House District 24 Candidate David Beddingfield yesterday put out a press release calling out his opponent.
David Beddingfield, candidate for the Alabama House of Representatives in District 24, has called on his opponent, Nathaniel Ledbetter, to state whether he will vote to re-elect Mike Hubbard as Speaker of the House if he is elected to the State Legislature. Hubbard was indicted last week on 23 counts of felony corruption for using his public offices for personal gain.
“I think the voters need to know: If Mr. Ledbetter is elected, will he vote for Mike Hubbard to continue being Speaker of the House?” Beddingfield said.
Beddingfield said Hubbard is innocent until proven guilty, but that the Legislature has a responsibility to avoid even the slightest appearance of corruption. Beddingfield stated that, if elected, he would not vote for Mike Hubbard as Speaker.
“Alabama was recently ranked number six in the nation for corruption. And that was before all of these indictments,” Beddingfield said. “Montgomery has to earn the people's trust back, and that means we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard.”
Beddingfield also argued that it would be difficult for Mike Hubbard to serve the people of Alabama as Speaker at the same time he was going through a high-profile trial.
“We need and deserve a Speaker who is focused on serving our state and the people. I just don’t see how there’s any way Mike Hubbard can serve as speaker at the same time he is going through this trial.”
Beddingfield also called on Ledbetter to return any campaign contributions he has received from Hubbard or any PACs affiliated with Hubbard.
“We have to hold ourselves to the highest standard of ethics,” said Beddingfield. “And that has to start by refusing to take campaign money that might be connected to corruption.”
“These allegations are serious, and the voters deserve to have total confidence in our elected leaders,” Beddingfield concluded.
“So I am asking Nathaniel outright: If you are elected, will you vote for Mike Hubbard to be Speaker of the House?”
