Cherokee Post - Folsom Restores Order to the Senate

News Article

By Terry Dean

What he tells you, you can carry to the bank. That is how Cherokee County Representative to the Alabama Legislature Richard Lindsey described Alabama Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. as he introduced Folsom during a gathering at Cherokee Democratic headquarters in Centre last week.

A packed house showed up to meet with Lt. Gov. Folsom and hear his views on the current state of the state and his plans for the future.

"Working with Jim Folsom, I want to tell you, is a pleasure," said Lindsey. "We want to deal with those people who tell the truth and follow up and Jim Folsom is that type of person."

"When he (Folsom) came in as lieutenant governor four years ago, the Senate was deadlocked," said Lindsey. "They couldn't get anything done. The last two years, they have probably had the most productive years of the Senate in recent history. I credit a lot of that to Jim Folsom Jr. the presiding officer."

"He has been a supporter of our highway needs on 411, worked to clean up Weiss Lake," said Lindsey. "And helped achieve our Gadsden State funding here in Cherokee county. His greatest accomplishgment of all was bringing Mercedes-Benz to Alabama. You can say whatever you want to about the other manufacturers that have located in this state, had it not been for Jim Folsom Jr. working to bring Mercedes Benz here, none of the others would have never happened. This man is the one that sets Alabama on a course to be a home for building automobiles in the United States."

"If it weren't for that, our jobless rate would probably be 15 or 20 percent," said Lindsey. "He did a great job brining that here and that has set the course for Alabama and made it much easier for the governor that followed him to recruit industry."

Folsom, in turned, thanked Lindsey for his work in the Alabama Legislature and contributions to the state.

"I want to thank all of you for being here," said Folsom. "You have been good to me in this county over the years and I appreciate it. And I appreciate doing what I can to help Cherokee County. I have been here plenty of times. It is always a great pleasure to come by and see everybody and to continue to work for you in Montgomery."

"I am a North Alabamaian, from just down the road," said Folsom. "As you know, we have to pay a lot of attention to rural North Alabama. That is where my support is. I ran four years ago and carried something like 52 counties. I didn't carry big counties like Mobile, Montgomery. I barely carried Jefferson, but I carried Cherokee. I carried Jackson, I carried Lamar county, all of the smaller counties. That is really where my support lies throughout Alabama and I am aware of that."

"As Richard said, I was proud to work for Cherokee County, proud to help any way I could," said Folsom. "I want everyone to remember that my highway director, Mack Roberts, was from Cherokee County. That doesn't hurt at all. I am running for lt. Governor this year, but you never know what the future is going to hold in politics as time change. He may be highway director again dome say, who knows."

As lieutenant governor, Folsom says he sets the tone for what takes place in the Alabama Senate.

"You can get things done, you can help impact what happens throughout the state, throughout Cherokee County, Northeast Alabama, and still do a lot of good," said Folsom. "Like Richard said, the Senate was in disarray when I got there. You know what the problem was? Folks weren't communicating. The leadership wasn't coming out with the agenda assuring that everyone in the body sort of knew what was coming."

According to Folsom, legislators often spent two or three hours fussing and fighting (and sometimes in the literal sense as many well remember) and unaware of what was coming next.

"We started meeting in my office," said Folsom. "After that it was very simple. We went out and things started working. You have to have that kind of leadership, I think, to make the Senate really work like it is supposed to work."

"I am running again for re-election," said Folsom. "I think I have done a good job, and I think I will do a better job. This will be my fourth time to run. I know the rules, I know how it operates and I can get the job done.

"I want to pledge to you that I will get the job done for Alabama and I will get the hob done for Cherokee County. You can count on that."

"Let's keep Alabama moving in the right direction," said Folsom. "Let's make sure we elect Democrats like and good folks like we have here to keep this state moving forward."

"I heard something the other day that has really made a deep impression on me and I can say this sincerely as having watched some things happen in Alabama life over the last 25 years," noted Cherokee County Commission Chairman Melvyn Salter, a member of the Cherokee County Democratic Party.

"A person said that a politician is one who is always looking toward the next election. A statesman is a person who is always looking out for the next generation. And I believe that this man is a statesman."

Source