Doug Bell an independent with Republican background | Calhoun County | #republicans | #Alabama | #GOP

The 52-year-old Sylacauga father of seven lists three major campaign points in his opposition to 10-term incumbent Mike Rogers and Democratic candidate Lin Veasey: He’s a big believer of term limits, he believes in fiscal conservatism, and he believes there should be religious freedom in private business. 

“I believe that Congress should be made up of everyday people,” Bell said.

It’s Bell’s contention that professional politicians harbor a certain disconnect from the people they govern, and the way to counteract that is to establish House term limits via constitutional amendment. He said term limits would serve to “vilify the corruption in congress,” and “produce better results” by having everyday people do the job rather than a person that has held the seat for a long time. 

“They kind of lose touch with the people that they represent,” Bell said. 

Bell grew up in south Alabama, where his political roots ran deep. His father was a political activist who would write letters to the editor of different local papers, “standing up for different political issues,” Bell said. 

He attended college at Auburn University. He was a walk-on football player, eventually a captain under Coach Pat Dye his senior year.

After college, Bell spent a year in Lima, Peru, doing mission work, as his faith plays a big role in his life. Upon his return, Bell was a schoolteacher in Atlanta for a couple of years, but it didn’t stick. He quit teaching and started a home business helping young men learn to be successful in the workforce using “holistic training,” job training and faith-based mentorship. 

“It worked,” Bell said with a laugh. “I did that for 18 years before finally returning back to Alabama, my home state, to attempt to turn back to public education.” 

Once Bell and his family moved back to Alabama, he made some financial decisions so that he could focus on running the campaign full time, which accentuates his second campaign point: fiscal responsibility. 

Bell said he believes in the government only spending what it brings in and not exceeding that amount. 

Even though he is not running as a Republican, Bell has been a Republican most of his life, and has run for office as a Republican in the past, he said. 

“I want to be honest with the people I represent. It’s going to require sacrifice,” Bell said. “Like any family, when you tighten the belt buckle, you find out that you’ve got to make some sacrifices for the short term in order to set our nation on the path of economic stability for the long term.”

In addition, he said he believes in cutting taxes to balance the budget, not raising taxes while also “reducing corporate welfare and the loophole for the rich.” 

Bell’s third campaign point is religious freedom in private business. 

“That kind of goes into my background where I actually used religion in my business to help young men be successful. It’s not illegal to do that. But the reality is trying to help people while at the same time operating a successful business — you can not hire indiscriminately,” Bell said.

Bell wants to give preference to those who align with Christian discipleship that he feels would be best for his company and in the best interest of the person applying for the role. 

But that applies not just to his business, but any private business: If its owner wants to bring their faith or religion into their business, they should be able to do that.