Cullman, Blount county Republicans to choose nominee for Alabama House district
Republican voters in Cullman and Blount counties will choose between two GOP candidates in the special primary election Tuesday.
Heath Allbright, a 39-year-old business man and former member of the Cullman County Board of Education, has raised about $60,000 for his campaign, according to campaign finance records. His top donor is the Progress Political Action Committee (PAC), the fundraising arm of the Business Council of Alabama, which donated $7,500.
Allbright said in an interview last week that he has gotten a lot of positive responses in his campaign.
'I know it takes money to run campaigns, and I was happy to get some support from some associations that I'm a part of,' Allbright said.
Allbright said he values conservative christian family values, funding local schools and tax cuts for small businesses.
'A lot of these go a whole lot deeper than just what they sound like on the surface,' Allbright said.
Don Fallin, a 60-year-old veteran, declined to comment Wednesday morning on anything related to the election until after the primary on Tuesday, if he wins.
According to campaign finance records, Fallin has raised $30,000, most of which come from individual contributors. The Alabama Veterans PAC donated $5,000.
The winner of the primary will face Democratic nominee Alex Braswell in a general election on Aug. 26.
Allbright accuses Fallin
Allbright accused Fallin on Sunday of attacking his character through campaign advertising. A mailer that Allbright said was sent to voters in District 11 that says Allbright was 'hand picked' by Montgomery. According to Allbright's campaign finance records, the Alabama House Majority Party PAC donated $5,000 to his campaign.
'As many of you have seen, my opponent has resorted to negative attacks on myself, my family and my character,' Allbright said in a video posted to his campaign Facebook page. 'I just wanted to let you guys know I am not going to engage in this type of behavior because that is not what a true leader does.'
Allbright said the 1776 PAC funded the mailers. The PAC donated $2,150 in-kind for advertising to the Fallin campaign, according to campaign finance records.
Fallin declined to comment on anything election related on Wednesday.
Braswell said she has not received the mail, nor can she find anybody in the district that has. Allbright did not respond to a request for a copy of the mail on Monday.
'I have called this district from top to bottom and cannot find a single person who has actually received one of these,' she wrote in a text Monday night.
The lone Democratic candidate
Although the primary election does not matter for Braswell with no challenger, she said she has enjoyed running a 'blue dot campaign' and meeting people throughout the district that support her.
'I'm enjoying getting to meet new people and meeting new supporters every day,' the 35-year-old said in a phone interview last week.
Braswell has raised about $4,000 for her campaign, most of which come from individual contributors, according to campaign finance records.
As her campaign has evolved, so have her priorities. While disability rights are still important to her, she is shifting her concentration on the topic to making sure the definition of special needs within the CHOOSE Act aligns with federal guidelines.
'The fights of the disabled are still facing disruption in my community with the CHOOSE Act for special needs children to qualify,' the American Sign Language interpreter said.
She also is prioritizing helping the 'middle man' in Alabama's tax structure.
'The middle man is not exactly meant to succeed here, and the low class families really bear a lot of the Alabama state tax burden here in the state,' she said.
She also wants to increase access to mental health care and substance abuse care.
'Making sure that our mental health centers have the funding they need and aren't turning people away because their insurance isn't accepted there because of their inability to pay,' she said.
Local legislation
SB 322, sponsored by Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, received final passage on May 1. The bill allows the City of Cullman to annex a resort in Cullman County, a dry county, in order for the resort to serve alcohol. Allbright and Brasswell oppose the legislation. Allbright said the timing of the legislation was poor.
'What I was against is the timing that all of that happened. The people that were giving me pressure, there's not a representative from our district down there right now to tell them what was going on, other than Senator (Garlan) Gudger, (R-Cullman)' Allbright said.
Cullman County currently does not have representation in the House. Former Rep. Randall Shedd, a Republican, resigned in February to work for Gudger, the Senate President Pro Tem, opening the seat up. Rep. Corey Harbison, a Republican, resigned in April after not being present for most of the session.
Brasswell said the bill should have been scrapped because there are no Cullman voices in the House.
'I think having economic development out on Smith Lake is a great opportunity for my county to have more jobs,' she said. 'But that bill should have gone through the people.'
The legislation passed 74-0 with 25 abstentions. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey to be signed into law.
RAISE and CHOOSE Acts
Allbright said he wants more local control of education and said the CHOOSE Act is as local as it gets.
'I'm all about more control at a local level, and if that's able to go all the way down to the parents so that they can make the choice for their for their kids, then I'm a fan,' he said
He also supports the RAISE Act on the same principle.
Brasswell said that education should be accessible to everybody. Although she is skeptical of the CHOOSE Act expansion, she said $7,000 is not enough for private school tuition anyway.
'Education should be equally accessible, period. That's why public schools are here,' she said. 'And I feel like the money that we're putting back in our community in these tax credits through the CHOOSE Act, we should be putting back into our public schools that can accommodate everyone across the board.'
For public education, Braswell said the RAISE Act is a step in the right direction, but wants to monitor it to make sure rural schools are benefiting from the program.
'I just want to make sure that the funding is being distributed into our community, to make sure equal access is given to everyone, no matter their families, economic status, what language they speak, what disability they have,' she said.
How to vote
District 11 voters can choose between Allbright and Fallin for the Republican nomination on Tuesday. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Polling locations can be found here.
Meet the Candidates
Age: 39
Residence: Holly Pond
Occupation: Farmer/Business owner
Education: Associates degree, Agricultural Science, Snead State Community College, 2005
Party: Republican
Previous political experience: Cullman County Board of Education 2016-2024
Age: 60
Residence: Cullman
Occupation: Redstone Technologies Executive Director of International Programs, U.S. Army Veteran
Education: U.S. Military Academy at West Point, 1988; M.S., Troy University; M.S., National Defense University
Party: Republican
Previous political experience: First-time candidate
Age: 35
Residence: Cullman
Occupation: American Sign Language interpreter
Education: B.S. American Sign Language, Troy University, 2023
Party: Democrat
Previous political experience: First-time candidate
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