MONTGOMERY– Earlier today, Alabama Treasurer Kay Ivey announced that she will not run for Governor of Alabama and instead will run for the position of Lieutenant Governor.
Upon learning the news, Dr. Bentley stated “I have always kidded Kay that she is my favorite elected official. She has always been a good friend, and I appreciate her distinguished record of public service. The people of Alabama are better off because of her service to the state. She was a worthy primary competitor for the Republican nomination for Governor, and I think she will be an excellent candidate for Lieutenant Governor. I wish her the best of luck in the Republican primary.”
This afternoon Dr. Bentley placed 3rd in the Jefferson County straw poll fundraiser, finished only behind Tim James and Bradley Byrne. Participants were required to purchase tickets in order to vote. Dr. Bentley stated “I’m happy that 14% of Jefferson County residents that bought tickets decided to vote for me. I think the fact that our campaign did not purchase any tickets for supporters indicates that this was a true grassroots movement, and I am very please by this strong grassroots showing.”
Tuscaloosa native Alex Holmes, a junior majoring in business at The University of Alabama, joined Dr. Bentley’s campaign as an intern in early January 2010. Since her arrival she has become a major asset to the day to day operations that are vital to the campaign. Due to her remarkable organizational skills she was selected to take on the roll of finance assistant. Her main responsibility since taking on this role has been monitoring and updating the campaign’s Patriot database, which helps organize and categorize volunteers, contributions, and supporters. Keeping the system up-to-date helps strengthen the campaign’s backbone. When asked what helped solidify her decision to give up part of her time to aid Dr. Bentley’s race for governor she exclaimed that, “Dr. Bentley is a great man and a great leader in the community and I am confident in his ability to be an effective leader for the state of Alabama.”
Tonight I will hold my first townhall meeting for residents of Tuscaloosa County, where I will preview the first television ad of my campaign for Governor. You can watch the ad here. Additionally, the townhall will feature local Republicans running for State Representative, State Senator and other county positions. The townhall will be held at the Jerry Belk Activity Center at 2101 Bowers Park Drive and begins at 7:00 PM.
Additionally, earlier today I visited with local businesses and community leaders in Tuscaloosa County. The day started with breakfast at the Waysider, followed by a walk through Northport to speak with residents on the street as well as diners in the City Cafe and individuals in other local businesses. I always enjoy speaking with Alabamians and learning what’s on their minds, and today was no exception.
This morning I was on the Kirk Harvey morning show on WKAC in Athens. We managed to make it on time despite the bad weather and inches of snow piling up. Mr. Harvey gave me the opportunity to continue speaking about my jobs agenda for Putting Alabamians Back to Work as well as the passage of my bill, the Reemployment Act of 2010, which the Legislative Fiscal Office estimates will create 5,000 new jobs while reducing state spending. We also had a good conversation about local issues affecting Athens and discussed my positions on gambling and charter schools.
You can listen to Kirk Harvey’s on 1080 Tuesday through Thursday mornings on WKAC and 2pm to 4pm every day.