Challenges Ahead For Newly Inaugurated Officials
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There was a lot of pomp and circumstance and security, as top officials in the state came together for this year’s inauguration.
Chief among them was Governor Robert Bentley, elected for a second term.
“If we’re continually looking behind, focused on our past, whether good or bad, we can’t see where we’re going in our future. Past victories and past failures have no bearing on our future endeavors,” said the governor.
Some of those future endeavors will loom large this year, like fixing a shortfall in the budget and an overcrowded prison system.
Agriculture commissioner John McMillan has been in Alabama politics for 40 years, and he says we’ll have to face some tough issues that we’ve been putting off.
“I am predicting that again a little more firmly. It’s never going to be more important for the citizens of this state to be attuned to what’s happening in your capitol and participating in the debate of the issues they are facing,” said McMillan.
Everyone took time to thank the crowd for helping them get to where they are today.
That included State Treasurer Young Boozer, who thanked the entire state, one county at a time.
“Many thanks to the people of Jefferson, Mobile, Montgomery, Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Barbour, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton Choctaw Clark…”
