2022 Elections in Etowah County, Alabama

Part 1 - Why it’s Worth Fighting For

We learned a lot during the rendering plant fiasco (which unfortunately is not completely over). We learned that the government institution that is Gadsden, while once a functional institution, is now, at best, ineffective and weak and, at worst, corrupt and broken. Of course, there are elected leaders in Gadsden that are the exception to that unfortunate reality, but overall, what was once a progressive, growing and robust city government is just a hollow shell of its former self. Many of us knew that Gadsden was struggling, but we were all shocked at the level of disconnect and dysfunction that we have witnessed during the rendering plant fight.

But we also learned that the people of Gadsden and Etowah County love their home and believe it is worth fighting for. We learned that we are not willing to just sit back and accept whatever chicken rendering future our leaders were willing and eager to dump on us. We were willing to challenge and fight those very governmental structures when they had failed their fundamental purposes of providing order, protecting its citizens and working toward a shared vision. When it became clear those government structures were corrupt and self-serving - that they were not serving us as intended - we had the courage and will to come together to challenge them for the benefit of us all.

Together, we faced that challenge and fought the rendering plant, but the rendering plant is just the symptom of the overall dysfunction. Once we fully defeat the rendering plant, our challenge is still not over. Those same out-dated, ineffective and self-serving government structures, leaders and ideas are alive and well inside Gadsden City Hall and also are waiting in the wings to continue that legacy.

You may think we are saying the challenge is the 2022 elections. And we are, in a way. But the 2022 elections are really a referendum on something greater - on who we are, who Gadsden wants to be and whether we have the courage and will to prove to ourselves and each other that we are not that county/city anymore. Are we going to elect the “same old, same old” because we have always done it that way; because we fear we may make someone mad if we don’t vote for them; because its too hard to do something different; or because promises have been made that our personal interests will be advanced if there is a certain outcome and that is more important than the greater good?

Will we take advantage of this unique moment in our collective destiny? Will we seize the opportunity to acknowledge that we have seen what we now cannot unsee and realize we must confront it with courage; where we refuse to go back to “business as usual”, electing leaders with the same mentality; where we keep working together to fix these problems ourselves, not relying on someone else to come clean up the mess and; where electing courageous and honest servant-leaders is our priority over everything else?

Because of what we have learned over the past year, we know that 2022 is truly about more than elections, rendering plants and petty power struggles. Make no mistake - we are fighting for the heart and soul of Gadsden in 2022. Will we remain the same, electing those who brag that they work pulling strings “behind the scenes” or that they will lead in the same “business as usual” way they have for years, or will we choose to be something different?

Like before, we are asking the citizens and business owners of the City of Gadsden to answer this call to join us as we seek to bring real change to our community. We need you to serve with the same heart, bravery and tenacity that you did opposing the rendering plant. Is Gadsden ready with the vision and courage to face the challenge of being what the future is calling it to be?

While we have lost our hope in our local government, our faith has been strengthened in the resolve of the citizens, business owners and others involved in the community. We know that this vision and hope for Gadsden is worth fighting for, and we have every bit of faith that you will join us in this continued fight.

For this reason, Knowles & Sullivan, LLC will not sit silent and we hope you won’t either. In upcoming posts and other public positions, we will reveal our thoughts and opinions about the Gadsden community and upcoming elections. We hope and pray that these upcoming series of posts will be of service to our community and to you as we move together toward these crucial 2022 elections.

Part 2 - What We Know

We have been honored and privileged to fight alongside our clients, friends and the people of Etowah County to stop those trying to force a rendering plant on our community. Together, we have made great strides toward ending the rendering plant battle. As of this writing, the Gadsden Airport Authority and City of Gadsden have adopted only non binding resolutions stating they will not accept the June 2021 Pilgrim’s Pride proposal to put the rendering plant at the airport. Such resolutions fall well short of the binding written agreement we need to call the rendering plant over and done. City leaders have not agreed, and in fact have outright refused to affirm, that they will not put a rendering plant in Gadsden. Why won’t they simply agree, in writing, not to pursue this insane idea of a rendering plant when the overwhelming majority do not want it? Is this still the vision for our county they are actively pursuing or are they just obstinately refusing to give up the fight? We wish we had the answers to those questions. Unfortunately, the reality may be that it will take a change in leadership, achieved through the 2022 elections, to make sure a rendering plant never comes up again.

We all cannot “unsee” the shockingly dysfunctional nature of some of our governmental organizations and leaders the rendering fight has exposed. The curtain has truly been pulled back for all to see the inner workings of our government and we cannot, in good conscience, ignore these obvious problems. The Gadsden Airport Authority has only one aviator serving on the board (Ken Robertson) and he has been threatened and harassed for objecting to the improper “behind the scenes” meetings and deliberations of the GAA. Our industrial development authority (IDA) is allowed to operate as a private entity that is not transparent or accountable to the people. The IDA director and the City seem proud that the IDA meetings, records and actions are completely private and outside of the public eye. What is even more shocking is that the IDA and City act oblivious and surprised that the public is upset about that.

The Gadsden City Council learns the bare minimum about industrial projects, abatements and incentives from the same IDA director that claims the IDA is a private entity unaccountable to the public in closed door meetings. The City Council then routinely comes out of those closed meetings to immediately approve these projects without any public discussion or disclosure before the votes are cast. What is even more shocking than these uninformed votes is the fact that some members of the Gadsden City Council still don’t see anything wrong with doing this. They repeatedly defend this procedure as “the process” and “how they have always done it”. They seem to be totally blind to the concept as to why intentionally hiding their actions from the public until after their votes are cast would upset the people they are supposed to serve. They don’t even seem to register why the public would object to their “process” and they just express frustration and anger at the public for daring to raise concerns. They don’t seem to understand or care that this “process” was how the IDA and the Mayor’s office was going to sneak in a chicken parts rendering plant adjacent to the airport runway. Luckily, we were able to learn of their plan before it came to fruition and were able to take steps to stop what they were doing. Next time, we may not be that fortunate.

As part of the legal team on the front lines of the rendering fight we have seen and learned so much that has shocked us, and we feel obligated to do whatever we can to address these issues. Here at Knowles & Sullivan, we frequently talk about these big questions which affect our county: How did we get so off track that these governmental agencies and leaders don’t even seem to know, recognize or care what is obviously a dysfunctional, exclusionary and improper way of conducting their operations and treating the people they serve? How did we get to where the vision that Gadsden leaders have for the city and Etowah County is so vastly different from the people they serve? What can we do to help?

Those big, important questions are what have brought us to these series of posts. We have decided to do something we have never done before and may never do again. We want to share with you our knowledge and opinions about 2022 candidates. The advantage of being on the front line of the rendering battle is that we have engaged with just about every elected leader and candidate in the 2022 elections - from city council to United States Congress. We are in a unique position to know who stood with the people of Etowah County and who did not.

So much is at stake for 2022 and the home that we all love, and we want to do everything we can to help. We are in this together, so we think you need to know what we know, who we are supporting and why, because until we have successful 2022 elections, putting leaders in place who have the courage, servant leadership and love for this county and its people to fix these problems, we are not finished.

To be clear, we are not saying we know everything about these candidates. But we do think we know what they did to either oppose or support the rendering plant, and we know whether or not they showed courageous leadership during an important part of this county’s history. As the old saying goes, “Adversity does not build character, it reveals it”. The rendering plant was a once in a generation issue. We can all attest that we have never experienced anything like the unified, widespread and intense public concern our county has experienced in its fight to stop the rendering plant. So, to us, where someone stood and what they did on the rendering plant issue is representative of the vision he/she has for Etowah County. If a candidate did not demonstrate true leadership during this important time for our community, by courageously fighting to oppose the rendering plant, then that person is not worthy to lead us in the future.

Many non-elected leaders spoke up to fight the rendering plant - at city council meetings, the GAA public meetings in August, the ADEM protest, the Southside meetings, through public comments and formal resolutions and any other means they found available. So, when we hear a candidate say that they were silent on the rendering plant issue because they were not an elected official at that time, that excuse is just not good enough. Any candidate who did not have the courage as a private citizen to speak up is not going to have the courage to change the broken system. While the candidate may be a nice person, friend or fellow church-goer, that does not necessarily mean he/she has the necessary vision, servant leadership and courage to serve as an elected leader during this crucial time in Gadsden’s history.

You may disagree with our opinions and positions, and that is fine. Our point in sharing our input is to fulfill any responsibility we may have during this crucial election year to share what we know for those who may find it helpful. If you don’t find it helpful or if you disagree with our position, of course, we respect that. We can disagree and still be friends, neighbors and colleagues. Respectful, direct and honest conversations and even constructive disagreements is what will make us all better. Regardless of the result of elections 2022 we are all going to have to work, live and cooperate with each other if we are going to make our home a better place.

Part 3 - Where They Stood and Where We Stand

State Senate and House Representatives - May 24, 2022

As stated in our last 2 posts, the following are our opinions and knowledge about the candidates running in the May 24, 2022 legislative primary. The next post will address the May 24, 2022 primary for Etowah County Commission races.

The State Senate and House of Representative seats are up for the May 24, 2022 primary. Since those who win the primary will have no opposition in November, the May 24, 2022 primary will be the election. So, it is important that you vote in this primary.

State Senate

Andrew Jones (incumbent and unopposed). Fought with us with every resource he had from day one of the rendering fight. Any assistance we asked from Sen. Jones he willingly and courageously provided. We have heard his detractors complain that Sen. Jones’ leadership style can be overly aggressive, but no one was complaining about his fighting spirit when we were all asking him to help us, which he did without hesitation. We will choose a leader like Sen. Jones who has the courage and spirit to fight for this county and its people over the typical “business as usual” politician every time. Among other things, Sen. Jones filibustered on the Senate floor for 4 hours and battled Montgomery lobbyists to get his anti-rendering bill passed in the Senate; he spoke against the rendering plant at the ADEM hearing, the GAA meeting, the Southside meeting and elsewhere; he attended the protest at Gadsden City Council meeting; he assisted us in seeking the help of Congressman Aderholt; and he helped us make contact with various state-level officials when we needed their help or to plead our case.

House of Representatives

House District 30

Craig Lipscomb (incumbent and unopposed). Like Sen. Jones, Rep Lipscomb fought with us courageously and from day one. He spoke at the ADEM hearing, the GAA public meeting, and fought to push Sen. Jones’ bill through the state House of Representatives alone and without the support of Reps. Isbell or Nordgren. He assisted us in seeking the help of Congressman Aderholt and state level officials. Rep. Lipscomb went above and beyond to oppose the rendering plant.

House District 29

Jamie Grant - Mr. Grant initially did not oppose the rendering plant believing the City of Gadsden should be provided the opportunity to follow its “process” and raised questions about whether there may be other suitable non-airport locations. However, he ultimately publicly opposed the rendering plant and assisted the opposition in many ways. Mr. Grant spoke with other commissioners on the August 20, 2022 GAA video opposing the rendering plant. Mr Grant was also a leader in the county commission decision to join a lawsuit to oppose the rendering plant.

Mark Gidley - We are not aware of any action or position Mr. Gidley took regarding the rendering plant, either for or against.

House District 28

Gil Isbell (incumbent) - We are aware of no action he took to oppose the rendering plant. Mr. Isbell took the position that he did not oppose the possibility of a rendering plant in Etowah county, while acknowledging he had concerns about it being located at the airport. Mr. Isbell did not support Sen. Jones’ anti-rendering bill or Rep. Lipsomb’s efforts to pass it in the House of Representatives. For the anti-rendering bill to pass the House it required each member of our legislative delegation to fight for it and only Sen. Jones and Rep. Lipscomb did that. Mr. Isbell has touted the fact that he signed the bill (which is not the same as sponsoring the bill) which, he claims, allowed it to proceed in the House. However, despite being asked by the opposition to help pass the bill, he took no action to stop the bill from being “buried” in a committee where it ultimately died. Mr. Isbell communicated with the lobbyists for the City of Gadsden who were working to defeat Sen. Jones anti-rendering bill. When asked about whether he would support an anti-rendering bill in the legislature for the 2022 session, Mr. Isbell stated he would not. Mr. Isbell claimed to have engaged in “behind the scenes” meetings with the Gadsden Airport Authority about the rendering plant. GAA Board member Jonathan Welch publicly confirmed that he engaged in these “behind the scenes” meetings with Mr. Isbell and mayoral candidate Craig Ford. The GAA admitted to (and actually appeared to brag about) these behind the scenes meetings with Mr. Ford and Mr. Isbell when it voted down the Pilgrim’s and Etowah Community proposals. None of them, however, have revealed what type of deal, if any, was cut in these back room meetings, who was present and why the meetings were closed to the public. GAA Board member Ken Robertson (who is an attorney and former city judge) has stated publicly that it is his opinion that the GAA violated the Open Meetings Act. We believe that these “back room” deals/conversations are what brought us the rendering plant and they need to stop rather than be perpetuated by our leaders. We are not aware of any action Isbell took to meaningfully assist in fighting the rendering plant despite his assertions, after the fact, that his “behind the scenes” meetings were “instrumental” in doing so.

Mack Butler - Mack Butler publicly opposed the rendering plant. Not only was he publicly opposed, but he gave of his time and money to be a party intervenor in the zoning case to fight the rendering plant in court. Mr. Butler attended several rendering opposition events.

We note that the opinions stated above are not legal advice and are the opinions of the owners of Knowles & Sullivan, LLC, which consists of Christie Knowles, Jason Knowles and Josh Sullivan.

We highly encourage you to review the core issues addressed by Advance Etowah.

Core Issues

Advance Etowah has also built a convenient website page to make it easy to learn more about each candidate running for office in Etowah County.

Candidate Information