State Sen. Arthur Orr took aim at Montgomery city leadership and their response to rising crime during a Friday morning segment on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show,” criticizing Mayor Steven Reed over what he called the city’s failure to maintain law and order.
With the recent deadly weekend in Montgomery, Orr responded to questions about Reed’s latest comments on state gun laws and bail reform.
Orr argues Reed’s narrative is a political distraction from deeper problems with the City of Montgomery.
“…This is Steven Reed just grasping at straws, trying to say something, saying anything, just to get people off his back,” Orr (R-Decatur) said.
“I talk to people in Montgomery, residents, be they from the Black community, White community. There is such a displeasure and ready for him to get out of public office with Mayor Reed. It’s getting palpable down there with the frustration with him and his do-nothing administration. People are ticked.”
Orr added that Mayor Steven Reed’s support from his father, Joe Reed, the longtime boss of the Alabama Democratic Party, and his political machine, may not be enough to insulate him from local voter anger.
“People I talk to, I think they’ve had enough and they’re waking up to how they’ve got a very inept and ineffective leader in the mayor’s office,” Orr said. “Mayor Reed is certainly on borrowed time until he finishes out this term.”
Orr also criticized the amount of state taxpayer dollars being used to boost Montgomery’s law enforcement presence around the Capitol.
“It’s a shame that taxpayer money from Huntsville, Mobile, everywhere else is going to do the job that the city of Montgomery ought to be doing,” Orr said.
“We send millions, billions down there every year, and all the jobs that are created, the tax base, everything coming from the taxpayers around the state, and they don’t have the competency to protect their own citizens and have law and order. It’s pathetic.”
Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].
