State Sen. Reed says expect a continuation of Alabama Senate’s ‘deliberative’ process in his future role as Senate Pro Tem

Last month, the Republicans in the Alabama State Senate unanimously nominated State Sen. Greg Reed (R-Jasper) to replace State Sen. Del Marsh (R-Anniston) as the caucus’ choice for Alabama Senate President Pro Tempore.

Reed, who currently serves as the body’s majority leader, is set to have his current majority leader role filled by State Sen. Clay Scofield (R-Guntersville) for the upcoming 2021 legislative session.

In an interview with Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show,” Reed said he anticipated the Alabama Senate following a similar pattern as it had under Marsh.

“Senator Marsh and I have worked closely together and carefully together,” he said. “I think it is very important to continue to have those strong relationships as Pro Tem, working with the majority leader and minority leader. We have certainly had that, shared that, and continue that we work together in the Senate. I expect that will continue to be the same. The gentleman who has been selected by the caucus come February that will be the new majority leader is Senator Clay Scofield from over in Marshall County. And I have a great relationship with Senator Scofield as well as I have enjoyed for many years a very good relationship with Senator Bobby Singleton from Greene County, that is the minority leader. We’ll continue to foster and grow those relationships, which is so important in being able to get the job done in Montgomery on behalf of the people of Alabama.”

The Walker County GOP lawmaker talked about how the Alabama Senate functioned, which oftentimes was as a unified entity where disagreements do not always necessarily fall along party lines.

“[The Senate] has functioned in my tenure,” Reed added. “I have been in public office for 10 years, and during my tenure, it has been that way. I think it has continued to grow in that direction. I think there are a couple of hallmarks that allow it to be that way. I think that leadership has done a good job in trying to make the trains run on time, if you will — making the process work, and that is very important to the body. That’s one of the jobs of the president pro tem, and that will be one of the focus areas that I have moving forward, as Senator Marsh has done such a good job. But I also think that the Senate is the deliberative body. Our job is to dig deep into the issues — to talk, to deliberate. We’re going to have disagreements.”

“There are going to be disagreements between the majority and the minority,” he continued. “There are going to be disagreements within our majority where senators may feel differently about different topics. As we work hard in the Senate, the goal is that everybody has a voice, everybody is able to add to the process. And ultimately, the reason the Senate has worked that well is that once you give people the opportunity to share their thoughts, you wind up with a much better product for the people of Alabama. You get different ideas, different thoughts, different processes related to how we get to what is the outcome of the body, and it has yielded a very good product for the people of Alabama. So, I don’t want to change any of that. I want it to continue to be that way. Again, relationships with the members is very important.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.