Author

Craig Ford

Craig Ford is the owner of Ford Insurance and the Gadsden Messenger. He represented Etowah County in the Alabama House of Representatives for 18 years.

News

Serious Problems Require Serious Solutions

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford It is no secret that our state government is in serious financial trouble. The hole in the state’s General Fund budget is estimated to be at least $250 million. But while everyone acknowledges the problem, what has been most surprising is how so many of those in leadership have … Continued

Craig Ford

March 3, 2015

Opinion

Making Progress On I-759 Will Take The Whole Team

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford Many times in my life I’ve seen that teamwork really does work. Whether it’s in sports, business or government, every member of the team gets together and comes to an agreement—a little give from some people and a little take from others. For teamwork to really work however, everyone … Continued

Craig Ford

February 26, 2015

Opinion

House Minority Leader Craig Ford Statement On Leadership Change At AEA

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford “I, and the members of the House Democratic Caucus, have always been committed to supporting our children’s education, our public schools and our educators. Those are the people who voted for us and who we were elected to represent. Our focus has always been on our local communities rather … Continued

Craig Ford

February 21, 2015

Opinion

State Leaders Need To Spend Less Time “Standing Up To Obama” and More Time “Standing Up For Alabama”

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford Most Alabama politicians spent this past campaign season talking about how they were going to “stand up to Obama” and fight back against the federal government. It was ironic, given that President Obama is only going to be President for two more years, while voters were looking to elect … Continued

Craig Ford

February 19, 2015

Opinion

Learning From Our Own History

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford I’ve always admired Pres. Truman. Even though he never earned a college degree, I believe he had more wisdom than most of our Ivy-League educated leaders. Pres. Truman once said, “There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know.” That is a profound statement. … Continued

Craig Ford

February 11, 2015

Opinion

Armistead Entitled To His Own Opinions, Not His Own Facts

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford Recently, Alabama Republican Party Chairman, Bill Armistead, took to AL.com to discuss his thoughts on the state budget. It left me scratching my head, as he kept putting words like “budget crisis” and “shortfall” in quotes like he doesn’t believe we have a budget crisis. Gov. Bentley himself has … Continued

Craig Ford

February 3, 2015

Opinion

Grow With Those We Know

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford There’s a saying in the insurance business: “Grow with those we know.” It means when you are out looking for new business, always think of your existing customers first. I think this is a good concept that we need to apply to job creation here in Alabama. Many of … Continued

Craig Ford

January 27, 2015

Opinion

A Legacy To Live By

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford “I have decided to stick with love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go From Here, 1967 The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is one I have spent years trying to not only fully understand, but also find … Continued

Craig Ford

January 19, 2015

Opinion

The Importance Of Working Together

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford “You can’t work across party lines when there aren’t many of them. So I’m going to work across Republican Party lines because there are a lot of divisions in the Republican Party.” -Gov. Robert Bentley I was very disappointed when I read this quote from the governor earlier this … Continued

Craig Ford

January 13, 2015

Opinion

The Numbers Are In: Still Haven’t Quite Figured Out How To Help Students

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford One of the things that makes our government work is the self reporting of financial information. This self-reporting, and in some cases, outside auditing, allows the people of Alabama to know exactly where their money is going. And each year, at the end of the year, the Alabama Department … Continued

Craig Ford

January 6, 2015