Thursday, Oct. 08, 2009

By Kirsten J. Barnes - Special to the Ledger

A recent political forum at the Central Activity Center in Phenix City drew nearly 20 candidates at every political level.

The forum, sponsored by the Alabama Democratic Political Action Club, included candidates for governor, U.S. Congress, state senate, state representative, sheriff, district judge, coroner and school board.

U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, an attorney running for governor, made the stop to get his message out.

“We go where voters are. So I’m happy to be here,” he said. “For a Saturday when football is being played this is a very good turnout and that says to me that people are interested in the 2010 campaign cycle. I’m glad to be here to take my message to them.”

Nearly 150 people attended the three-hour forum.

The Montgomery native currently represents the Birmingham and Black Belt area of Alabama. He said one of his challenges would be to get his message out in parts of the state where he is not as well known, like east Alabama.

“Economically, this area is not different from people who I represent in my Congressional district,” Davis said. “I heard Sen. (Ted) Little talking about unemployment. We have the highest unemployment that we have had since I was a ninth-grader in 1983. One out of 10 people in Alabama do not have employment.”

Davis said one of his primary focuses will be on bringing jobs to the state.

“All kinds of people have been pulled into this economic downturn. We’ve had economic downturns where only certain kinds of people got hurt. We’ve had some economic downturns where only certain people living in certain communities got hurt. In this economic downturn, people who were economically sound have lost their way,” Davis said.

State treasurer candidate Jeremy Sherer also attended the forum.

Sherer, also an attorney, previously worked as district communications director for Davis.

Sherer said his main concern is the Alabama College Prepayment Plan, which is facing financial peril.

“(State Treasurer) Kay Ivey leveraged those funds in the stock market and right now the plan has financial obligations lasting until 2032, but only funds enough to provide for those contracts until 2014,” Sherer said. “The next state treasurer is going to have to work with the governor and the legislature to manage these funds more effectively.”

Sherer said he will also work to support community banks that support entrepreneurship and small businesses, as well as try to educate citizens.

“We’ve all heard of people falling pray to predatory lenders and adjustable mortgages,” he said. “It is the state treasurer’s responsibility to educate Alabamians about financial instruments that are in the market place. Frankly, we did not have people educated about the schemes that were in the market place.”