Name: Bernard Allen II
Party: Democrat
Occupation: Insurance agent
Years in District: 40 years
Endorsements: None
Amendment 1: For
What do you think is the central issue for this election?
Job creation as well as making college affordable, protecting state jobs, protecting local governmental jobs. Not allowing the private sector to take over state government. All these things cost money so we must restructure the tax code to allow funds to assist us with that. Restructuring the tax code should allow us to adequately fund education, adequately fund state governmental raises, adequately fund keeping college affordable. The goal is for taxes to get lower as you go down the income bracket.
What do you think is the central issue facing your district?
Protecting jobs and creating jobs, by putting money into small businesses, that will in-turn hire the citizens in the district… [The other thing is] it is a district with a lot of state employees. If we can protect those state governmental jobs, protect those jobs with the county and look at an increase in salary that will be huge. It will increase home building in the district. It will increase overall spending in the district. It’s amazing what has happened in the district, based on the state government alone not having any raises over the past couple years. Unfortunately now, most state employees cannot make a livable wage. Too many are struggling and we must change that.
Why should your constituents elect you?
The constituents need a voice. As I’ve walked the district, there have been citizens that have said that there have been telephone calls that have been unanswered. There have been major concerns in the district that they weren’t heard. Unfortunately, she’s just not called them back or addressed them. They feel as if they have no voice. A vote for me is a vote for voice providing that voice back to the community. The citizens here need a voice and I am that voice.
What do you think the biggest accomplishments were and the biggest failures during the past two years?
The biggest failure in my eyes is not being able to provide a raise for state government employees. Why that was the case I think is because the legislature allowed some tax subsets to go away that I think were vital for economic conditions in state government. There were some taxes that the state was bringing in that they just allowed to go away. I feel if they had not allowed those to go away we would not be in the fix that we are in today.
It was a very tough year. It was a tough year because it was a Republican controlled house. I think a lot of things [Democrats] wanted to get accomplished they couldn’t get accomplished. I really can’t point my finger at a great success of this year.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
That is an interesting one. Being so busy, it’s kind of hard having a guilty pleasure. [I’m going to have to go with] grilling in the winter time. It can be 2 degrees outside and I’ll have ribs on the grill.
