Story by: David Lazenby
Source: The Daily Mountain Eagle

Jasper businessman Greg Reed on Tuesday formally kicked off his campaign for the Alabama Senate.

The Cordova native is running for the District 5 position currently held by Charles Bishop who is not seeking re-election. The district encompasses Walker County as well as portions of Tuscaloosa, Winston and Jefferson counties.  

A few dozen supporters gathered Tuesday morning to hear Reed speak in front of the Walker County Courthouse in Jasper, one of the campaign stops visited by Reed and his family on the day. The Reeds also took their message to Tuscaloosa, Arley and Pleasant Grove.

Reed, 44, focused on three topics Tuesday that he said are the core of his campaign — economic development, education system improvement and ethics reform.

Reed’s pledge to improve state political accountability generated applause from audience members.

“I’m for putting teeth in our ethics law. I’m for giving subpoena power to the ethics commission so they will be able to investigate any, and every problem in making sure that government is transparent, government is open — government is serving the people, not serving just those few that wind up being in the public limelight,” Reed said.

Reed, who previously served for eight years as the senior vice president of the Alabama Republican Party, acknowledged that ethics reform is always a favorite topic of politicians. “Everyone in Montgomery talks about ethics and ethics reform,” Reed said. “The problem is mysteriously when it gets to the end of the legislative session, none of those legislative agendas associated with ethics ever pass.”

Reed, who will be on the ballot in the June 2010 Republican Primary, said if elected he won’t forget those who put him in office.

“We need to be focused on making sure the things we do in Montgomery are going to be better for the folks who really matter — and that is back here at home,” he said.

Reed also spoke Tuesday about the importance of future Interstate 22 in driving economic growth.

“The growth opportunity that we have in our community for that interstate is going to be great if we will be willing to take advantage of it,” Reed said. “I plan to do everything I can to make sure that opportunity is not going to pass us by.”

Reed said the state’s public education system needs to be geared toward preparing students for future job opportunities expected to become available following the completion of the Interstate that will one day link Memphis, Tenn. to Birmingham.

“We need to be focused as members of the Legislature that we take the dollars that you give to the state and that we adequately allocate those in a way that’s going to be most important to teachers and students in the classrooms,” he said.

Reed, the vice president of Preferred Medical Systems, a representative of diagnostic ultrasound systems for General Electric Healthcare, added that it is time for change in Montgomery, and he hopes to play a role in a political transformation.

“If we look at the state of our state — as we’ll hear from the governor tonight ... it looks that it’s now time for a change. And that change can come with the Republican Party being in charge of the Senate and House in Montgomery,” Reed said. “I look forward to being a part of that change.”

With Reed Tuesday was his wife of 21 years, Mitsy, who also hails from Cordova, and their three sons, 13-year-old John Michael Reed, and twins Andrew and James Reed, 15.

Also present for Reed’s speech at the courthouse Tuesday was Democrat Bill Cleghorn of Jasper, who announced in December plans to run for the District 5 Senate seat.