The People's Voice
WFUZ-TV | The People’s Voice Podcast
The People’s Voice shines a spotlight on the individuals shaping Coastal Alabama, Northwest Florida, and communities across the Southeast. Each episode features candid conversations with local leaders, public officials, business owners, candidate for office, advocates, and everyday citizens who are working to create meaningful change.
From local politics and policy to grassroots initiatives and community success stories, we go beyond headlines to explore the real issues impacting our region. Our mission is simple: give the microphone to the people, encourage informed dialogue, and highlight solutions that strengthen our communities.
If you care about civic engagement, regional growth, and the voices driving positive change, The People’s Voice delivers authentic conversations that matter.
The People's Voice
Terry Waters on Farming, Faith & Fighting for Alabama in the State Senate
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On this episode of The People’s Voice, Blair Castro and Thomas Jenkins sit down with Terry Waters, Republican candidate for Alabama State Senate District 22.
Waters is a farmer, Army veteran, and small business owner who says he is stepping up because he is tired of watching career politicians miss the mark on the issues that matter most to everyday Alabamians.
In this interview, Terry shoots straight. He clears up misconceptions about his positions, explains why he decided to jump into this race, and makes the case for why he believes he is the best man for the job. He points to real-world experience, a no-nonsense approach, and a commitment to putting people over politics.
We talk about his priorities, including protecting Second Amendment rights, standing with veterans and first responders, and pushing for practical, common-sense solutions in Montgomery. He also lays out how he plans to represent District 22 with honesty, transparency, and accountability.
Learn more: https://www.terrywaters.com
Welcome to WFUZ TV, the People's Voice Podcast. I'm Blair Castro here with Thomas Jenkins, and we have Terry Waters in the studio with us. He's running for Alabama State Senate District 22.
SPEAKER_01Yes, ma'am.
SPEAKER_00Mr. Waters, thank you so much for joining us.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much for having us. Blair Thomas, it's uh it's awesome to be here. Good to get my uh good to speak to people. It's hard to get in front of voters.
SPEAKER_00We appreciate you driving all the way down here to Gulf Shores and you know, fearing off the traffic in this time of day, so it means a lot.
SPEAKER_01It's all good. Good to be here.
SPEAKER_00So let's talk a little bit about where you're from in the county, your district itself, which is sort of the one right next to us, and what motivated you to kind of jump in this race right now.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so uh as you said, district twenty-two, and that is all of Ascambia County, and I'll talk about the voting blocks even. So Ascambia County is 22% of the voting block. Uh then let's move to Central and North Ballon, which is about 46% of the voting block. Uh there's a piece of mobile in there, it's about 10%, and then it's all of Washington County, 22% of the voting block. It's it's a very rural area, but it still represents about 145,000, 150,000 people. So still still a lot of people.
SPEAKER_00How do they even make those districts? Sometimes I think, oh, that's really confusing, like the way they're drawn.
SPEAKER_01Um it's very confusing, especially in the Foley area because it zigzags. Uh, you know, I do have Alberta Lillian area, but it it does a little cutting in and out. The best thing I could say if you're a voter and you're interested, and you so you're you've either been in Greg Albriton or Chris Elliott's district, 32 or 22, but you can also go to uh it's the Secretary of State website, and then that way you can find out who you're who your actual what what district you're in uh for the state senate.
SPEAKER_00You'd be surprised how many people don't even know who the representatives are as you're probably learning on the campaign trail that you were.
SPEAKER_01I probably was running against Tommy Tuckerville. Um Chris Elliott, a lot of people of course think I'm running against him. Uh he his name is I feel like better known in our county than than even my opponent. So yeah, it's it's getting the word out there, and I don't think I answered the rest of your question. Um, you know, I I just don't feel like the uh District 22 has been represented uh especially in the Baldwin County area. Um when I considered this, I was asked a long time ago to run for this office, and it was very comical. I laughed at the thought of it, even um, you know, and as I started looking at it more, getting to ask more, pushed a little harder, uh, I actually started looking at people that might be interested, and I had a few people come forward and uh and the reason is we kept asking who who's your senator? And they either said Chris Elliott or who knows. And uh and this these are not these are people that vote. So, you know, I'm not just asking anybody, I'm asking people who have always voted. And they just don't feel represented. So uh anyway, some of the other folks, and I say it comically, but it it's it's really it's a true statement. I shouldn't say it, but I'm about my third choice. I was not like I didn't want to do this. Uh so I but but somebody needs to step up and do these things. And at some point, you know, my dad said, This is your civic duty. So no, jury duty is your civic duty. Voting is your civic duty, but uh running for office maybe not so much. But I wanted to be more than a uh a a voice and more than one vote. Um, you know, I'm one of them people that I don't complain too much, I try to fix things.
SPEAKER_03What can uh what compelled you? What was the final straw where you're like, okay, I'm gonna go do this?
SPEAKER_01Uh my honest I know you'll hear me say this throughout this, I'm honest. Um I got called at a week moment. I and and from then on I'm wide open. I have not stopped, I haven't slowed down. I got asked one last time. So so the truth is, I I I said in the end, give me a week and let me think about it. And I'll and I'll put some serious thought into it. And I did, and I come back with a no. And then I felt empty inside, and I prayed on it. I really, me and my wife both, we really talked about it in depth. And I just thought, this is this is a bad decision. I I don't I don't know that I'm ready for this, I don't know that I'm qualified for this. And the more we talked about it, uh, the more I realized, you know, I am qualified. I am somebody who will stand for the people and and be their voice. And uh so when I got asked the final time, I I said yes because of the emptiness I was feeling. So and and here we are. I I've been wide open ever since, uh really wide open ever since.
SPEAKER_00Uh being honest is the best qualification you can have. So I think so.
SPEAKER_01I think uh I think that's the one thing we're lacking uh is honesty and transparency. That is my that is my two right there. Uh I really want to be honest and I really want to be transparent. And uh, you know, that that's not gonna change. Nothing's gonna change me. Uh I'm not doing this for power, I'm not doing it for money. Um I have a really good life where I'm at right now. Uh I'm really doing it for my family, my five grandkids, uh, the way of life that I've I've grown up in, and uh, you know, my platform as a farmer and a veteran, and uh, I'd like to elaborate on that at some point. But uh, but that's that's a big part of it too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so let's definitely talk about that. Um, being a farmer and a veteran, I believe you live in Robertsdale, if I'm not correct.
SPEAKER_01I do, born and raised on a farm in Robertsdale. Um uh funny thing is, my my mom and dad are still with us, and blessed there. They're 85 years old. I have two older brothers, um Tom Timmy and Tony Waters. Um my high school sweepheart, which I married, uh, will be 39 years this year. And then I have two adult children who are very successful. Um, and everybody I just named uh lives in Robertsdale and graduated from Robertsdale High School. And uh some of them went on to college, my kids did, and uh we we all live within a half mile of each other in Robertsdale. So we so we've we really got a good life. Uh that's another thing that I want to preserve. So uh um I could keep going with that if you want me to.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we just drove through Robertsdale today, actually, and I was like, man, there's some really nice uh places out here in Robertsdale. I love how rural it is, and I hope you know we do have people, especially people who are really embedded in the community, willing to fight for that to keep it that way.
SPEAKER_01That's right. Well, and it's it's hard to do. You know, we live in paradise and everybody's realizing it. Um, you know, and you can only control growth so much. Um I I I would not I don't envy the commissioners and their their jobs that they have uh coming up. Uh it's pretty tough to find the right the right things to do to control the growth in this county. Um I'm I'm hoping we get some really some people in there who are really interested in it.
SPEAKER_03I hope that with candidates like you and with the things that we talk about on the show that we can kind of put back in people's minds the importance of preserving land that food pops up out of. It's it's really that simple. Why uh it's like putting linoleum over hardwood floors. Why the hell would would you want to completely concrete over high quality soil when we're in, for example, the beef shortage. That's that's been you know top news for a while.
SPEAKER_01Well, so uh, you know, as I said, I grew up on a farm, I live on a farm now, which took a lot for me to get back out to the farm. Um me and my middle brother, we kind of had to work at it. My oldest brother always stayed on the farm, helped my dad. Um, but you know, so I grew up on a hog farm, and uh I'm gonna elaborate on that a little bit. So we got out of the hog farm about 96. We started the nursery, Waters Nursery, in late 98. Um we started on a little piece of ground, uh, whole family worked, nights, weekends, kids worked, everybody worked. Uh if you've ever or know anything about farming, work ethic is a part of it. Uh it it infiltrates a lot of good things uh growing up on a farm. And it's a it's a hard life, but it's a good life. Um but anyway, so we grew the nursery. Uh nursery is about 150 acres now. Um me and my two brothers and my dad are equal partners. My my middle brother Tony is the president, so we had to name somebody, and he had the most experience and uh anyway. So now my son is running the nursery, he's the general manager and doing an outstanding job. Um he gave me time to do this. I haven't thanked him yet for that. I don't know how that's gonna work out. But uh, but back to the farming part. So we're losing our farms at about 8% a year. That's a national, that is a national number. Uh and and you know, I think it's largely in part to farming is the only business I know of where everything you buy is at retail. Everything you sell is at hotel wholesale. So you think about that for a minute. I mean, how can you how can any business survive uh with that in mind? Uh, you know, and you think about uh my dad was was selling corn in the 70s for around the same price as we are today. Now you think about the input cost, uh fertilizer, I mean it doesn't matter. Any cop name anything, y'all know. Everything's gone up. Uh you know, and and we went through the 80s, which was awful. Uh, you know, and a farmer that's out there, you know, there was some times there where farmers could make a little money, but you better put it back if you want to continue to farm. Uh you know, because that that's that's a big part of it. Um but you know, we've got to do something, and and you know, the kids today need to realize that food doesn't come from Walmart, it comes from farmers. And uh one day, one day, if we're not very careful, we're gonna be relying on other countries for our food, and that's when it gets dangerous. Um, you know, I hate to see Baldwin County changing like it is. With that said, I also believe in property rights. Uh, I understand. So what people need to realize is you know, some of these farms being sold, they're not making money. Uh, how do you talk your son into staying in the farming business when there's no money involved and he can sell and have generational wealth? Yeah, it's a hard argument, you know. So so I get both sides of it. Uh I I want to preserve Bob County, but at the same time, I respect their rights.
SPEAKER_00Um, so I want to ask a little bit about your time in the Army. You are an Army vet. Um, how do you think that kind of prepared you for this? Now you're running for office. How does those leadership skills kind of transfer?
SPEAKER_01Well, so uh 25 days after high school, I went into uh the United States Army. Uh I did not go in the Army to see the world and for a vacation. Uh I went in because uh me and my wife were married. I had a I had a daughter before I graduated high school, and uh I needed some help. And the farming farm was not big enough to support several families, so I had to I had to do something that was all good. I'm not complaining. Uh my family is incredibly awesome. Um but I needed somewhere to go, something to do. I needed insurance. I needed to grow up some. Uh so that the army was a good avenue for me. Six months after uh training, I went overseas to Fulda, Germany, and that was about three miles from the east-west border. Uh I was there when the wall came down in the '89. And uh very interesting time in our history. Uh I saw firsthand what socialism can do and what over-government can do with these people. When you're when you're downtown and you see people just walk up and embrace and go to the ground crying because they haven't seen each other in so many years because of government. Um, I I'm not saying that's why I'm here, but it did, it does give you a thought. Socialism, uh, I've sit on the tailgate talking to other veterans and customers. Socialism should never come up in this country. Uh never would be considered. Uh so so after that, I did my my four years active, uh, did a year and a half in the airborne reserves, and then that was in North Carolina, by the way, and then I came back here to Atmore where I finished my I finished another two and a half years, and I was honorably discharged uh from the military. And uh yeah, I mean I I do think that the military did shape a lot of uh what I think today, and you know, take that with along with the work ethic uh that I came up with and so many good people I served with. Um I'll I'll say this the country doesn't owe me anything, it did what I needed for me. I grew up, uh I learned me and my wife through together, uh, had a son overseas. Uh so anyway, uh life's been pretty good. I can't complain a whole lot.
SPEAKER_03So if you get elected, what are some things you would like to see accomplished? What are some goals and what future do you see for Baldwin County? What would do you envision?
SPEAKER_01Well, so we say Baldwin County, but I gotta keep in mind that I'm I'm four different counties and and noticing the differences.
SPEAKER_03I should say your district.
SPEAKER_01No, no, no, it's all good. I'm glad you said it the way you did, because because bring bringing these other, realizing the differences in Washington County, Oscandia County, a little piece of mobile and ball, and noticing the difference is is a big deal. Uh I've talked to several people and several different professions. Uh I'll I'll say education. Let me take that. So I don't know. I'm I've never been an educator, uh, so I don't know a lot about what needs to go on in education. So what I would want to do, you know, I'm not there to know everything. I'm there to be a voice for the people uh of the district. So what I would want to do is talk to educators from all four counties uh and put together a group of people, a network, if you will, of educators, maybe even a couple just common sense parents. Uh, and and have if something comes up about education, I shoot a text out and get some response. I mean, it wouldn't be a surprise. They would know they would be a part of this. Uh, but I I have that plan on a lot of different of my platforms. I think that's the best way to be transparent and get it, get the voice back to the people. Is you pick people throughout these communities, even the one in Scambia and the one that maybe a Foley, because I do cover a little bit of Foley. Uh you know, so you're getting the busy area along with some of the rural area, you get a voice from each different part of the district. Um, so that that would be my my goal on that. Um, you know, and I and I'm I can apply that to a lot of things, small business. I mean, I don't think that the small businesses are being represented like they should. Um, you know, after growing the nursery and all the struggles that we went through, uh I'd like to take out a lot of the red tape. And and you know, let me say this. I'm I'm talking honesty. I don't know what all I can and can't do. I know I'm there to be a voice for the people. Um, but what I'm not there to do is give folk false promises. That's not what I'm about. Sure. So some of the stuff I would have to check into. I've got a lot of ideas about hospitals, veterans, uh, how how, and I'll give you an example, but I might be overstepping my balance on a hospital because so to me, common sense. I got a veteran in Washington County, he's driving all the way to Mobile to get seen as a veteran, right? To the VA. All right. The Royal Hospital in Washington County might uh Washington County might be struggling. Well, why is he driving all the way to Washington to Mobile County, Mobile for help when we got a struggling hospital in Washington County? Why can't he get help right there? It helps the hospital, helps the veteran, takes the pressure off Mobile. I'm just saying common sense ideas. Now, with that said, some hospital administrator might say, be watching this and say, that wouldn't never work. Call me. Let me know why. I'm just trying to bring up common sense ideas that that maybe people aren't thinking about.
SPEAKER_03Sure. And that's definitely one that comes up a pretty good bit.
SPEAKER_01I on the VA and the hospital side, especially the rural hospitals. Yes. You know, and on on the other side of that, so Baldwin County, you know, my dad was in the hospital eight and a half hours in the emergency room the other day, a couple weeks back. Uh he he he fortunately got moved to a hallway. He never made it to a room. Uh they released him. He had pneumonia. He should not have been released. And I'm not dogging the hospital. I'm I'm really not. They they're doing all they can. They're full. They've got a lot of people. This comes with the growth. We're outgrowing our hospitals, infrastructure, schools, everything. But so they released him. Um the next day we had to take him to a different hospital where he stayed for three days.
SPEAKER_03Goodness.
SPEAKER_01So so I'm saying there's there's differences that that I need to recognize in these different areas. That's one of the things about this district. It is very rural, but it does have areas that are very populated. So seeing the differences and figuring out from the people the right way to fix those would be my hope.
SPEAKER_00So you are endorsed by the Farmers Federation.
SPEAKER_01I am. I'm very proudly endorsed by the Farmers Federation. And uh my dad has been on the on the board for a very long time. I don't know if you call him an honorary member. He's he's been there a long, long time. Uh I I'm proudly endorsed by them. So to say that uh I'm proud of their support. They're my only uh endorsement that has support behind it. Uh I had to go to each different county, uh talk to those folks to be endorsed to get their endorsement. So in other words, if you're running a countywide election, you have to go to Baldwin County to get endorsed. Well, in a statewide or election like this, I had to go to each county in the district and and and be endorsed. Um but you know, I'll say this. There's uh, you know, there's some port support behind me, and I hate saying pack money, but farm pack, I I live farm pack. Um there, I don't it's not outside money, it's who I am, it's who I I admire. Uh anything that comes up to do with farming, I'll be ears to the ground listening. Uh so I if they if they were to come to me and I didn't agree with them, I would still have the option to say no. In other words, me saying that, I'm not bought. Uh I've I've never run for office. I haven't been in office since 2002. Uh I haven't been a senator since 2014. I'm not the chair of finance. I'm not supported by dark money, and I'm not sending mail outs every day uh at about $20,000 apiece. Um anyway, uh I'm not that person. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Which is, I think, is probably what we need. Someone is not that person.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we have to do that.
SPEAKER_00The PAC money, too. Um people get on to us, uh PAC money itself is not innately bad. I don't want people to think that we think all PAC money is bad. It's lying about PAC money that's bad. And it's the type of PAC and where that PAC is coming from, especially if it's a foreign country, if you look at the people on there, that's where things start to get a little sketchy. But there's a lot of good local and state PACs that really are here to help.
SPEAKER_01That's true. So so if they're in our state, that's one thing. If they're outside of our state, that's something different. We don't need outside money influence in our elections.
SPEAKER_03We do not. We uh just were looking at a candidate's uh monies from PACs, and they were coming in from Minnesota, Wisconsin. Why is Minnesota first of all, show me a Republican that lives in Minnesota. Why are they sending an Alabama uh candidate large amounts of money?
SPEAKER_01Well, and I would say this on on any mailer, I and I hate to say this, I'm gonna have a couple coming out too. Uh it's it's a way to get your name out there. Um, but I would say follow the money. When you get nine, follow the money. Follow it. On anybody's mailer, follow it. You'll you'll get to the root of it. I mean, you'll see where it comes from. And uh, you know, I'll go on and talk about gambling if y'all are okay.
SPEAKER_00I was just gonna ask about that. Speaking of follow the money, let's go into the gambling issue.
SPEAKER_01This current one, uh the the the money is coming from outside uh gambling. And uh I've been called out recently, so that's why I'm really wanting to focus on this. Uh I'm gonna double down on this. Uh I'm a no on gambling. Let me say it again. I'm a no on gambling. Now now when I started this just a few weeks ago, I was on the fence of especially about the lottery. Why would I not be for something that was bringing money to our state? Well, this is why. There is the lottery and there's predatory gambling. They're they're not differentiated, they're the same. So the lottery and predatory gambling are the same thing. There's three classes of gambling. If if you could split out a lottery only, I would not be opposed to that. But however, I'm for smaller government. Gambling is larger government, and it's allowing all this other money to come into our elections. Do we really want people outside the state deciding who we're, you know, who we're pumping the money into? What are you gonna owe these people? I'm very um, you know, I I'm not nervous about Farm Pact. I know they're for the farmer, and so am I. I am very nervous about outside gambling money. They're gonna own these people. I will not be on, period. That that is a that is a hard no. Um so yeah, I I know there's people on the fence, especially about gambling, and I and I hate to be I hate to. Lose a vote for that. Um, my numbers circulated all over. I don't mind giving it out. If you really want to talk about it in depth, call me. I I'd love to talk more about it because I I've learned a lot. And I and that goes back to transparency. Have has anybody out there listening ever heard what I just said that lottery is tied to predatory gambling? I've never heard that much.
SPEAKER_00We only heard it because we interviewed Danielle Duggar and she kind of broke it down. But from what I understand, it's uh you need a constitutional amendment to separate lottery from gambling as a whole, and that's almost impossible to do right now. That's absolutely right.
SPEAKER_03Well then lottery is a whole nother uh issue because then the argument becomes like for me, example, I've lived in Louisiana on and off a a fair bit, and I've not seen their lottery monies come toward any impoverished areas and enrich them for sure, nor a casino.
SPEAKER_01Well, I'll use Florida, for example. I've done some re I've I've been reading on it a little bit. I'm learning more. Uh Florida, I think, has done a better job with gambling. They have I might be wrong, but I believe they have what we have with a lottery. So they've done some good things with student loans and student, you know, education, uh, but they also have had a tremendous rise in addiction and different things. I mean, and and that's a lottery only. We're talking about predatory gambling.
SPEAKER_03And now uh to just to clarify for the audience, when you say predatory gambling, what what does that ensure?
SPEAKER_01I'm talking about all okay, so when you go to uh Atmort, and I've I've been there, I don't want it to be that I'm on my high horse. I've gambled, my family gambles some. Hey, we farm, we grant we gamble every day. We have a small, we gamble a lot.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know, uh every time you know we do something, it's a gamble. But I'm talking about like the sports betting, table gambling, uh all the different things that this brings in. Uh I mean, and let's look at Mississippi. I'm not dogging anybody from Mississippi, but the but the things that that strive over there around those casinos to me are pawn shops. I don't see a whole lot of other thriving businesses around that area, right? Yeah. Well, that money that they bring in, it does not stay in that state. It leaves the state. Yeah. That's what I'm talking about. Why would out of state people be pouring so much money into Alabama politics if the money was gonna stay here? Right. I'm sorry, uh you know, and that goes back to transparency, what we've been saying. It's not put put out there in the way that it should be. I mean, we could talk about that on any anything. Uh I mean the the the the facts are not out there for the voters to see it. We don't hear the whole story. We don't hear what they talked about in the back room. Why did that vote come up so fast? You know? Why is it that we can have uh three PSCs on one day and seven on the next, and the bill passed in a few days? And then let's talk about this. You know, my opponent threw up solar. I'm gonna get this passed. Hey, hit me in the nose, and I'm all right, he did not get it passed. And and I think he did it as a ploy to get re-elected. He hey, you did as much, and you did as much, and I did as much to stop solar as he did. That's a fact.
SPEAKER_00So actually that's interesting because I kind of felt the same way. He came out there with this bill that was gonna like, you know, save this Stockton area from solar farm, but it was more of a, you know, media It was a false hope.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's wrong. He's he was that's not right. I will never do my voters that way. The vote means too much to me. To represent the voters means too much to me to do that. I'm not playing politics.
SPEAKER_00The Silicone Ranch people came and they said that bill was laughable and there was no way it would ever succeed, and that's exactly what it was. Unfortunately, they were right because uh in the end that's not the legal recourse for this, and it was kind of meant to garner support and attention, and I didn't appreciate that either.
SPEAKER_01Well, there's uh I met with the I met with those folks too, and if I say they're platformed the way they said it, people will misunderstand me thinking that I'm for solar farms, and I'm not. Uh I asked a lot of questions, and I'll tell you what I asked. I asked what government money is supporting these solar farms. And they said in the past there's been some green things that that government dollars, our money did did support. I think it was June or July, that money's out. So that money will never be applied to what's going on in Stockton. Okay. Um the other thing is I asked, do you buy the land or do you lease it? They're in the process of buying the land. It's not a done deal. Uh it was $5,000 an acre, uh, $22.5 million, uh, 4,500 acres. Um they were going to develop um 2,000 acres of it. They were going to do a wetland delineation, making sure that no runoff got into our waterways. Uh, and and at no point with me saying those to you, don't assume that I'm okay, I'm great with silver farms. I'm just telling you, I'm telling the voters what I think they should hear. All right. I asked, how long do these, how long do these solar panels last? Because at first I heard eight to ten years. I'm like, wow, they're tearing up all this property for eight to ten years. Then I heard it was 40 years, and then I asked, what's the revenue over a 40-year period? And he without question told me $50 million. I did not sit in a in a four-man little group. We he was telling the Farmers Federation this because we called him to we wanted to know what what what does this entail? And so uh I'm trying to think what I've left out. Oh, there would be a barrier around the property so you wouldn't pass by and see solar because it's not pretty. Uh, you know, uh, do I want to live next to solar? No, I don't. Uh I I would probably probably make some people mad, I would I would rather have that than a D.R. Horton subdivision where I got sewer, water, power, uh, traffic, schools over, you know.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So so there is that thought. Um and and I also I know that I'll I'll catch some heat over this, but I believe in your property rights. I don't think governments should come in and tell you what you can and can't do with your property. And I'm having trouble. I'm for less government. I'll say it over and over. I I think government needs to stay out. Uh I don't I don't believe in red tape. But at the same time, I do believe in regulation, so there's a there's a fine line there where you, you know, you don't want to overlay over-regulate someone. Uh but but I'm, you know, hard to say. I don't know which side to take on that. But at the end of the day, I'm less government.
SPEAKER_00So how do you feel about term limits, speaking of less government and uh overreach and things like that?
SPEAKER_01Uh I that was gonna be part of my platform when I started was term limits. And then the more I've gotten to think on it, we've got term limits. It's called the vote. You know, I I'm asking for for District 22 to hire me to be their voice in Montgomery. Uh and and and they have the power to vote me in or hire me and decide I'm the man for the job or or keep the guy who's been there since 14. Uh so that that's term limits. Uh I I I think there should be something in place, yes. But there is something in place. It's the vote. Fair enough. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So going back to some of your platform points that are on your website, how are you when it comes to supporting law enforcement and first responders and maybe some of the ICE immigration issues that are going on right now in our area?
SPEAKER_01Uh well, to answer that in a nutshell, any way I can, any way they I could support them, I would. And that's working with municipalities and uh police chiefs and you know our sheriffs in the different counties, which I I have met. Uh I have, you know, I haven't met the Washington County Sheriff, but interesting thing up there, he's uh he's retiring, and there's eight people running for for office for for sheriff there. Oh wow. That's a lot. It is, and I hope it brings some people, my voters, out in Washington County. We'll see how it goes. But uh I have met those and uh I've met some really good people and I've met a lot of fire chiefs and uh I hope to meet them all and put them in what I was talking about earlier, that network of of people, and and you know, what do they need, how do I support them. Uh and I think it starts with the mayors and just getting out and talking to folks. Uh and I've been hesitant with some of that because I do know who I'm running against, the chair of finance, and uh, I do not want to put anybody in an awkward situation uh where I'm I want to be able to help people, not hurt them because I lost an election and now there's a vendetta. So, you know, I'm not saying he would do that. I'm not I'm not. I'm just saying I don't want to put anybody in an awkward situation. But I do want them to know that I will be easy to work with. If I do get elected, I will reach out and uh hopefully talk to them about what I can do and what their needs are. Uh to keep us safe, healthy, you know, all that good stuff.
SPEAKER_00Um that's funny. Sometimes the smartest people in the room are the people who know that they're not the smartest person in the room and who really have subject matter experts in their corner that they refer to. Um and a lot of politicians think they are the subject matter expert in every single thing, and it is definitely probably a better strategy to have those people in your corner and on call and you truly represent them instead of telling everyone what you think.
SPEAKER_03Listening is more important than knowing.
SPEAKER_01Well, I've said this, I probably should quit saying it, but I'm smart enough to know, I'm smart enough I can't lie. I'll get caught. I I mean it's just a you know, if you if you start lying, you have to cover up those lies. Yeah. And I I think it's just so much easier to tell the truth. Absolutely. Uh and it feels better. And and hey, even, you know, I want to be transparent. I want to be the guy that calls you back, answers the phone, you know, we talk about your issues. I'll tell you up front if I can help or if I can't. And if I can't, I want to refer you through the contacts that I've made. Just running for this office. I've met a lot of people. And I, you know, I'd say this uh win or lose this election, I'll be able to help a lot more people than I could before. And I've always wanted to help people. So uh so I think that's that's been the awesomest, the neatest thing about running is meeting the good people that I've met. And uh maybe having an avenue of helping people. Maybe it's working through red tape, maybe maybe I can't help them at all. But I tell you what, I can always call them back and talk to them about it. So that's something I I really want to be uh transparent and honest with everybody.
SPEAKER_00Well, that's been our biggest issue since we really started this podcast was are you willing to just call us back and listen? And a lot of people weren't. At first we've gotten better now. People call us back now, but we had to kind of raise a stink about it. In the beginning, it was very easy to be dismissed. And now, you know, our current representative I f has never once called me back. I mean not sorry I'm gonna say it out loud. It did happen. He's never called me or emailed me back, and I've reached out numerous times. So I think that is a really a key issue when it comes to representing people and being able to communicate with your constituents.
SPEAKER_01Right. Well, the transparency, the honesty, that that's really you know, I'm running on a platform of uh uh veteran and uh farmer, but but honestly, honesty and and transparency is really where it's at for me too. So uh and I really do appreciate y'all giving me the opportunity to talk about it. Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_00Is there anything else you want the people to know?
SPEAKER_01I can't think of anything. Uh you know, if you're uh I I think it's time for a change, and I you know, um I hate to use Obama's words, but I'm a change candidate here. Uh, you know, and I'd say this if you're if you're voting for me, please come out, hire me on May 19th. If you're not voting for me, please show up on May 20th.
SPEAKER_00And where uh can they find more about you? What's your website?
SPEAKER_01Oh, it's the uh Terry Waters for Senate.com. Um trying to be all over Facebook. I hope I'm not wearing them out with Facebook like everybody's getting more out with mailers. Uh but yeah, find me on Facebook. Hey, my numbers out there. Feel free to call me. Uh I'd love to have a conversation.
SPEAKER_00Awesome. Thank you so much for going by.