I became acquainted with Chris Seibert when he was running for a position on the Athens City Council in 2012. We met at Starbuck’s and in one conversation “fixed the world.” He went on to run a successful campaign and win the election. Since then, I have observed his hard work in business, with his family, with his community, and am glad the city of Athens has him as one of the “elders at the gates.” He was an officer in the Air Force during 9/11, is strongly pro-life, and regarding the 2nd Amendment, his six-year-old bagged his first duck last fall. Chris is a coach, a Sunday school teacher, a member of Rotary, serves on the board of Habitat for Humanity, and played football for Alabama as a walk-on.
Chris and his wife Tiffany prayed and sought counsel about his running for the new state Senate position when it was announced last August that the boundaries were going to be reorganized. For those that are not aware, the District One Senate seat now includes northern parts of Lauderdale, Limestone and Madison counties.
Because jobs are the number one concern of people in District One, if elected, Chris wants to build better alignment between the Governor’s office, the leadership of the House and Senate, and businesses who are interested in either building in or relocating to North Alabama. He is one of several who worked to forge the deal that brought the Remington Company to Madison and Limestone counties. He particularly wants to help Lauderdale County reach similar arrangements to help create jobs. Lauderdale has lost approximately 3,000 jobs due to the closure of Hillshire Farms and International Paper. “It has a ripple effect throughout the district,” he said, “and that concerns me.”
I took the adversarial position with him regarding local government getting involved in free market enterprise, and he was quick to point out that “this is not a bailout, not ‘welfare’ for companies.’ When Limestone County invested in Remington coming here, it was completely understood that government overreach is not part of the equation, and Remington did not agree to any control on our part.” I asked him, “What do you say to people who think we gave up too much for them to come here?” “We will get it back in tax revenue, and government gets a higher number of taxpaying citizens,” he answered. Chris understands that if we are going to be competitive with other states and bring business here, governmental involvement has to be prudent and minimal, and “at the end of the day, 85% of the people believe that government needs to be business friendly.” Basically, that means government getting out of the way and letting the market do its work.
So, does he have the experience to forge such alliances and keep government “in its lane?” As an Air Force Officer, he dealt with logistics, particularly in regard to transportation. That meant dealing with suppliers and making sure things got in country on time and within budget. He then went on to get his MBA from USA in Mobile. For the past several years, he has worked for a medical equipment company called Stereotaxis, (pronounced like taxes,) and he handles sales as well as mentors reps from the West Coast to Florida. He has been part of three successful startup companies, so I would say, yes, he has what it takes.
What else is important to him? “Repealing Obamacare,” he said. “I want to make the case to the federal legislators that Obamacare is simply not in the best interest of the people of Alabama. We are hearing from constituents that it is not sustainable,” he added. We talked about the disaster it has been so far, and that the same applies to Medicare and Medicaid. “Other solutions have to be found,” he said, and although they won’t come overnight, good ones must be sought out and implemented.
Chris strongly considered going to law school and has a passion for the Constitution. As a pro-life family man, he is greatly encouraged by the recent decision of the Alabama Supreme Court to uphold the chemical endangerment statute and apply it to the unborn. This statute typically calls for the prosecution of parents who, for example, let their kids be around a meth lab. However, in an 8-1 decision it was applied to a woman who gave birth to a child who was addicted to drugs. As we talked, we explored the ramifications of the decision, and this is one that has the potential to utterly undo Roe v. Wade. He was glad it happened in Alabama, as am I.
The primary election season will end in a little more than a month, and then the election season will intensify. It is time for you to become familiar with all of the candidates, and if Chris Seibert meets your expectations of a good leader, he would appreciate your vote on June 3rd.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
