The General Fund in Alabama is the budget for most services in Alabama, from Medicaid, courts, public safety to prisons. What are your ideas for making this budget more capable of meeting the demands of services?

Corey Harbison: I have, and will continue, to fight to get the best bang for the buck of every dollar that he citizens of Alabama pay in in taxes. I believe that we have a problem budgeting for state agencies. We should start at zero, and then show why every dollar is needed, but instead, the General Fund Committee bases an agency’s expenditures and budget off of the previous year. That leaves a lot of agencies spending a lot of money that is not needed when it’s close to the end of the budget year, because they don’t want to lose that funding for the next year. 

We have 105 members of the Alabama House of Representatives. Although I am on some committees that benefit District 12, I am not on the State General Fund Committee. As legislators, we do get to offer our ideas and suggestions to the caucus, but it’s very hard to make significant changes unless you’re a member of the General Fund Committee.

Alex Chaney: I think state government has become top heavy, full of pork and bureaucrats. I am for smaller and more efficient government. I think the state could benefit from taking a new look at how the public’s money is being spent so we can maximize the budgets and make better use of the money that we have.  

We must work to support the continued economic growth, and I am all for recruiting new companies and businesses to Alabama and Cullman — but not at the expense of existing small business that are here that have already invested in our county. We must find a way to better support our small businesses because they are the backbone of our local economy.  My family has always been involved in agriculture here, so I also think it is very important that we do not forget to help our local farmers. 

As the vice president of the Cullman County Republican Party, I am very conservative. I am against abortion, pro 2nd amendment, and fundamentally opposed to new taxes. The people of this county deserve an efficient state government that can fully justify how it uses taxpayer money. However, if my constituents approved or wanted any new taxes, then, as your representative I would certainly have to look at it. But, unlike some recent legislation that was passed, I would not propose or support any local legislation that affects Cullman County and District 12 without a vote of the people. 

2. Mental health care in state prisons has been called “horrendously inadequate” by a federal judge. There is also a growing concern that mental health care is failing in communities and across the state. What do you believe lawmakers should do to make mental health care effective in the local community and state?

Corey Harbison: Mental health is a problematic issue in the State of Alabama and across the United States. I had the honor of serving the people of Cullman County as a deputy sheriff for several years, and I believe that our drug problem and our mental health problem runs hand in hand. I would say that over half of the people who I had a mental pickup order for, and transported for evaluation, were turned away — because those people invariably are revealed in the evaluation to be under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. 

I believe that we need to find a true way to determine whether a person really needs mental health care; if they are addicted to a substance, or if they are simply in the category of people who are just going to commit crimes knowing that they can invoke a mental health-based defense. I pledge to work with the probate judge and state officials to find funding sources and adequate support for the ones who truly need it. 

Alex Chaney: Lawmakers have completely failed to address the serious issues surrounding our current mental health crisis. Cullman families are suffering. As a practicing attorney, I have seen firsthand how mental illness is impacting us locally. Those suffering from mental illness are filling our county jails, prisons, and our cemeteries. Local suicides and mental illness-related assaults, standoffs and homicides are at an all-time high. We have had several terrorist threats made at local schools due to lack of mental health services for adolescents, and I think it is time to do something about it. 

Lawmakers have to begin to take some action to make mental health services more accessible across the state, and we need more mental health beds and treatment providers. However, Cullman cannot wait for the state or the federal courts to take some action. I think we must be more proactive, and I pledge to work to develop more local services that will help identify those individuals that are in mental health crises so families can seek help before they are arrested or hurt themselves or someone else. Cullman families and residents deserve better. 

3. Infrastructure is important to safety and economic growth. What solutions do you see for improving roads and bridges in Alabama?  

Corey Harbison: Citizens, including myself, are tired of hearing excuses from bureaucrats and are ready to see results. I believe that one of the big things we need to change is for the legislature to have more control over that money once it is sent to ALDOT — the Alabama Department of Transportation. I think that there is some confusion as to who controls ALDOT. Although ALDOT is a state agency, the director of ALDOT is a cabinet position appointed by the governor of Alabama, and they are in control of where the road infrastructure monies go. The Alabama legislature’s job is, of course, to appropriate funds to ALDOT. Although most of the time, officials from ALDOT will listen when legislators call them, they’re in no way obligated to do that — because they answer directly to the governor. In order for the legislature to be more effective, we do need more control over ALDOT. But I do believe that our infrastructure is the biggest priority for most citizens in the state, and it’s a particular concern of mine.

Alex Chaney: I was going to the Good Hope town hall meeting the other night and got stopped on top of the I-65 Good Hope bridge. As traffic was passing me, you could feel the bridge moving up and down. Our bridges and roads are in desperate need of repair. Highway 157 has not been made a 4-lane, and people cannot get to and from work. I-65 will literally beat you to death when you drive to Birmingham, and our current legislature has not been able or willing to get them fixed. 

Our infrastructure must be able to support new businesses and companies that are looking at our county and state. If we want to continue our economic growth, we must repair, update, and improve our roads and bridges. As I have mentioned earlier, I want to closely examine the budgets. I suspect that too much of the state road department budget is going somewhere else other than roads, and we need to make roads and bridges a priority. I want to seek and leverage every federal grant possible for our roads and bridges. 

4. What steps do you propose to increase safety in schools? 

Corey Harbison: We can pass legislation on these types of issues all day long, but until parents decide to start being parents and disciplining their children, and correcting the problem at home, I don’t see anything changing. We have a state school safety task force to look at the issues, and at what other states are doing to address these type problems. I do believe that the safety of our children is one of the most important issues that we discuss in the legislature. I know that I had to go through extensive firearms training to become a deputy sheriff. So it’s also important to be adequately trained to carry in an academic setting where children are present. If that is the direction that we as as state go, I will use my experience in law enforcement, and my relationship with local law enforcement, as a guide in taking seriously the obligation to protect children in schools.

Alex Chaney: School and student safety is a priority, but I want include the Cullman City and Cullman County Superintendents and school boards in this decision.  We also need to include the school resource officers and parents in this discussion. 

I think we should have already formed a task force to address this issue. Some teachers may feel comfortable being trained and being armed to take action to protect their school and students if necessary, but some would not.

If the school board wishes to arm its teachers, then I would want to pass some legislation that will protect them all from liability. This state also needs some new legislation to deter making terrorist threats at schools.

As part of our coverage of the party primary campaign season, The Cullman Times is asking each of the candidates in the four contested local races their thoughts on a variety of topics. This week, we spoke with incumbent Alabama House Rep. Corey Harbison and local attorney Alex Chaney, who’s challenging Harbison for the party’s nomination for the District 12 Alabama House seat. Here’s how each of them responded.