Jack Williams – candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture – campaigns in St. Clair County

October 22, 2024 – MOODY, AL – State Senator Jack Williams (R-Wilmer) was in Moody to address the St. Clair County Republican Party. Williams, a farmer, serves as the Chairman of the Agriculture and Forestry Committee in the Alabama Senate. Sen. Williams is running to be the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries in the 2026 election.

Republican qualifying for the 2026 GOP primary begins in only 13 months.

State Senator Lance Bell (R-Pell City) has already endorsed his Republican colleague.

"He is a good resource for information," Bell said of Williams. "I can't think of anyone who would do a better job than a guy who grew up in that life (agriculture) and knows that life."

Williams was joined by his wife at the Moody Civic Center event.

Williams said, "We have done 50 stops" meeting with voters around the state.

"I am a farmer," said Williams. "I am a fourth-generation farmer. My sone is the fifth generation - my grandson is the sixth."

"Farming has always been a struggle," said Williams. "When we were married, I was running a 250 sow (mother hogs) farrow to finish. We worked seven days a week. We went to church on Sunday morning and went to work afterwards. We have had cattle and timber. In 1986 I bought a 40-acre nursey out of bankruptcy. It was 140 acres in 2004. Now we are the largest nursery in the state of Alabama. We are the nineteenth largest in the nation."

"I was in the (Alabama) House (of Representatives) one term," said Williams. "I am in my second term in the Senate."

"My grandson has the cattle farm," continued Williams. "My son has the nursery. We are at a place in life, where I want to give back to the people of this state.

Sen. Williams also talked about his legislative priority for the 2025 Alabama Legislative Session.

Getting health insurance for farmers – in the era of Obamacare – has become very difficult and very costly since each family farm is a business – in most casts a sole proprietor or a family partnership often with five or less employees and usually lacks the benefits that a group has in the insurance market. The Alabama Farmer's Federation is advocating for a bill to address this in Alabama.

"This is a very important bill," said Williams. "They have had this in Tennessee for forty years. Mothers are having to leave the farm to drive a bus or teach just to afford insurance."

Williams was the sponsor of legislation that made factory produced artificially produced imitation meats illegal in the state of Alabama.

"I saw this on '60 Minutes' it was meat grown in the lab," explained Williams. "It was chicken; but since then they have been making salmon, tuna, beef, and pork."

"We banned it from the state of Alabama," said Williams. "We are likely to be sued over it. They have already subpoenaed all my emails."

"I also passed a bill on baiting deer that has paid $3.4 million into the state of Alabama," said Williams. "All the rednecks that shoot deer over bait now pay the state to do it and we get money for game enforcement."

"The COVID money is going to play out next year," Williams identified as a pressing legislative issue coming into the next session.

"My knowledge of being in farming has prepared me for this job (Agriculture Commissioner) said. His experience in the Legislature has also prepared him for the job he stated.

"Everybody there is family," Williams said of the Alabama Legislature. "I have a relationship with all of them. I can walk over there and I don't need a lobbyist to talk for me."

The St. Clair County Republican Party provides scholarships for deserving high school seniors.

Deb Howard explained that the party is paying for the scholarships with a raffle of firearms donated by Ashville gun store owner Jonathan Van Pelt and urged everyone to sell the raffle tickets.

"That is how we fund the scholarship program," said Howard. "The drawing will be in January of 2025."

St. Clair County Republican Party Chairman Freddy Turrentine announced that the 2025 annual St. Clair Republican dinner will be on August 25.

Sen Bell said that he was with former President Donald J. Trump when he was in Tuscaloosa. Bell praised the President's demeanor and for how friendly he was to with the police officers there.

Howard said that the St. Clair GOP is selling Trump signs, hats, and banners.

To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com