With days to go before their runoff election, the two Republican candidates vying for the Alabama Senate District 22 seat found themselves largely in agreement on policy, save for one sharp point of disagreement: taxes.
A Runoff Shaped by One Big Difference
Former state Representative Greg Albritton edged Bay Minette lawyer Harry D’Olive in a five-candidate primary field back in June, but neither man cleared the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff. The winner will face Democrat Susan Smith in November for a seat representing Escambia County and portions of Clarke, Conecuh, Choctaw, Monroe, Washington, Mobile and Baldwin counties.
Albritton, who runs a solo law practice in Conecuh County, said flatly that he opposes any tax increase on the public given the fragile state of the economy. D’Olive, for his part, said he personally opposes an Internet sales tax but acknowledged in an earlier interview that it was an idea worth discussing given the potential revenue it could generate for the state, even while conceding many people are strongly opposed to it.
Common Ground on Medicaid and Education
Beyond the tax question, the two candidates found considerable common ground. Both oppose expanding Alabama’s Medicaid program, and both oppose the Common Core State Standards Initiative aimed at standardizing curriculum nationwide.
Their biographies also run in parallel. D’Olive, from one of Baldwin County’s oldest families, spent 15 years as a Baldwin County sheriff’s deputy before winning appointment as probate judge to complete his ailing father’s term, then lost his bid for a full term the following year and lost again in a 2012 probate judge race. He also won a term as mayor of Silverhill but resigned after about a year to attend law school. Albritton, a U.S. Navy veteran, won a state House seat in 2002 but lost his re-election bid four years later after redistricting reshaped his district. He has emphasized that he has lived in five of Senate District 22’s eight counties over his lifetime.
Diverging Paths to Economic Growth
Both candidates agree that improving the economy of the largely rural district is the top priority, but they differ on strategy. Albritton has pointed to excessive regulation as the chief obstacle to job creation at both the state and federal level, criticizing what he described as an overabundance of licensing boards and commissions that make it needlessly hard for people to enter certain professions. He has pointed to a study from Troy University’s free-market-oriented Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy and praised efforts by Governor Robert Bentley and the Legislature to consolidate state agencies, including a push to bring various law enforcement functions under a single public safety director.
D’Olive has instead stressed industrial recruitment, pointing to a government-owned “mega site” north of Bay Minette in Baldwin County as a prime opportunity to lure manufacturers. He supports targeted tax incentives to attract industry, while also arguing the state senator’s personal involvement in recruitment matters just as much as any incentive package. On the state budget, D’Olive said he would look to cut wasteful spending, though he offered few specifics, and he cast himself as a fresh face compared with Albritton, noting that voters had already declined to send Albritton back to the Legislature in 2006.
A Costly Campaign
Campaign finance reports show Albritton had raised more money heading into the runoff, $89,901 to D’Olive’s $70,650, including in-kind contributions, with much of his support tied to political action committees connected to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and Alfa Mutual Insurance Group. D’Olive has suggested that Alfa-linked support could complicate Albritton’s ability to weigh in on homeowners insurance policy, an accusation Albritton denies. Despite raising less overall, D’Olive actually outspent Albritton late in the race, $53,532 to $47,173, thanks to a late fundraising push. With the district redrawn to lean more Republican after the 2010 census, whoever wins the runoff will enter the general election as the clear favorite.