Behind closed doors

We’ve got to restore transparency to Alabama’s government

Folks,

Do you ever get the feeling that everything in Alabama happens behind closed doors?

A company swoops in and starts building a massive data center before anyone knows what the hell is going on. State legislators hold secret committee meetings to redraw our maps or decide on which legislation to pass or kill. Our governor decides to nullify our primary elections without any real explanation.

Then they come out from behind closed doors and hold their public hearings, but they don’t listen. They’ve already made up their minds.

You can see exactly what I am talking about in what just happened in the Republican Party. During the primary, some Republicans got together and challenged Tommy Tuberville’s Alabama residency. Under Alabama’s Constitution, a governor is supposed to have lived in Alabama for seven years. But that has been a big question about Tuberville for a long time since from all indications he spends his time living in a multi-million dollar beach house in Florida.

So how does the Republican Party handle such a constitutional challenge? Well, just a few days ago, they held a secret committee meeting, allegedly heard some evidence, and declared Tommy Tuberville is still eligible to run. Now, you’d think that was because they reviewed the evidence and decided that he satisfied the requirements. But instead, they threw evidence away and rushed through the meeting behind closed doors.

Ken McFeeters, the Republican who brought the challenge to Tuberville’s residency, was supposed to get to depose five witnesses for up to two hours. Instead, he only got to interview Tuberville for 45 minutes. They knew what they were doing, so they kicked out members of the media so they couldn’t hear anything. In McFeeters’ own words, the hearing was “a farce.”

This is what happens when you have a state government ruled by one party for more than twenty years.

Politicians get arrogant. They stop caring about the rules. They stop caring about accountability. They stop caring whether the people of Alabama get to see the evidence, hear the debate, or know what is being done in their name, because they do not believe anyone will seriously challenge them.

We’re going to change that.

I am running for Governor to bring Alabama’s government out from behind closed doors and restore transparency to the way it operates. Transparency restores people’s faith in government by assuring them that their voices will be heard. As Governor, I will take every step to make sure our government actually answers to the people of Alabama.

But I need your help.

Thank you,

Doug