Photo Credit: Facebook
Candidate for the Alabama House of Representatives Delor Baumann addressed a joint meeting of the Jefferson and Shelby County BamaCarry groups Monday night at Mr. Wang’s Buffet in the Homewood area.
Baumann is the Republican nominee in House District 57.
Baumann said that he supports gun rights and the goals of the group and promised to be accessible if elected to the Statehouse.
“I support permitless carry,” Baumann told the Second Amendment rights group.
The Alabama Legislature passed and Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation that ended the requirement that Alabama citizens have to purchase a concealed carry permit from their local sheriff in order to carry their firearms with them concealed on their person or in a vehicle. That law goes into effect on January 1.
Baumann served three terms as the former Mayor of Hueytown from 2004 to 2016. He emphasized that as Mayor he focused on improving the police and fighting crime.
“When I became Mayor, we only had six police officers, and there was just one officer on duty at night,” Baumann stated. “Hueytown is a drive-thru city. We have a lot of people coming through Hueytown.”
“Most of the people causing problems were not from Hueytown,” Bauman said. “I contacted the Sheriff, and he said that we are aware of it (the crime problem Hueytown was experiencing). I contacted the City of Birmingham, and they said that they are aware of it.”
Baumann said that for several months they increased the number of traffic citations in Hueytown to over one thousand and one thousand warnings a month.
“We increased the number of police contacts,” Baumann said. “After a few months, it was back down to two hundred citations a month, and the message was sent. We accomplished what we wanted to accomplish.”
“The most important thing with a small city is having a good police department and a good fire department,” Baumann said.
House District 57 includes Hueytown, Pleasant Grove, Maytown, Mulga, Midfield, Lipscomb, and Brighton.
HD57 is currently represented by State Rep. Merika Coleman. Coleman is leaving the House to run for the open District 19, currently represented by the retiring Sen. Priscilla Dunn.
Patrick Sellers received 52.5 percent of the vote (1,261 votes) over Charles Winston III with 47.5 percent (1,143 votes) in the Democratic primary.
“I called my opponent after he won the primary to congratulate him,” Baumann said. “He asked if I would drop out of the race. I asked why I would drop out of the race. He said because I have more voters than you.”
Baumann said that he had looked at running for the legislature in 2006 and went to Montgomery to learn more about the position where he talked to an influential person in state politics.
“He took me to the top of the tallest building in Montgomery and told me that you can be the smartest person in Montgomery, but you won’t get anything done unless you know the right people in Montgomery,” Baumann said. He decided to stay Mayor. “I saw him again at the store and asked him how he was doing. Just after that, he was indicted and went to prison,” Baumann said of the Montgomery contact he had met with.
The 2021 redistricting by the Legislature made the majority-minority HD57 a more purple district. A Baumann win would represent a legislative pickup for Alabama Republicans in the House. The Republicans currently hold a supermajority in the Alabama House of Representatives.
“I have a lot of close friends in the Black community,” Baumann told Alabama Today.
Baumann had no Republican primary opponent, so he said that he is just getting his campaign up and running.
Baumann (R) will face Sellers (D) and Libertarian Manijeh Jones in the November 8 general election.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Related
