Following the death of incumbent Republican state Rep. David Wheeler, two new candidates will vie for the seat representing Alabama’s 47th District in Montgomery: Democrat Christian Coleman and Republican Mike Shaw.
Both men were previously interviewed by Starnes Media about their respective campaigns.
Christian Coleman
Coleman, 33, graduated from Vestavia Hills High School and then earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama and a master’s degree from the University of New Orleans. He now spends his time as a freelance writer and a work-from-home father to two little girls.
He is running for office to bring a fresh voice to the state Legislature.
“It seems like we need generational change,” Coleman said. “People who know what it’s like raising kids, buying houses, finding jobs now.”
Coleman said much of the legislation signed these days is signaling for a cable news audience and appealing to federal issues but does nothing for the state of Alabama.
Like Toomey, Coleman wants to expand Medicaid access. He also wants to make election day a state holiday to allow more people to vote who might not be able to vote now.
While Coleman is running as a Democrat, he said he wants to be “Alabama-specific,” focusing on issues that help Alabamians and not hot-button issues that land him on MSNBC.
For example, while national Democrats talk about raising taxes on wealthier Americans, Coleman said he’d like to explore eliminating Alabama’s income tax. Florida, Texas and a handful of other states don’t have one, and if they’re doing well without it, it might be time to look at doing that for Alabama residents, he said.
With the current state of inflation and higher-than-average gas prices, Coleman floated the idea of having a holiday from the state’s gas tax until prices stabilize.
Coleman serves in the National Guard and knows many of his fellow service members are more conservative than he is.
“They’re just as Alabamian and just as important to me,” Coleman said.
Regardless of political persuasions, Coleman said everyone has similar desires for their lives.
“Everyone wants their kids to go to good schools, good-paying jobs and two weeks of vacation a year,” Coleman said.
If the money from an education lottery is apportioned well, Coleman said he would support it. Education is an important issue for him, as his wife is a teacher. Supporting teachers, as well as teacher’s unions, is important, he said.
Coleman opposes school choice, arguing that charter schools tend to turn education into a money-making endeavor.
“The welfare of each student should be primary, not making money,” Coleman said.
For more on Coleman’s campaign, visit christianforalabama.com.
Mike Shaw
Shaw, who just turned 50, said he believes he would do a good job representing House District 47 because the district covers parts of both Hoover and Vestavia Hills and he is very familiar with both cities.
He grew up in Vestavia Hills and graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in 1990, and he and his wife, Shelley Shaw, moved to Hoover more than 20 years ago and live in Hoover’s Loch Ridge community.
He was elected to the Hoover City council in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. For the past 17 years, Shaw has been the chief technology officer and senior vice president for Mutual Savings Credit Union.
He represents the Hoover City Council on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, Sports Facility Advisory Committee.
He has spent 25 years in the information technology business, founded the Hoover Technology Roundtable and is a member of the technology advisory group for the Riverchase Career Connection Center, a board member for Tech Birmingham and a former longtime board member for Birmingham Infragard.
He also in 2018 helped found a group called Destination Hoover International, a nonprofit that seeks to build partnerships and strengthen ties with communities around the globe. He is a member of Shades Mountain Baptist Church and the Spain Park High School Band Boosters.
His wife, Shelley, is president of Destination Hoover International and executive director for the Hoover City Schools Foundation.
Shaw said he is honored to have been selected from such a distinguished group of applicants for the House District 47 seat. The Republicans’ interview and selection process was thorough and fair, he said.
Shaw said he believes he would be a good legislator because of the experience he has gained as a city councilman. “You learn a lot at the city level,” he said.
Not only has he had a chance to learn the nuts and bolts of city government, but he also has a good understanding of the impact that decisions at the state level have on local governments, he said.
One thing he would like to do as a legislator is make sure Hoover and Vestavia Hills get their fair share of money for infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges and interstate interchanges, he said. He noted that both Hoover and Vestavia Hills have state highways and interstates going through their cities and said he wants to make sure infrastructure money is used wisely and efficiently.
Statewide, improving education is a big priority because the state is consistently low in a lot of areas when it comes to education, Shaw said. There are a lot of failing school systems that need innovative solutions, such as charter schools and school choice options, he said.
However, he wants to make sure that successful school systems, such as Hoover and Vestavia Hills, are not harmed in the process of improving other school systems, he said.
“If they’re doing very well, don’t mess with it,” Shaw said.
Shaw also said he wants to keep a close eye on the impact of legislation passed last year that legalized medical marijuana. While cities have a choice on whether to allow medical marijuana dispensaries in their city limits, Shaw said he is concerned about the impact of such dispensaries in urban areas where cities are close together.
When asked if he favored allowing medical marijuana dispensaries in Hoover or Vestavia Hills, Shaw said that’s “a hard question” but one he expects the cities will have to face in the near future.
But he doesn’t think people realize the impact that a dispensary in one city will have on surrounding cities, he said.
Numerous legislative candidates have proposed rolling back recent state gas tax increases due to the high cost of gasoline right now.
Shaw, who said his record reflects he has voted against tax increases more than in favor of them, said he thinks it would be difficult to remove gas taxes that already have passed but he definitely doesn’t like the automatic future gas tax increases that were included as part of the law.
The law, passed in 2019, raised gasoline and diesel fuel taxes by 10 cents per gallon over three years and linked the state fuel tax to a national index on highway construction costs that could adjust Alabama’s tax rate by a penny every two years beginning in 2023.
Shaw said he would like the Legislature to revisit the automatic future increase part of that law because he believes any tax increase should require a vote at the time of the increase.
If Shaw were to win the November general election, he would have to give up his seat on the Hoover City Council, and the City Council would be responsible for appointing his replacement.
