You can expect to see a tight race among Democratic gubernatorial candidates on June 21st.
This race features Yolanda Flowers and Malika Sanders- Fortier. They were separated by a difference of less than one percent back in May. The winner will advance to take on incumbent Governor Kay Ivey in November.
Yolanda flowers explained to WAAY 31 why she wants to serve as governor of Alabama.
Flowers pulled in just over 2,000 more votes than her opponent Malika Sanders- Fortier. She’s gripping a very slim margin of success. Flowers said she funded her campaign with personal money.
“Out of my pocket I’ve spent about $30,000 dollars. That’s the money that I was able to get from my husband’s insurance because I’m a recent widow,” she added.
A recent financial disclosure report showed just $1,200 cash on hand.
Flowers said running for governor isn’t about money for her, but it’s about positioning herself to fix problems she’s most passionate about like education. She said she’d focus on improving test scores if given the chance to serve.
“Every teacher should have a paraprofessional. Every teacher. It is hard to manage a classroom with 20 plus students,” Flowers said.
Flowers and her opponent Senator Malika Sanders-Fortier share some of the same priorities like education and healthcare.
“We have schools right here in Alabama in the top one percent of our nation. We have models in what we can do to improve schools. We just have to care and be committed enough and commit the resources,” said Malika Sanders-Fortier during an interview with WAAY 31’s Nakell Williams.
Both candidates said they would make Medicaid expansion a priority as well.
“We can sign Medicaid expansion on the first day and that can’t be done by the governor alone. That has to be done based on connections and relationships right there in the legislature. There are so many things that I’ve already been working on,” said Malika Sanders-Fortier.
“We need to make insurance affordable for our elderly and those who are working and are unable to afford insurance. We need to expand Medicaid so that everyone can get the proper healthcare that they need,” Flowers explained.
Flowers told WAAY 31 she has a detailed plan for prison reform as well. It would include improving living standards for inmates.
“So we wouldn’t have two men to a bed separated by a board of plywood. They would not eat food from a container that says no human consumption, and they won’t eat maggots! I’m aware of situations where one inmate jumped on another inmate and stripped him and beat him to a bloody pulp,” she said.
The Alabama Department of Corrections faces a lawsuit after scathing reports with claims of violence, unsanitary conditions and excessive force at the hands of prison staff.
Beth Shelburn with the ACLU’s Campaign for Smart Justice says state officials need to do more to address issues within prisons.
“The State of Alabama Department of Corrections in particular has done less than nothing to start to fix these problems. State leaders have been completely fixated on building new mega prisons,” Shelburn explained.
Governor Ivey said new prisons must be built in order to improve conditions in prisons.
“So we can put the prisoners in a safe place to have space to teach them and to deal with mental health and medical issues,” Ivey explained during a press conference where she announced new prison funds.
Yolanda Flowers wants to build a bridge to freedom for some prisoners.
“I call it the Justice League. That would be placed strategically throughout the state. This league would insist on doing research to make sure that those who are incarcerated have been incarcerated fairly and justly,” Flowers explained.
Sanders-Fortier explained that she has a targeted agenda built around criminal justice reform as well. It’s built around the execution of preventative strategies aimed at lowering crime in Alabama communities.”
She also talked about ideas on gun laws and improving the safety of children in schools. The senator said her plan would not infringe on people’s rights.
“I think a part of that plan has to be dealing with some of the gun laws. We can’t have children walking around with guns that can kill large number of people in a short period of time,” she explained.
She also talked in depth about a program she’d implement if elected called the “Dream Accelerator.”
Our economy has to be open and supportive of everyone who wants an opportunity in Alabama. We have to come up with this idea to help people reach their dreams. We’d helped people through grants and loans to actually make their personal dreams a reality because that would help us overall as a state,” Sanders-Fortier said.
