Representative David Grimes

The people elect a representative to act for them on all issues before the legislature. The core values of an elected official will dictate voting practices and certainly should be known by the voting public. Any decisions made in the legislative process will be guided and by these principles. This is important when an issue comes down to what is legal, moral or ethical. My main objectives are to address the issues that affect my constituents and to be personally accessible to them.

I have a conservative voting record. I have sponsored and co-sponsored Eminent Domain legislation, legislation to protect the interests of crime victims, prohibit PAC to PAC transfers, revert property appraisals back to four years, provide for Initiative and Referendum, prohibit the distribution of sexually explicit or violent video games to under aged children, protection for unborn victims and voter identification.

An elected representative of the people should vote in the best interest of the people he or she serves. Some big special interests of Alabama politics have too much influence over too many members of the Alabama legislature. There has never been a time or occasion that I have cast a vote contrary to my value system or my better judgment because of the pressure or influence exerted by a special interest. Fortunately, most of the special interest groups that we deal with are forthright in their objectives and in their clear attempts to advocate for their causes.(Click browser left arrow button to return to top of page).

I am a strong advocate for public education with accountability. I think the problem is not the amount of money spent on education in Alabama. The problem is how we spend money on education in Alabama. Teachers need more support in the classroom; they have virtually no authority to discipline students. Some school principles have to become crisis managers instead of educators.

I am very pleased with the progress of the Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI) and other programs of the current administration which have benefited the education of our children. I understand that in every system where the ARI has been implemented, the reading Dibels scores have doubled in one year. The future of our state is dependent on how well our children are educated and can serve our state and America in adult life. I enjoy frequent interaction with the public schools in my district and maintain dialog with the principals of these schools. We have many very talented teachers in the Alabama Public School system and many times their talents go unnoticed because of all the turmoil over school funding.

Most of our education funding problems and lack of support from the taxpayers is due to the people’s loss of confidence in public education. We must rebuild that confidence with good behavior of our students through discipline, and with increased proficiency scores in math, science and reading. We need to teach them to read and make them behave. (Click browser left arrow button to return to top of page).

Two of the primary rights that our forefathers fought for were the right to own property and to bear arms. I co-sponsored legislation which has resulted in one of the strongest Eminent Domain statutes in our country today. Personal property rights and our right to protect our homes and families must be protected.

I sponsored legislation to give the victims of certain personal violations the right to have their charged attacker tested for HIV and other STDs.

Another piece of legislation that I sponsored (which has not passed) is the use of a device which takes a picture of the vehicle that has just run a red light, one full second after the light turned red. We have thousands of people hurt or killed in Alabama because of the disregard of the importance of stopping at a red light. I will continue to pursue this bill as long as I sense public support for it. (Click browser left arrow button to return to top of page).

The budgeting process in the state of Alabama is largely based on ‘guess work ‘and ‘expectations of need’ rather than ‘prior year budgeting’ based on experience. The people of Alabama have a right to expect their government to be responsible and to spend their money wisely. The State of Alabama spends over $14 billion a year. Of this, over 92% is earmarked, and neither the people nor the legislature has discretion over how the money is spent. This has developed over he years because the people of Alabama have a tremendous distrust for the legislature.

In my initial campaign for the House of Representatives, I maintained that the biggest problem that our state government had was a lack of trust from the people. With the failure of Amendment One, the people clearly spoke to the issue. As a result, the legislature has made significant cuts to the budgets amounting to over $600 million. The presentation of Amendment One occurred because we had to make cuts in the budget or increase revenue, and budget cuts were so politically incorrect and unacceptable by the legislature that it was not going to happen without a mandate from the voting people. Although there was a lot of heartache and some distrust that was spawned by Amendment One, by virtue of its defeat, we are probably in the best financial condition in our history. This is accountability at its best and has come about by tough decisions being made by people who care about the state of Alabama.

I have maintained during my time as a state legislator that I base my decisions on the good of the state and not certain individuals. This has not always served me well politically because there are special interests in our state that not only expect but require voting to be done in accordance with their best interest. The special interest that I most adhere to and work for would be the people of District 73. I believe that I have served that purpose judiciously and fairly.(Click browser left arrow button to return to top of page).