and lay out his goals if re-elected. He said he wants to have a 90-day reserve in place and that the commission is currently five days away from that goal. “When I took office,” he said, “there was only a 60-day reserve.” Walker promised to continue working to improve infrastructure in Cullman County and said he plans to “explore avenues for additional revenue to supplement the road department projects with maintaining and upgrading existing roads.”
Special guest McConnell, hoping to upset long-time incumbent Shelby (who has held the seat since 1987), spoke last. McConnell’s plans include cutting government spending, repealing the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), simplifying regulations and tax codes, lowering corporate taxes and stopping the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
“I am running for U.S. Senate because I have four nieces that (sic) mean more to me than anything in this world,” McConnell said. “I cannot look down at them and say in confidence that we are leaving it (the country) better off for them, so I need four things from every single one of you in this room. They are what I call the Four I’s,” he said, and then began to explain.
“1. Intercession. I need your prayer because this country has a heart problem. We’ve got to have people who will stand up for what is right and believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
“2. Influence. Every single person in this room influences thousands of people, whether it is your family, people you work with or went to school with. If we get our message out, we win this race. This is not about beating Richard Shelby; this is about changing the direction of this country.
“3. Ideas. I may not have the best ideas in the world; I’m a Marine, so therefore I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I promise you I will work harder than anyone you’ve ever seen in your life. But if you have an idea that we’re not doing or someone I should be talking to, I want to hear about it. Contact us. We want to hear from you.
“4. Income. When I got into this race, I put a quarter million dollars into it. I took everything I could from my business without bankrupting it. I liquidated my savings account, and I donated it to my campaign. I did not loan it, I donated it. So I either took a stack of a quarter million dollars and I either put a fire to it or I invested in the change of our country. We cannot win this unless we get our message out. It costs us about $50,000 a week to stay up on TV. If we win this race, we change the direction of the country more so.”
The primary election is on Tuesday, March 1. The deadlines for voter registration are Friday, Feb. 12 (in-person registration) and Monday, Feb. 15 (online registration).
For more information on in-person registration: http://qrne.ws/register
To register online: http://qrne.ws/regonline
For more information on the Cullman County Republican Party or the monthly breakfast program, visit http://www.cullmangop.com/ or contact CCRP Vice Chairman Waid Harbison at 256-708-1650.
