Gubernatorial candidate Scott Dawson stopped at Johnny’s Bar-B-Q for lunch on Tuesday. / Nick Griffin
CULLMAN – Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Dawson made several stops in Cullman Tuesday, visiting the Cullman County Courthouse first before taking a break for lunch at Johnny’s Bar-B-Q.
After having lunch with some of the locals, Dawson spoke to The Tribune about Cullman and what keeps bringing him back to the community.
“I’ve been in Cullman on and off for the last 30 years. I’ve preached in churches, I’ve spoken in schools, I’ve attended civic meetings and today I’ve just been around with the county commission and going around meeting city leaders, county leaders, just business men and women who want to see what needs to happen in Cullman,” said Dawson.
“Cullman is one of the bright spots in Alabama, it really is. It’s got great industry, great education, it’s got great people; we kind of wonder why y’all have a concrete barricade down (US Highway), 278 but that’s a different story.” Dawson joked. “You know, when I’m talking to people here it’s the same concerns: they want to know what can we do to better education, what can we do to better the economy. I’ve been a proponent of this for so long of saying that what Alabama needs is to set Alabama businesses free.”
Dawson elaborated on some of the steps he thinks are necessary if Alabama’s businesses are to continue to grow.
“It’s not a tax issue, it’s the regulations and the occupational fees that just pile up on top of people. How do we remove those? What I’m saying is to cut the tape,” Dawson said. “If there is an independent council that if the department that issues a fee or a regulation against an industry cannot justify it to this independent council, it’s struck from the books. If we can set Cullman industries free and they’re incentivized to grow and expand and hire, they’re going to do something a lot of recruited industries never do and that’s pay taxes. Now we want to recruit industry, we want to recruit industry, we’re talking right now about Toyota-Mazda and we’re going to create 4,000 more jobs. What we’ve got to do is set the entrepreneurial mindset free also, so they can start their own business, grow their own business and provide their own living for their family.”
Dawson took a moment to brag about Johnny’s Bar-B-Q.
“Oh man, I’ll tell you, Alabama barbecue is the best in the nation. Johnny’s was served really well, it was great food, great people, when we walked in we met a group from First United Methodist of ladies eating and having their little community group here and (we were) walking around and meeting folks who were everything from a banker to a businessman to a farmer to the senior adult ladies Bible group,” he smiled. “I mean, it just is the picture of what you see about Cullman. It’s Cullman values which is Alabama values. Great food. I would say the baked beans were probably a big surprise to me. They had meat in it and I really liked that, so it was really good.”
Dawson wrapped up his trip with a visit with the Cullman County Republican Women Tuesday evening.
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