Douglas native Hill, DeKalb County’s Sparks seek office
By DANIEL TAYLOR, 1819 News
With the general election less than a week away, candidates for Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries are hitting the campaign trail hard.
Republican candidate Corey Hill and his Democratic opponent, Ron Sparks, have been crisscrossing the state for months, trying to get out the vote and make their case for why they should be the next Ag commissioner.
Rick Pate, the current commissioner, is term-limited.
“We feel good,” Hill told The Leader. “We’re in a good spot if people actually show up and vote.
“But we’re still working hard, like we’re behind and going places every day and seeing folks and going to events and trying to get the vote out.”
Sparks also said he felt good about his campaign.
“We feel like we got a lot of support,” he said.
“We certainly feel like our message is resonating, trying to help the Department of Agriculture, bring it back to where it needs to be. So we feel real good about our campaign.”
As a farmer and current mayor of Douglas, Hill is running on a platform of practical farmer support through promotion, deregulation and targeted programs.
Spark’s campaign has emphasized specific financial relief and tax cuts, stronger enforcement and consumer protection, and his eight years as Ag Commissioner from 2003-2011.
Buying local
Hill said he has focused on drafting legislation to make it easier for schools to buy local, Alabama-grown products through a farm-to-school program.
“That’s not as easy as it should be, and we’re spending too much money buying out-of-state food from vendors,” he said.
“And one thing we can do to help our farmers be successful, stay in business, make more money is to buy their products…
“We have the best tomatoes in Slocum, Alabama, and Chandler Mountain of anywhere in the world.
“We certainly don’t need to be buying tomatoes from Mexico to feed our school kids.”
One of Spark’s top priorities will be to increase gas pump inspections and to quit relying on third-party vendors for review.
“I want to make sure that when people pay their hard-earned money for a gallon of gas, they get a gallon of gas,” he said.
“I don’t particularly agree with private industry calculating the pumps right now; I believe that the Department of Agriculture should be in charge of that.
“That’s the way it was when I was there before.
“And I want to make sure the consumers are getting what they pay for.”
Sparks added, “I also want to bring back the law enforcement unit that I had there before.
“And I want to help our farmers.
“I want to take the 1-cent sales tax off farm equipment. And I’m gonna advocate for $20,000,000 to help our farmers with a cost-share program.”
With two $25,000 donations from the Alabama Forestry PAC and FarmPAC, Hill currently has the bigger campaign war chest, reporting $718,805 in total contributions and $141,100.41 in cash on hand, compared with Spark’s $112,044.55 cash on hand out of $265,576.86 total.
The Alabama Poll’s latest survey showed Hill with a significant lead over Sparks, with 54% of respondents choosing the Republican candidate to the Democrat’s 37%.
However, both candidates said the most important poll will be on election day.
