Lead by example. Be honest. Do what you say you’re going to do. Listen. Work hard. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. These are my principles. They are not Democratic principles or Republican principles; to me they are far more important. These are rules to live by, and rules I have abided by in representing you.
Jeff McLaughlin
LIST OF ISSUES
EDUCATION
Jeff will fight for public education in Alabama. He believes the so-called “Alabama Accountability Act” should be REPEALED! Jeff is against taking our tax dollars out of public schools to fund private schools. He supports our kids, teachers, administrators and school employees. Jeff taught school himself. His mottos are “Let’s help kids learn!” and “Let’s support our schools!" In a letter to his constituents Jeff says, "I will never quit fighting to improve education by striving to help your tax dollars earmarked for education flow into the classroom – every possible cent. I believe improving education is economic development, and will fundamentally improve every living standard in Alabama."
JEFF IS A FAMILY MAN
Jeff has been married to Stacy for nearly 20 years and they have three kids, Frank, William, and Mary Crawford. He tries to teach them the same values and life lessons he learned from his parents, Frank and Pat.
Jeff was born in Decatur and grew up in Guntersville. He attended Birmingham Southern. He taught high school for four years and then went to Harvard Law School. But throughout it all, Jeff knows that he learned the most important things right here at home. Jeff supports strong family values, and the way he lives and the way he voted in Montgomery from 2001 – 2010 proves it!
Jeff is Pro-Life!
Jeff is Pro-Family!
Jeff is Pro-Public Education!
REDISTRICTING
The current Legislature - and our own representatives - butchered Marshall County, along with Blount and DeKalb, in the 2012 redistricting.
Guntersville was split into three different districts, 27, 26, and 34. A Morgan County District (9), extends into Marshall County from Morgan City down to the entrance to Cherokee Ridge. Marshall Technical School, Rabbitown, Horton, and Douglas are now in a Blount County District (34). Nixon Chapel and most of Pleasant Grove are in a Cullman County District (11) together with a corner of the county west of Arab. Tenbroeck, Grove Oak and Whiton in DeKalb County and from Summit through Rainbow Crossing on down to the edge of Blountsville in Blount County were added on to District 27. Just take a look at the maps linked on the home page of this website.
The way the district lines were drawn makes no sense, and it’s bad for everyone, especially when it comes to local legislation. It makes it harder to get bills passed which are needed to help our local communities. I will do everything I can to re-draw the districts in a fair and sensible way as soon as we can.
TENNESSEE VALLEY CAUCUS
Jeff organized the Tennessee Valley Caucus in 2005, getting Republicans and Democrats to pull together for the good of the Valley. Through 2010, the Tennessee Valley Caucus became a powerful North Alabama Coalition which got good things done for our area, including protecting our Tennessee River from being pumped out to cities like Birmingham and Atlanta. Jeff spearheaded passage of the TVA in-lieu-of taxes bill, which has brought millions of dollars home to the Valley each year since he got it passed in 2010. District 27 will receive a substantial portion every year from this point forward. Thanks to Jeff, our TVA tax money is put to work for us at home, not south Alabama. We need Jeff to get back to work for the good of all of us in the Valley.
CAMPAIGN REFORM
Campaign Finance Reform: For 10 years, he sponsored a bill to ban PAC to PAC transfers and made this an issue in Montgomery. The current Legislature even named a campaign finance reform bill after Jeff!
Ethics Reform: Jeff sponsored, co-sponsored, or supported every piece of ethics legislation while in office, and will press for much-needed real ethics laws now.
Non-Partisan Judicial Elections. Jeff believes that party labels make no sense for electing judges, who should apply the law, not apply party agendas to the law. Judges ought to be independent. Jeff will work for the election of judges on a non-partisan basis.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Jeff believes Economic Development is NOT for “members only” or by invitation only. He believes economic development is a process that everyone should participate in. Jeff’s not for give-aways for big businesses, but instead he’s for helping the businesses that are already in District 27 and across Alabama. Legislation should be passed to help businesses that are already here now so that they’ll be able to grow and hire more people!
