Educator and Congressional candidate Ammie Akin believes that her message will resonate with voters on both sides of the political divide.
Akin is hoping to take on incumbent U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) in November for the newly redrawn Congressional District 7 seat. She first will go up against David Perry in Tuesday’s special primary election.
She discussed her campaign Monday on “The Rightside” with Allison Sinclair and Amie Beth Shaver, in partnership with Yellowhammer News.
“So, as we have traveled across the district, what I’m finding is I’m meeting with people from both sides of the aisle, and what we’re talking about are not partisan issues,” Akin said.
“And when I say partisan issues, these are the issues that national TV people are screaming and yelling about. And what I’m finding on the campaign trail is, while there are certainly differences between the parties and these partisan issues, there are so many things that people want to talk about that are not partisan issues, like children learning how to read, communities finding jobs.”
Akin said she if focused on solving problems for people who are truly struggling in her district.
“These people are hurting,” she said. “The district is hurting, and there are really good people there who are ready to step in. They just need to be seen. They need someone to show up, show up every day. They need somebody who’s accessible that can connect them to the resources they need to be successful.”
Akin has 25 years of leadership across every level of Alabama’s education system, as a classroom teacher, a school administrator, and a college professor training the next generation of principals and superintendents. She believes that experience will help her get things done in Washington D.C.
“These are things that, if you show up and you listen, you can fix,” she said. “Look, I can’t fix everything, but what I can do is I can listen to people. I can get the people who are closest to the problem at the table. They’re the ones that are going to have the best solution. The people that are closest to the problem, and then I can connect those resources, and I will be relentless in connecting those people to what they need. And we can finish a trade school, and we can get the officers the support they need. And you know, I’m using those examples, but they’re those are true across so many of the counties in District Seven.”
The candidate said her message will help unite people in her district.
“I feel like we’ve all been listening to the wrong voices because we don’t we don’t yell and scream at each other here,” she said. “Now we can challenge each other, and our kids can play ball together, and that’s okay. And that that’s who we are as Alabama, and quite frankly, our country needs more of Alabama. Our our you know national politics, our national news media, they want to talk down to Alabama. And you know what? We we love each other in Alabama, and we help each other.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
