Freedom, Faith, and the Fight Ahead - Danielle Duggar

On this episode of The People’s Voice, Blair Castro and Thomas Jenkins sit down with Danielle Duggar, candidate for Alabama House District 96, who is quickly becoming a strong voice in the movement for medical freedom and constitutional liberties.

Duggar shares her story, what led her to step into the race, and the values that drive her campaign. As a Christian, wife, and mother of three, she brings a deeply personal perspective to the conversation—one rooted in protecting freedom, liberty, and conservative principles for future generations.

Danielle dives into her stance on medical freedom, the role of government, and what leadership should look like at the state level. The conversation also goes beyond policy, touching on faith, family, and the responsibility of those who choose to serve.

Learn more about Danielle Duggar and her platform:
🌐 https://www.danielleduggar.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello, welcome to WFUZ TV's The People's Voice Podcast. I'm Blair Castro here today with Thomas Jenkins and we have Mrs. Danielle Duggar in the studio with us today, who's running for Alabama State House District 96. Danielle, thank you so much for joining us today.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Thank you for having me. I'm glad to be here.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

I want to jump right in and ask you some about your district in particular. So for people that don't know, can you explain a little bit about what District 96 actually covers?

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Sure. It's Daphne, Spanish Fort, Blakeley, Bromley, Malbus, and Montrose. So pretty much the whole eastern shore, north of Fairhope, and south of Baymanette. To grab a little bit of Baymanette and Blakeley and Bromley.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

And you are challenging the incumbent who's there right now. That is correct. Correct. And what made you decide to run for office and jump into this race for District 96?

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Sure. So during COVID, we were, you know, we as in some group of conservatives and I were petitioning our legislature to do something to protect our jobs. My husband's job was being threatened if he did, if he declined to take the COVID vaccine. We had our churches closed, our schools were closed, our kids were being forced to wear masks. And my husband was not the only one all across the state of Alabama. Employees were told take this experimental medical procedure or face termination of your job. So we went up to the legislature, we petitioned our lawmakers to pass, you know, protections for not only jobs, but for the students who were at home facing endless days of virtual school for, you know, the kids once they did open back up, being forced to wear masks, um, and our churches that were closed and were, you know, told they had to do virtual services. So we were asking the government to address these issues. And I was deeply disappointed by their response. Um, they not only didn't seem to care much about what the people wanted, but they were more concerned with what the lobbyists wanted. And at the time, there were a few groups, um, lobbying groups, who were pushing hard for the vaccine mandates for employers to have the ability to mandate because they were facing loss of federal contract dollars if they didn't. So that was really their top concern. And going through that battle and having the outcome being not what we wanted, we did not get permanent protections in law to prevent this type of thing from ever happening again. We did not get protection that would, you know, stop these employers from terminating these employees with any kind of penalty if they violated. So there was a bill that was passed. It was provided permanent protection for religious and medical exemptions, but there was no penalty if the employer chose to ignore the law. So I was deeply disappointed with the response. I was deeply disappointed that they cared more about what the lobbyists wanted than what the people wanted, despite over 300,000 emails being sent to our lawmakers regarding this one topic, and despite hundreds of people descending onto the Capitol, marching around the building and asking and, you know, petitioning for um help from our government. So that's what prompted me to run in 2022. I ran for this same seat. Um, we did really well for the first time running. I got 45% of the vote. It was a two-month um campaign. It was really short, fast and furious. And I'm, you know, running again for the same reasons. We still don't have permanent protections in law, and we still have lawmakers who care more about what special interest groups want than what the people want who sent them there.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Wow. Uh two questions. Number one, health freedom is definitely still a hot button issue, I think, even though COVID, you know, seemingly were six years ago now. I think these things are very, very much still relevant. And I hear a lot of candidates talking about that now seem to have, you know, changed their opinion on how they initially stood, which is great, but we should never forget where people kind of were at the beginning. Yes. I lived in Florida at the time, and I was actually really proud of our state for that because I felt like that we really earned the free state of Florida. We were one of the early states to kind of not go with all the mandates. And usually I tend to like what Alabama does more than Florida when I'm comparing things, but that was one issue where I was like, yeah, I think Florida got that more right. So I'm glad you're still talking about it and glad that people are continuously bringing that up. Um, so my question would be when you talk about permanent protections, what specifically are you proposing in terms of more permanent infrastructure there to prevent that from happening?

SPEAKER_00 5:09

Sure. So yeah, like you said, Florida did pass a pretty comprehensive bill that prevented vaccine discrimination in many sectors of law. It included housing, insurance, education, uh, employment, labor. Uh, the list goes on, but it was COVID-19 specific. So what I'm proposing, and I believe Ernie Representative Ernie Yarbrough has this bill right now in the House, is a conscientious right to refuse act. So we need permanent protections in law that state the individual has the right to refuse any medical procedure, including vaccines, uh, for any reason without facing any harassment, coercion, or penalty. So that would protect them in the public sphere, the private sphere. Um, also, you know, in labor with their employers, with public accommodations. Remember, we saw where you couldn't enter certain facilities unless you showed proof of vaccination. Now, Alabama did pass the vaccine passport law that banned that um practice, but it didn't apply to private employment. And a lot of um schools in our state are ignoring it, and we have doctors' offices who are ignoring it. So I would like to see permanent protections to protect informed consent, and that's really what it's all about. It's not about being anti-vaccine or anti-medicine, it's about informed consent. And any medical professional will agree, informed consent is a tenet of the practice of medicine. We have to have informed consent from uh an individual before any medical professional can give you anything, before they can do any procedure, give you any medication, you have to consent to that. And with vaccinations, for some reason, it's like informed consent goes out the window. So I would like to see permanent protections. The bill that's there right now is HB12. It's the Alabama Right to Refuse Act, I believe. And um, that would be a great start. I mean, there's plenty of other areas, and our lawmakers like to say, oh, COVID's over, that's not a problem anymore. But um the issue remains. We have lawmakers who are not responsive to the needs of the people. They're responding more to pressure from lobbying, and individual rights are not being upheld.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

So I know that you have a background in policy. Can you talk a little bit about why your background leads you to be a good fit for this role?

SPEAKER_00 7:48

Yeah, so what I do with the National Vaccine Information Center is I analyze legislation across all 50 states. So we're looking at bills in every single legislature across the country, including DC. And we're tracking bills specifically that relate to informed consent. But with that, we see a lot of parental rights bills, we see a lot of medical freedom bills, um, we see a lot of insurance bills where they're mandating coverage of certain procedures. We see um, you know, just a variety of legislative um uh bills, a lot of bills that we can use, that we can take language from these bills. Excuse me, we have um like in Tennessee, they passed a ivermectin over-the-counter bill. So it's not specifically related to vaccinations, but it does relate to medical freedom that in a way that if you want this medication, you should be able to get it over-the-counter with a standing order from a doctor that would be available at a certain pharmacies in the state. So that's something we could borrow. There's chemtrail bills. There are bills that would require the labeling of certain foods if they contain mRNA vaccinated meat product. Um, there's also labeling laws for um defining foods that contain mRNA um vaccinated meat products as a drug. And then that food would be categorized as a drug in state law and it would be applicable to certain um, you know, existing law regarding drugs and distribution and labeling and sale and manufacture. So in my role as a legislative analyst, I see a lot of good things that are happening in other parts of the country, and I see what we can adopt in Alabama, how it passes, what are their arguments for and against it, how we can customize it to fit our state, to fit our laws in our state, and how we can really go to bat for that legislation because you can introduce legislation all day long, but unless you're fighting for it in the house and you're, you know, encouraging and educating your fellow lawmakers to get on board with the bill, it's not going to go anywhere. So you have to really advocate for your legislation and educate your um, you know, fellow lawmakers on why this is important, why the people need it or want it.

SPEAKER_02 10:19

Yeah, my mom caught COVID and ended up in the hospital, and they were going to put her on the ventilator. And my brother said, give her ivermectin, or not ivermectin, uh, the hydroxychloroquine. And they kept saying, no, no, it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Uh, they were giving her the REM des a beer, and uh, like I said, we're about to put her on the ventilator. Uh he insisted that they give her the hydroxychloroquine, and she had been in the hospital for days and days, declining, declining. Uh, day and a half after that administration of that, she turned around and came home.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

Yeah, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

I haven't been able to trust the medical system or the political systems really since that time.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

A lot of people feel that way. And we saw a lot of death by hospital protocol, unfortunately. So people did lose a lot of trust in our public health systems, in our um, you know, medicine and our, you know, uh lawmakers and what they're telling us versus what you're seeing in real life. Uh, they were telling us like hydroxychoroclin is bad, it will kill you. Ivermectin is horse medicine, uh, humans shouldn't take it. But what we were seeing in real life was the opposite. So we've lost that trust. And I think it's going to require a lot of work and a lot of honesty and transparency to build it back up so that people aren't afraid to go to the doctor. They're not afraid to listen. Um, if we do have good public health guidance, we want people to believe it if it's real. You know, it's gonna take some time to rebuild that trust because so many were killed and so many were severely injured by um just lack of education and by suppressing known treatments, intentional suppressing of known treatments.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Uh so besides health-related issues, what are uh some things that constituents in your district bring forward to you as a priority issue?

SPEAKER_00 12:25

Going door to door, the biggest um priority, the biggest thing that people in my area want to talk about is infrastructure. So we have um very congested, yeah. We've got a lot of congested roadways. Um, we have um just a real need for bridge repair, bridge support, road widening, um, you know, schools, school expansions. We've got schools across the county that are still using portable units, crop classrooms are very full. Um, so really that's the number one thing people want to talk about is infrastructure needs. Um, and then second, you know, people are concerned with the price of everything. And a lot of that relates to taxes. So we are very we have very high consumption tax. Um so you know, people are feeling that at the gas pump. They're feeling it when they purchase groceries, um, they're feeling it anywhere they go and buy anything. Um, we're taxed to death. Our vehicle tax to renew your tag every year. If you bought an electric vehicle, you still you don't escape the gas tax. There's a special tax for you at the end of every year when you renew your tags. Um, so we just have really high consumption tax in the area. So that's the number one thing I hear people want us to do something about. Our property tax is low. And we do have state exemption for you know seniors 65 and older, but they're not exempt from county and city tax on their property. And a lot of time those properties that they purchased, let's say 10, 15, 20 years ago, have doubled, if not tripled, in their assessed value. So we've got seniors who are paying their county and city um tax, you know, depending on where they live, they're paying their tax on their home on basically unrealized gains. Um, the home that you know, the county's telling them their home is worth 500,000. They purchased it for 145 years ago, but they're being taxed on that 500. So there's a process where they can get a cap on the assessed increase every year. I think it was 7% in the county and Baldwin County, but um something's got to be done. You know, we've got to help people on fixed incomes, our senior citizens, our veterans. Um, they shouldn't be paying property tax. Once you own your home, you should own your home outright.

SPEAKER_02 14:53

Yeah, we interviewed uh Chake Martin the other day who's running for governor, and he wants to see uh no tax on groceries, which I'm all for.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

Yeah. They've reduced our grocery tax at the state level. So they reduce the state tax burden by two cents. Um, but we've still got city and county, you know, you have your municipal tax that they add on to the groceries. So the remaining um state tax portion, I believe, is four cents or two cents left. I I forget what the um remaining portion is, but um you still have your city and county tax. So even if we reduced it completely for food products, for groceries, you're still going to be t paying a certain percentage of tax based on where you live and where you're shopping.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

There, I was really shocked moving to Alabama from Florida with the massive amount of extra tax. I didn't know we were, I knew there was some sort of grocery tax, but I didn't know we were also getting taxed on things like toothpaste and like healthcare items. I didn't understand that there uh I was living in a little dream bubble where there was no state income tax. You know, like you come here and you're getting triple tax a lot of the time at three different levels. Um, and then other things small businesses. So I feel like we could be a lot more small business friendly, especially in terms of taxes, because you're like I said, that multiple level of taxation. And then say my hairstylist, for example, she owns, you know, chairs and stuff in there that she paid for outright, but you're still getting taxed just to own it and have it in the building. It's just very shocking to me. So I'm glad to see you talking about kind of helping with those small breaks for the average person.

SPEAKER_00 16:36

And they're getting taxed on their licensing and regulation fees. So, you know, just as a cosmetologist, they have to pay for the license fee every year. Um, some of these costs can be prohibitive. Uh, you know, in small businesses starting up, um, it definitely burdens um the economy and entrepreneurial ship by making folks pay to have a license just to work. Um, we also have the business privilege tax. So in Alabama, they think it's a privilege for you to be able to run your business and make a living for your family. So um we, like I said, so many taxes, and those licensing fees are just another tax on individuals. On nearly every occupation, I think it's over 200 different occupations are um have licensing fees and regulations attached to them.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

So I wanted to ask, because I think a lot of people running for office talk about how they want to reduce taxes and how they want to fix infrastructure. What in particular sets you apart from your opponent? Why should people vote for you?

SPEAKER_00 17:44

So, you know, I'm a conservative. So as a conservative, that means a few things, you know, not just fiscal conservatism, but socially conservative. Um, my opponent voted for the gas tax. That's you can thank them, the legislature for that. That was a 10 cent increase, um, which on every gallon of gas that you pay for, you're paying an extra 10 cents in tax, um, thanks to the legislature. And uh that goes up automatically every other year. So it, you know, it rises with the rate of inflation and roadwork uh construction costs. So we've got, you know, that's not something that I would ever vote for. Um, I I would never vote to increase taxes as a conservative. Um I would also never vote to burden or um infringe on your right to um keep and bear arms. I think we already have too many infringements on our Second Amendment. Um we, you know, red flag laws, gun accessory restrictions, expansion, you know, cannot possess um lists. Uh there's just too many infringements on the Second Amendment. The Constitution is very clear. I mean, it says shall not be infringed. And then we have Republican legislatures like Alabama infringing it left, right, and center. Um, that's something that differentiates me from my opponent. Another thing uh besides taxes and gun restrictions is um gambling. You know, this is a big deal for people in the South for Christian conservatives. So as a Christian and a conservative, that's not something I would ever vote for. I'm not going to vote for casinos anywhere in the state, not just a prohibition on casinos in Baldwin County, um, but anywhere in the state, I would not vote for gambling. Now, in order to, what folks say is they want a clean lottery bill, right? But this is a fallacy because in order to get a lottery only instituted in the state of Alabama, you have to remove the constitutional prohibition on games of chance. So Alabama Constitution prohibits any games of chance. Games of skill are allowed. Um, some games of skill, that's why you see like electronic bingo and dog racing and um um some sports betting online is is, I guess, a legal loophole, but uh supposedly those things require skill. Now, games of chance would be like a lottery or a casino, and our constitution prohibits that. So, in order to do a lottery, you have to remove the constitutional prohibition first. That would go out to the people in a referendum that would be on your ballot, and the people of Alabama would vote yes or no to remove it. Then whatever is paired with it in the legislature would be like a companion set of bills. So one would be voting on the referendum, the ballot referendum, which would require two-thirds vote in both houses in order to go out to the people. The other would be okay, here's our plan. If that passes, this is what we're gonna do. So that would be the lottery or the casino, comprehensive casino and gambling package, which we saw back in 2025, which narrowly, narrowly uh did not pass. So it was uh, I think I believe it came down to like one vote in the Senate that that package did not pass. And um, you know, that's something my opponent voted for. That's something a lot of conservative members in the House voted for. Um, that's where I differ from them. And that's why I've earned the endorsement from our Alabama Farmers Federation because they, like me, do not want to see our beautiful beaches and our small town uh values in Baldwin County be destroyed by the uh influx of drug trafficking, sex trafficking, crime, and poverty that would come with a casino.

SPEAKER_02 21:48

Yeah, I don't think people think about that side effect enough. And that's I want to say, probably the clearest and most thorough explanation on that that entire issue that I've heard yet. I didn't even know. That gamers of chance were uh not allowed by the state constitution. Yeah. I would bet that a lot of voters and constituents don't realize.

SPEAKER_00 22:08

They don't because I'm going door to door talking to voters, and that's the number one misunderstanding is well, why won't you just let the people decide? If we want a lottery, we just want the lottery, just let us vote on a lottery. And I tell them, well, you're not voting on the lottery, you're voting on removing the constitutional prohibition. And we know once those guardrails are removed, it could be one session later, it could be 10 sessions later that a comprehensive gambling and casino package will pass. I just read an article this morning about the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars of outs out-of-state money that is coming into our state to fund these legislators' campaigns to push for gambling passage in the 2027 legislative session. So that's the plan, that's the goal, that's what they're pushing for. Um, you've got PACs that are being uh, you know, called, they're they're being disguised with names like um what was it, the Conservative Action Fund. And they're putting out, you know, mailers for these guys, they're endorsing them, they're supporting them, they're putting tens of thousands of dollars into these races, hundreds of thousands and millions statewide. And um they're they're owned, there that entity is actually DraftKings. I just read that this morning. So we've got gambling entities who are pushing a lot of money into our state to try and get our lawmakers to vote yes on this. And what differentiates me from my opponent is I am a no vote. It's not that I don't want to give the people the right to choose. It's as a Christian, my moral values and what I want for my community, a safe, family-friendly, you know, um affordable place to live that's not overrun with casino tourism. That's what I want for my for my community. That's what drives me to vote no.

SPEAKER_02 24:10

So for people in groups that are adamantly and vehemently against casinos on the beach, what can they do? Is there anything that can be done by the people, or is that all up to the representative that they elect?

SPEAKER_00 24:22

It it can it can be done. So if we have enough public pressure on our lawmakers, they hopefully, hopefully, would vote no if they knew that the people in their district did not want this. Um, so it's we really need to do a better job educating people so that they understand what they're asking for, if they're asking for a quote unquote clean lottery bill. And we need to let people know hey, call your lawmaker. These are the guys who are going to vote for it. They voted for it last time, they'll vote for it again. Let's put some pressure on them. Let's let them know that you don't want this. And if there is enough public pressure, especially during primary season, right, you know, there are candidates that are not for the lottery and not for gambling casinos. So if you look at like the candidates who are endorsed by alpha, that's a good kind of rule of thumb. They're endorsing candidates who are not for casinos. Um, so just put some pressure on them during the primary season and hopefully they will comply.

SPEAKER_01 25:27

So, for everyone watching, I went to an event or meeting where you spoke and you broke it down. I think informing people is really the biggest thing that we can do as a community. So she took us through how to go on the Statehouse website, how to find your representative, how to see their voting record, how to find their email, like learn more about them, read their bio. Just do that, people. Like go out there and research the people. It's really, I know it's you know overwhelming to sort of navigate these websites sometimes. The information is there, and people have gone through great lengths to make it more readily available. We're getting better and better each cycle, I think, and getting the word out about past votes and about you know where people's money comes from. It's worth the research instead of just voting for someone because you saw their name on more signs than the other person. I really would encourage you to do that. And she took this whole group of people through this process in a way that really broke it down. So I appreciate that a lot. That going out of your way to help inform people because this is information that we really need to look at a little more carefully as a society.

SPEAKER_00 26:28

Yeah, and they don't make it easy to find. So, like you saw during the tutorial, um, you know, the leg the Alabama legislative web website uh leaves a lot of room for improvement. So committee votes, which are kind of crucial because a lot of time when the when the bill gets to the floor, lawmakers know, okay, this vote will be recorded. My constituents will see this. So they'll often vote the way they should when it's on the floor. But in committee is a different story. In the state of Alabama, um, not all of our committee hearing rooms have camera and sound. Um, first issue. Second issue is in the state of Alabama, public hearings are not required for a bill to move through committee. So in other states, it is required. The bill can't pass through committee unless it's had a public hearing, um, but not required in Alabama. So a lot is done that the public is unaware of. And then the third issue is that the votes that do take place in the committee are not recorded on the website in a way that anyone can find them. So there's no committee report. So when a committee works on a bill, it reports it back to the House either favorably or unfavorably. And with that report, typically in every other state I analyze, it will have a record of who voted for, who voted against, what arguments were made for and against, if there was a public hearing, who came to testify in support or in opposition of the bill. This is all recorded in a committee report and it's on the state legislature website for the public to see. But in the state of Alabama, that's not there. So if you want to find those committee report or committee reports or committee votes, you have to call the clerk of that committee and ask pretty pretty please, can you send me the information? And if it's recorded somewhere and if they want to give it to you, they will.

SPEAKER_02 28:26

We were just having me and Blair were talking about transparency and the lack thereof over the coffee this morning and how we've actually been barred from recording uh certain candidate events just because we want to get a high-quality video and audio of it so we can get information out to the people, and then we'll watch other outlets record it, and you can't even hardly hear what candidates are saying. And I wish there was more pro-First Amendment freedom of the press uh push for full transparency, uh especially here in Alabama.

SPEAKER_01 29:00

Yeah. So for the issue you just talked about about the website not having the committee information and some of the committees not being recorded, what can we do as people? Can potentially a legislator like bring that forward as some sort of bill to make that available on the website? Like, or is that just things that are not like I would love to see that happen. I think that's actually a really major problem.

SPEAKER_00 29:20

It is, it is a major problem. It is definitely a roadblock for citizens when they're looking for these things. I can find a lot on the website because I do it every day for my job. But not everyone is as familiar with the website and they'll get frustrated and they might give up and think, oh, it's just not there. Um, so yes, I believe LSA, um, our legislative services agency, they I believe are responsible for the um the website and for managing it. And I'm sure there was a you know a tech group that created the website, but I think LSA is responsible for managing it, if I remember correctly, at the bottom of the screen. But I I'm not sure if that would require legislation or if that's something that we could just work with someone friendly in LSA or within the legislature to try and bring the website up to speed with at least the bare minimum of what other states are offering so that our people can be informed. And if there's pushback and they don't want to do that, we have to ask ourselves why. Do they not want it visible? Do they want it to be obscured and hard to find? Um, or are they willing to work toward transparency and better functionality of the site? You know, it needs to be more user-friendly.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

I feel like that goes down to the county and municipal level too, because I'm so tired of hearing. We've heard it time and time again, there's a tech issue, there's a new girl. Sorry that we can't get the scanner to work. There's no document or record of this. Sorry that we can't find like any of this information, even though you're entitled to it by law and that we had a tech thing that messed it up. Like technology is very important in today's day and age, so get with it, people, because there's no reason that we should have these repeated technological failures.

SPEAKER_02 31:19

Right. I don't want to go into a county office and hear, oh, we're dinosaurs here.

SPEAKER_00 31:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:24

That's actually what someone told us.

SPEAKER_02 31:25

Yeah, that's kind of this actual quote.

SPEAKER_00 31:28

Yeah, I wouldn't, I would not be surprised. And it's not that we don't have the money to do it.

unknown 31:33

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 31:34

So, what is what was it, a$1 billion surplus in the Education Trust fund this this session? And I'm I have yet to look at the general fund to see if there was a surplus there as well. But it's not that the money isn't there to update these things and to use better technology. It's, I believe, a desire not to.

SPEAKER_01 31:57

I definitely agree. I did that in Escambia County, Florida. I didn't for the city of Pensacola, I helped build like web portals to access information and make things easier for people. And then I it's kind of what started, you know, my first county commission meeting. I had talked about that here, how I could help and see how I could plug in and see if they had a need for this because I could not navigate their site like at all. And it has come leaps and bounds since that time. And I've been, you know, given the run through of how to do this, that, and the other. But I feel like the average person should be able to go there and access that, not someone who has to sit down with the commissioner for an hour and have them talk you through the steps and the hierarchy.

SPEAKER_00 32:32

Right. That's crazy. Well, good. Then I'll call you when I get in office and we can work on the legislative website.

SPEAKER_01 32:40

That's a big deal for me as a web person who's concerned about access to information, and people write it off as not that important. And the smaller the town, it seems like, the more they write it off. Yes. So at least we have hope on the legislative level. I feel like you might have less hope.

SPEAKER_00 32:54

And you know, you'd be surprised. I went through the Pembroke, uh, I think it was Bryant County, Georgia uh website, the county website that had probate and it had a bunch of other departments in there. And it was really easy to navigate. I was looking for, you know, deeds and documents related to my in-laws after their passing. And it was quite easy to navigate. So, and and if you don't know, Pembroke, Georgia is the tiniest of tiniest towns. It has one intersection and it had one McDonald's. And that was about it for a very, very, very long time. Um, and Bryant County is not an affluent county. There's not a lot of money, then not a whole lot of people there either. Um, and for them to have such an easy functioning website, it just really kind of puts us to shame.

SPEAKER_01 33:44

Yeah. So I also wanted to ask about your, I guess, personal life to hear a little bit about what brought you to Baldwin County, what are your ties here, and what keeps you?

SPEAKER_00 33:54

Sure. So um my husband's job brought us here. We came out in 2007 when he took a job with Airbus. He got hired for that position when we were on our honeymoon. So we got married and came right out here. Um, we've been here ever since. We love it here. I have three kids. Um, we have three kids, my husband and I. There, our kids have been raised here. So our oldest was four, I believe, when we moved out here. So they've been raised here. Um, we've done every form of schooling you can imagine. When we first moved, the kids were in public school. Um, we were in Daphne's school system, then we decided to build a home. So we moved into the Belforest area and we were in the Faroe Public School system. Um, then when our third baby came along, we kind of outgrew that house and we moved up to Spanish Fort. And then we were in Spanish Fort schools. So we've really done all the schools in the district. Um, after that, we decided to pull the kids out for a while and do some homeschooling. And then after homeschooling for three years with a newborn, and you know, as she was getting older and more mobile, I couldn't keep up. And we decided to go the private school route. So we've really done it all between public schooling, homeschooling, and private schools, which is where my kids are now. My oldest graduated from a Christian school in our district or right outside the district. And then my two um younger ones are in 10th grade and fifth grade, and they are still in school at a private Christian school in the district. So um as a mom, you know, and as a mom who's kind of run the gamut of education with my kids, I see where the needs are. I see where, you know, we need state law to protect homeschooling, we need state law to protect our new Choose Act that was passed, the education funds, uh, education savings counts for these kids. We don't want a situation where these private schools have signed on and become vendors for the Choose Act funds, and these homeschoolers have started using the Choose Act funds, and then the state passes new rules and regulations, you know, dictating what the parents and the schools can and cannot teach, or adding stipulations like let's say, God forbid, we've got a Democrat governor, okay? Let's say hell freeze is over and Alabama elects a Democrat governor, um, which wouldn't be too far from what we've had recently, but um, let's say that happens and um they decide you've got to practice DEI, you have to teach critical race theory, or you have to affirm genders or talk about LGBTQ, talk about gender identity in elementary schools. Otherwise, your school is not eligible for choose act funds. So this is not like a far-fetched idea. This is the would be easy for them to do with future legislation to add extra criteria to being eligible for accessing those choose act funds. So that's something that as a mom, I feel deep very, you know, strongly about protecting, making sure that if we are going to give access to the state tax portion, you know, the state tax dollars for your child's education, and we have to do it without strings attached.

SPEAKER_02 37:37

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 37:38

The homeschool community I know is very concerned about using these funds and what's going to be required of them. They don't want to have to do any, you know, specialized standardized testing each year. They want, they don't want to have to use certain curriculum. You know, they may be using the whole purpose of it. Exactly. Of home, of educating your child in the home without government interference. So that's what we want to protect. Um, so yeah, that's that's who I am. I'm a mom. I care about education, I care about my family, I care about my community. And I just want this place to be affordable, to be safe for my kids and and you know, our com the kids in our community to grow up in, to go off to school or go off to trade school or start their careers and then come back home to Baldwin County or to get educated here in Baldwin County now that we have some trade schools and um hopefully more workforce development. We want them to be able to build their family here. We want this to be home. And in order for that to happen, it needs to be affordable, it needs to be safe, and we need to have good schools. So that's what I care about. That's who I am. And um yeah, I'm my heart is here in Baldwin County.

SPEAKER_02 38:50

What do we do about home affordability when all of the uh real estate people and planners and zoners just talk about as pretty much too bad the market dictates the price? How do we what is the happy medium there?

SPEAKER_00 39:06

I don't believe in any government um involvement in you know house pricing or you know, I believe in a free market. And I think the more government involvement, the worse things become, and the more unaffordable it becomes, even though you know they claim to want to fix or regulate or assist, um, it usually ends up making things worse. So, you know, the the way we can keep things affordable is by keeping taxes low, our consumption tax. Um, we've got to keep that low, we've got to keep property tax low or eliminated. And um, that way people can afford their cost of living around here. And uh, you know, we have to have good schools so that people want to live here. If we have bad schools, you know, real estate is not going to thrive because people aren't gonna want to buy homes in an area where the schools rated poorly. Um, you know, and we have good rated schools, but some of the achievement rates that we're seeing are not great. So we've got some pretty low proficiency rates despite these high-rated schools. So we've got to figure out what's going on there and make sure that this is a desirable place to live, but it's also an affordable place to live.

SPEAKER_01 40:24

And I may get a little flack for saying this, but when you're looking at a school, for me as a parent, too, it's not just about the most beautiful building, the best technology, you know, beautiful classrooms and nice furniture, even though that stuff helps and is really nice. But you really have to look at the quality of the curriculum and the teachers, as well as the teachers' experience, what they're teaching, and how much FaceTime they get with each kid. So you have to look at the population there and how much time they're actually getting interacted with your particular kid, because I feel like that's something people just think, oh, the school is like brand new and it smells great inside. But there's there's a lot more I think we need to look at that really determines the quality of a school.

SPEAKER_00 41:04

Especially our resource teachers. So I hear a lot from our resource teachers and our and our gen ed teachers that um there's just not enough money put into special education. So you've got one resource teacher. Now that's the teacher that helps the kids who might have 504 plan accommodations or IEPs, um, individual education programs for um students who have maybe learning disabilities or other disabilities. They you've got one resource teacher in some of these schools uh with a caseload of like 100 kids, you know, and they're supposed to be able to pull these kids out of class to do, to work with them, for them to get uh different services, for them to do testing in a quiet or you know, um uh smaller environment without a lot of distractions from other students, if they require all this individualized care and accommodations, but you've got one teacher who's managing 20, 30, 40, 75 kids, it's not gonna happen. And then the students who are in the general education classrooms, um, you know, if you've got 15 kids with uh, you know, 504 or IEPs, you've got a handful who just have behavioral issues, but they don't have any special accommodations, and then you've got maybe a few who are um trying to follow along, trying to do, you know, the best they can in the classroom. One teacher trying to manage all of that is a lot. It's a lot. And, you know, we you've got to look at that when you're looking for schools, as, you know, how what is their special education like? Because even if your child doesn't need services, there are going to be other kids in the classroom who do. And if they're not getting those services, it's gonna cause a disruption and a distraction for the other students. And it's not the kids' fault. We just need to have more money put into the system because the teachers are stressed, the resource teachers are overworked and stressed. You know, administration might not always see that or understand it, and they're held to certain criteria, like they have to meet certain benchmarks and certain um, you know, standards uh in order to for the students, in order for the school to be graded appropriately and for the students to progress. So it's just a lot of stress on these teachers who are excellent humans. I mean, to do the work that they do is so hard. Um, and they don't get a lot of thanks for it, but the burden shouldn't just be on them. We've got to get through the school system, they've got to be fully funding special education and not just kids with learning disabilities, but kids with exceptionalities. Um, you know, they're Not getting the time and the one-on-one and the challenge that they need, uh, not necessarily. So that's you know, another thing that we need to evaluate. Are we putting more money into sports uh when we should be putting more money into you know, education, special education resources, um, help for these teachers? I know every teacher I talked to would love to have a smaller classroom size, um, fewer students to manage so that they can give all the attention they want to give to these students.

SPEAKER_01 44:36

What has been your twofold question here? What has been the hardest thing about being on the campaign trail? Okay. What has been your favorite thing about being on the campaign trail this particular cycle?

SPEAKER_00 44:48

I think the hardest and my favorite are the same thing, which is weird, but the hardest thing I've done this campaign cycle, and I did it the last time as well, but not for as long, um, has been going door to door. So I, you know, every day I'm out there for the past eight months. I have been walking neighborhoods, talking to voters, going door to door, sitting on porches, chatting with folks. I love that. I love talking to people. As you can tell, I talk a lot, um, but I love getting to know these people. I learn so much from them. You know, I learn what the needs are in the community and how people feel about things through talking to them. And I enjoy truly, genuinely enjoy meeting people. But the hardest thing has been going door to door and talking to voters, not because it's difficult talking to them. I enjoy that, but because of all the threats we, the all the issues I've had, um, not, you know, death threats or anything, but um, you know, going up to a door, having dogs barking at you and trying to bite you, got attacked once, bit three times by two dogs. Um it I've been out there knocking in the freezing cold rain, uh, this the heat of the end of summer last year, and it's even starting to heat up now. Not today, of course, but I've been out there in the heat, in the sun, in the cold, in the rain, um, with lightning, uh, dog attacks. Um, I even I even accidentally I carry a taser now since I was attacked by uh dogs. Uh, just in case I need it, uh, in case there's a dog locked onto my leg, I need something, get them off. I carry a taser now. And I accidentally tased myself while talking to a voter. So that has been the hardest part, but also the most rewarding. I've enjoyed every minute of it except for the dangerous parts. And I just hope to continue to be able to do this up until election day. And it doesn't stop if I'm elected. I want to continue to meet with voters, talk to voters, you know, have coffee dates, have neighborhood meet and greets, um, just hear from the people that voted for me.

SPEAKER_01 47:13

I think very few people are willing to work as hard as you to earn a seat. And I believe that speaks volumes to your character. And I think very few people are as informed as you when it comes to legislation itself. And these are qualities that we desperately need in office right now.

SPEAKER_00 47:28

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 47:28

I appreciate that. So tell everyone where they can find you online or where they can donate, contribute, or learn more.

SPEAKER_00 47:34

Sure. So you can go to Danielle Duggar D-U-G-G-A-R.com. Uh, that's my website. That will link you to the Facebook page. It also has links to donate or just to follow along. Um, and I hope to earn your vote May 19th is the big day.