A voter's guide to the House District 74 candidates
Brian LymanIt’s not hard to find the top concern for those running in Tuesday’s special House election in north and east Montgomery.
“Education is the primary issue,” said Tobias Grant, a Republican candidate for the District 74 seat. “All the candidates agree on that.”
Most of the seven candidates — six Republicans and one Democrat — put crime and economic development near the top of that list, too. But the eventual winner will also have to cast critical votes on other issues, including legislation to address horrific conditions in the state prisons and, possibly, a lottery to help augment state revenue.
Voters will go to the polls on Tuesday to choose Democratic and Republican candidates for the House seat, held by restaurateur Dimitri Polizos until his death in March. Rayford Mack, who ran for the seat last year, is the presumptive nominee for the Democrats. If no Republican wins a majority, the top two candidates will advance to a runoff on Aug. 27, the same day as the Montgomery mayoral election. A general election would follow on Nov. 12. If one Republican wins the primary outright, the general election for the seat will take place on Aug. 27.
More:Dimitri Polizos, state representative and small business champion, dies
The area in House District 74 has been represented by a Republican since 1983. Polizos got 60 percent of the vote last November, though Mack’s 39 percent represented an improvement over the previous Democratic nominee’s 28 percent in 2014.
Below, a guide to the candidates on Tuesday’s ballot.
Republican primary
Michael Fritz
Age: 48
Profession: Attorney
Education: B.S., Marketing, Auburn University at Montgomery, 1994; J.D., Cumberland School of Law, 1997
Offices held/offices sought: First run for public office
Finances: Fritz raised $25,799 through May 23, with about $13,000 coming in in-kind contributions. His biggest single contributor ($8,500) was Eagle Signs, a Montgomery-based billboard company.
Why running: Fritz describes himself as a moderate Republican with unique experiences, including teaching, roles on public boards, and service in the U.S. Army reserves. “For me to sit at home and watch Netflix I think would be a waste of the experiences God has put in front of me,” he said. “Everything you see has been done as a servant.”
Issues: On local education, Fritz says he wants to ensure a “low ratio” of administrators to teachers in Montgomery public schools, as well as a study on the spending of money in the system. He said he wants to ensure the district was “maximizing dollars” before he supported any initiative to raise local property taxes – “You’re not going to throw money at a burning ship. You want to get the fire out of the ship, and then you can start rebuilding” – but he also expressed some caution about charter schools, saying he was not against the free market, but against “cherry picking students.”
Fritz also said he would work with local leaders to increase the police presence in the city, and encourage investments in infrastructure to attract business to the district.
On prisons, Fritz says he believes the state needs new prisons – “How more people don’t die is beyond me” – and says he would support limiting sentencing for minor marijuana crimes while investing in funding for mental health services. He said he supports an “open process” for considering a lottery and gambling, but says lottery proceeds should go to education and social services like Medicaid. On Medicaid expansion, Fritz says he wants to see how much money the state would have to put up for the program, but says he thinks the state “is leaving money on the table” by not expanding.
Tobias Grant
Age: 45
Profession: Retired military intelligence analyst
Family: Single; three children
Education: B.A., Hispanic Studies, University of Alabama, 1996
Offices held/offices sought: First run for public office
Finances: Grant raised $3,502 through May 26, with his largest contributions coming in $1,821 in in-kind contributions from Loretta Grant.
Why running: Grant said there were “a lot of little reasons” for his campaign, including “an overarching feeling of concern.” “Montgomery is at a tipping point, a turning point where we’re going to decide who we are as a people, and what we’re going to be and what we want to propagate to the outside world,” he said.
Issues: Grant says he would encourage more funding for vocational programs in Montgomery Public Schools, and says he wants “accurate data on how much money is going to each student.” “Everything is about cost savings and getting the most for our people,” he said.” He says he sees a need for more local funding, but that he wants to ensure that money is being spent properly. “I don’t think it’s being allocated appropriately,” he said. “That would be the first prong of the attack before I ask for money.” Grant said he was “ambivalent” about charter schools, but said he did have concerns about schools that might provide a profit for management companies while public school teachers struggle to provide students adequate resources.
The candidate says he thinks addressing public education will improve Montgomery’s chances of holding onto Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, if and when the next round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) takes place. He also wants to work with local leaders to prevent the loss of local police. “The point is that as soon as we get them trained, they’re leaving,” he said.
Grant says he sees a need for more staff in the state’s troubled prisons, though he suggested the state could hold on to some existing prisons. He said he was still studying sentencing but said he opposes three-strikes laws.
The candidate said he “probably” would have supported the paper-based lottery that was in the Legislature, but he said he was “not in favor of full-fledged gambling.” Grant said he was not ready to address Medicaid expansion, but said it was “short-sighted to close the rural clinics.”
Jesse Heifner
Age: 30
Profession: Attorney
Education: B.A., Political Science, University of Alabama, 2010; J.D., Jones School of Law, 2013
Offices held/offices sought: First run for public office
Finances: Through May 31, Heifner raised $108,208, though $75,000 of that came in the form of a loan.
Why running: Heifner said a neighbor he knew in Dalraida suffered a break-in, which led to her moving away. “We’ve got good quality people leaving the district because they don’t want to put up with crime, they don’t want to put up with anything,” he said. “That’s something we’re very concerned about.”
Issues: Heifner says he wants to support legislation and funding that will allow the installation of surveillance cameras in neighborhoods, as well as placing more officers on the street. He says he would also support a cost-of-living adjustment for retirees – “I think they have a need for that, I think we have funding to secure that,” he says. Heifner said he would also limit himself to two terms in office, and said he opposed using public money for legal defenses of convicted officials.
Heifner said he believes a state lottery “would be extremely helpful” for the state’s education budget, though he would like to see proceeds split 50/50 between the General Fund and the Education Trust Fund. He said he considered raising Montgomery’s property taxes – the lowest of the major cities in the state – to fund schools “an absolute last resort” and that he would only support it if “absolutely necessary.” On charter schools, Heifner said he had “huge reservations” about taking money from local public schools. “It has a bad look and a bad feel to it,” he said. “But I’m not going to count it out until I see results one way or the other.”
The candidate said he believes new prison construction will be required to address the overcrowding crisis, though he said he would oppose efforts to reduce sentences for property crimes, which could be one area legislators look at in sentencing reform. Heifner opposes Medicaid expansion.
Jay King
Age: 46
Profession: Police major, Montgomery Police Department
Education: B.S., Public Safety, Auburn University Montgomery, 2011; M.S., Public Safety, Auburn University Montgomery, 2012
Offices held/offices sought: Candidate, Montgomery Mayor, 2009; Independent candidate for the Alabama House of Representatives, 2010
Finances: Through May 31, King raised $2,630, mostly in in-kind donations to himself.
Why running: King says his 25 years in law enforcement give him a unique perspective among the candidates on lawmaking and enforcement that could be valuable in the Alabama House of Representatives. “I have personally taken criminals off the street,” he said. “I have personally worked school events to protect the children who go to our public schools. No one else can say that.”
Issues: King emphasizes the public safety component in education, saying he would work with the state and local boards of education to develop a “true alternative school program” that would provide a more disciplined environment for students who get in fights or threaten teachers and other students. “Traditional students would be able to have a school focused more on teaching and not on disciplinary issues,” he said. King said he would support local initiatives for additional property taxes only if he could guarantee the money would go to construction, school supplies and “things that are tangible.” King said he would take a wait-and-see approach to charter schools, though he expressed some concerns about the effect of money coming out of the public school system.
King said solutions to the prison crisis must include investments in mental health, and said he believed the state’s current prisons were “way over their time to be refurbished or redone completely.” He said he favored alternative sentences for nonviolent offenders in certain situations, such as the use of ankle monitors.
The candidate said any lottery bill that came forward would have to stipulate where the money would come from and provide explicit regulation provisions, including a term-limited board. King, who raised by a single mother on disability, said he wanted to ensure that Medicaid went to children, the elderly and the disabled, which the program currently covers, though he said he would support expansion for those working to support their families.
Charlotte Meadows
Age: 57
Profession: LEAD Academy Board president; businesswoman
Education: B.S., Business administration, Auburn University, 1984; M.B.A., University of South Alabama, 1989
Offices held/offices sought: Montgomery County Board of Education, 2006-12 (president, 2010-12); Republican candidate for Alabama House of Representatives, 2013
Finances: Through June 4, Meadows raised $53,630. Her biggest single contributor has been the Alabama Forestry Association, which gave her $11,579 through early June.
Why running: Meadows says she has the experience to address the problems facing her district. “Our biggest issue is education,” she said. “I have the most experience in education. I’ve got practical experience, on policy but hands-on, working to start a school.”
Issues: Meadows said the “biggest thing” the Alabama House can do to improve education is to ensure the state education budget directs money to the classroom, and said she wants to ensure professional development money is available for teachers, and ensure they have a professional pathway to advance through the school system. She also supports increased investments in vocational and workforce development. Meadows, who is helping launch Montgomery’s first charter school, said she thinks charters are “part of the solution” but not the entirety of it: “It provides competition, which should begin to increase the level of all public schools, and the achievement level of all public schools,” she says. “When you have competition in anything, it usually raises the level of everybody.” Meadows said if there was local legislation to support a millage increase in Montgomery, she would support allowing a vote on it.
The candidate also said she believes better education would help attract businesses along the Atlanta Highway. She also wants to work with local officials to help provide pay and benefits that would encourage Montgomery police officers to stay with the city.
Meadows said the state needs to make changes to the state prisons, though on the construction issue she said she would support a plan that made sense financially, whether it was Gov. Kay Ivey’s proposal for building three new prisons or renovating existing ones. She also said she would support some sentencing reforms on white collar crime and minor marijuana possession – “I don’t know how many people are in prison because of that, but if there are any, it's too many.” Meadows said she would support a vote on the lottery, but opposes Medicaid expansion, saying she feared it could mean children currently covered under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) would be moved into Medicaid, which she considers “a bad insurance program.”
Daniel Sparkman
Age: 33
Profession: Television journalism; former spokesman for Gov. Kay Ivey
Education: B.A., Journalism and Political Science, University of Alabama, 2013
Offices held/offices sought: First run for political office
Finances: Through May 31, Sparkman raised $26,070, including $11,042 in loans to the campaign.
Why running: Sparkman said both he and his wife “felt called to this,” and that he felt he could be a voice for those in the community. “I have always had a passion for people,” he said. “This is a way I know I can help them.”
Issues: A graduate of Montgomery Public Schools, Sparkman said he wants his son to attend MPS as well. “Some of the actual school buildings my mother went to are still in use and mostly unrenovated,” he said. “We have got to ensure funds appropriated to the schools actually make it to the classroom, so our classrooms can be conducive to learning.” He said a vote on increased local funding for public schools was “something we need to look at,” and said charter schools “can be helpful to communities,” though he added “our public funds need to go to educating our students and nothing else.”
Sparkman said he would support helping Montgomery police with “grants or extra funding” through the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) or the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) to ensure law enforcement have “the equipment and training they need to be out in the community every day.” He also said he would work with developers and local officials to attract business into the district.
The candidate has been to five of the state’s prisons, and said he supports new prison infrastructure and new sentencing guidelines “that would put the proper punishment in line with the crime committed.” “I can say with confidence we need to do something to improve the conditions our prisoners face each and every day,” he said. “We cannot hold any human being in the conditions that some of them face.”
Sparkman said he supports a vote on a lottery and would have supported the paper-based lottery proposal in the legislature. He said Medicaid expansion was “something that needs to be considered,” though he added he didn’t have a “yes or no answer” on it.
Democratic primary
Rayford Mack
Age: 65
Profession: Retired state worker; President, Metro Montgomery NAACP
Education: B.A., Sociology, University of South Alabama, 1978
Offices held/offices sought: Democratic nominee for Alabama House of Representatives, 2018
Finances: Through May 30, Mack raised $1,413, including about $668 in in-kind donations.
Why running: Mack said he wants to help Montgomery move in a new direction, and address problems, particularly in the area of education. “I’m running because Montgomery is a nice place to live and a nice place to retire,” he said. “I’m concerned about the future of Montgomery.”
Issues: Mack said he wants to direct more funding to improve school facilities in Montgomery and said he supports funding more vocational programs in city schools. “It’s good to have one facility where a child can learn trades and everything, but I wish each local high school had a program with trade. That would make each one of the high schools more attractive.” Mack said he would support efforts to increase millage for local public schools. He also says he wants more funding for mental health treatment and says he supports the expansion of Medicaid: “Medicaid expansion would not only be a health concern but provide job opportunities for the whole area, and that’s what people are missing.
On prisons, Mack said he supported new construction of prisons but suggested they should be placed at or near existing facilities. He also strongly supports sentencing reform, particularly when it comes to marijuana crimes: “The sentencing structure would definitely have to be worked on and revised to make a difference in criminal justice reform.” Mack said he could have “lived” with the paper-only lottery bill, though he said he had issues with the bulk of the money going to the General Fund and said he would have preferred to see money directed chiefly to education and mental health. Mack said he believes funding for Medicaid expansion “can be worked out,” adding: “If we can find the money to fight frivolous lawsuits, I know we can find the money to pay for Medicaid expansion.”