Tim James: ‘Government must live within its means’

By Benjamin Bullard The Cullman Times

CULLMAN — Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim James is setting himself apart from his Republican competition by casting himself as a political outsider, a businessman seeking to bring fiscal conservatism and self-discipline to the state’s top office.

James, who toured Wallace State Community College Wednesday and later met with a number of local ministers, said during a visit to The Times’ offices that the state must, in the midst of a grave recession, tighten its belt in the same way that individual households are having to do.

“We are in the toughest economic recession since the Great Depression,” said James. “It’s not unreasonable to expect that government must live within its means, just as families, individuals and businesses are having to do.”

James said that means the state must take the lead in halting a tax-and-spend cycle of economic stimulus that Washington has used to generate jobs.

“The last thing you do in an inflationary recession is to raise taxes on working people,” said James. “The only other option, then, is to reduce costs. As tough as it might be, government must match its expenses with its revenue, just as families, business and everybody else has to do.

While that may be difficult in the near-term, James said it’s the only way to safeguard against financial disaster in the long term.

“When you come out the other side, you’re stronger,” he said. “And you’re certainly more efficient. The government—Montgomery; Washington, all of it— has been on an economic tear for a long time, and it’s time to rein it in.”

All aspects of the state general fund budget must face cuts, said James, adding that the state education budget should not be immune from the scalpel.

When it comes to prioritizing the state’s many-faceted educational system, James called K-12 “the foundation” of education in Alabama. As such, elementary and high-school education would assume top priority in the James administration’s education budget.

“We all understand that the foundation is everything,” said James. “We have this 40 percent (high school) dropout rate, which is unacceptable, and it’s got to be fixed. If you build a strong foundation, the rest of the house will stand.”

James said he would like to see the state’s community colleges fall more firmly under local control, pitching the institution of a board of directors at each school drawn from a volunteer pool of community leaders.

“I favor changing the governance of community colleges—I would like to see each community college managed by a local board of trustees in the community closest to them,” he said. “They’re the ones who are closest to the community and know its needs. Anytime you can push control closer to the people in an area of service, it’s a smart move.”

James said he would assert himself as the state’s chief law enforcement decision maker, bolstering a similar interpretation by current governor Bob Riley in organizing a special task force to carry out raids on electronic bingo operations in south Alabama.

“The governor is the enforcement authority in our state, just as the president is the enforcement authority at the federal level,” said James. “The state troopers, the ABI (Alabama Bureau of Investigation)—these are under the direct control of the governor.”

An aggressive interpretation of the governor’s role has put current governor Riley at odds with state Attorney General Troy King, a party-weakening standoff that James says he would avoid.

“Of course you must work together with all the state constitutional officers the best you can,” he said. “Certainly, you’re not always gonna agree. But you want to try to work together, and you do,” he said.

James said he opposes gambling and the effort to put a proposed statewide constitutional amendment legalizing electronic bingo on the ballot this year.

I’m not for gambling. What really needs to happen in the short term is that the Alabama Supreme Court really needs to adjudicate this gambling business in all jurisdictions.”



* Benjamin Bullard can be reached by e-mail at bbullard@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 270.

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