The People's Voice
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The People's Voice
The Runoff Countdown: Tater Harris Returns
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With the runoff election just days away, every vote counts.
On this episode of WFUZ-TV’s The People’s Voice, Blair Castro and Thomas Jenkins welcome Tater Harris back to the studio for a second conversation as he makes his case once again for Baldwin County District 4 Commissioner.
As voters prepare to head to the polls on Tuesday, Harris discusses the issues facing District 4, reflects on the campaign, and shares why he believes he is the right choice to serve the people of Baldwin County.
Hear directly from the candidate and decide for yourself before Election Day!
Good evening. Welcome to WFUZ TV, the People's Voice Podcast. We are here in the studio with Tater Harris. I'm Blair Castro. This is Thomas Jenkins. And episode 2.0 with Tater, he's back for more. We have him coming in since we have special runoff episodes right now. He is in a runoff for the District 4 commission seat. And we're happy to have you back in studio.
SPEAKER_03Hi, thank you, Blair. Thank you, Thomas. Glad to be here.
SPEAKER_00So we'll start by asking everybody, the runoff is Tuesday. So whenever you're watching this, it will only be a few days away. We have less than a week left to go from when we're filming this. It is right around the corner. Why do you think voter turnout in the primary was so low? And what are some things we can do? I know we don't have a lot of time, but like what are some things we can do to encourage people to care and make a difference and remind them how important this vote is on Tuesday?
SPEAKER_03I mean, you can do your voter outreach, text with your friends, you can do, you know, Facebook posts, all the things. But people have to want to get out and get engaged. I mean, we had the same voter turnout in 2026 essentially as we did in 22, and we're having what 20 people a day moving here over the last four years, and we're getting the same voter turnout. Uh we've got to do better. We've got to engage, I think, throughout the years and not just during election season. We need to talk about this in 2027 and 2028 and 2029, not just in election season. I think that that'll that'll help. Um I think some things that have been done, we've got 65 or 63 polling precincts now. And so that makes it where there's not as long as the lines, it's easier to get to. A little tougher on the candidates to, you know, get to 63 polling places, but it's also better for the public and reduces weights because nobody wants to pull up and see a 30-minute wait and they turn around and then you lose a voter that was going to vote otherwise. So I think some good things have been done. Um, but uh those are a couple of my my observations.
SPEAKER_02What do you attribute that low turnout to? Do you think it's more fatigue or do you think it's the fact that so many people are moving in all the time and they just aren't uh acclimating to the area and getting registered to vote?
SPEAKER_03I don't know. It can be twofold. There's a lot of reasons. I mean, you know, I feel like years ago you got to know your neighbors more, you got to talk more, um, people m maybe been more involved with their churches and you know, a lot more interactions, human interactions instead of just social media interactions. Yeah. And I believe, you know, over time that that could have led to some of the decrease in uh voter turnout.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I kind of I think I blame COVID for that divide, too. People don't want to go out and do things anymore, everything's delivery, Walmart's Walmart's not 24 hours anymore, everything's just stay at home.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and another thing you gotta remember we're becoming a little bit younger generation as the baby boomer generation is starting to age, they tend to vote more than the younger generation. Yes. And as that generation, um, due to age and time becomes younger, uh, we may see see that trend continue, unfortunately.
SPEAKER_00So one of the things going on I want people to realize is that the commission seats um we're already for sure getting two new commissioners, and we're getting one returning commissioner. So this will be the third new commissioner. It's either going to be you or Brett Garr. So what do you think a new commissioner, you know, be it you or him, um that's that's a pretty big task having a commission with three new people in it. Um what are some things the commission as you know, majority newbies will kind of have to do in the future as they begin to work together?
SPEAKER_03Well, we've got to learn to work well with each other. I mean, you know, you've got to figure each other out. There's three new commissioners. If you've got existing commissioners, they've been working together for with each other for four years. So we've got to get in rooms, we've got to spend time together, we've got to learn each other and work together. I mean, at the end of the day, you still gotta vote on your core beliefs and the issues that you see at hand. But there's a lot of things you've got to build some camaraderie and build some relationships and bring the relationships you have to the other parties and other parties to you. That way we can all work together as a county and move our council forward.
SPEAKER_00So I've heard you say before that that is one of your strengths, that you have these relationships with different municipalities, with different people throughout the community. What are some things you can do to help strengthen the relationships between the commission, between each member of the commission, and then between the commission with other entities?
SPEAKER_03I think some of the things we could do, you know, as a commission is, you know, basically ho host our own meetings with the municipalities and legislators. Uh there's some legislators that kind of hold a breakfast, there's some that do town halls and everything. But we need to get together as our commission, our base, and get together with these different entities. And that way we can kind of share our ideas, our goals, and what we kind of see, some path forwards. First, we've got to get aligned as a commission, and then we can reach out to the others and kind of say this is what we want to do or programs we're wanting to enhance, or what do y'all see as a municipality that we could do better as a commission to help you? What can we do better to move the county forward? So I believe we gotta just get together, get in rooms, and talk. I mean, you know, just sitting around thinking it's gonna happen. It's not. We gotta put dudes on the ground and get together.
SPEAKER_02What's your biggest goal and what uh future do you envision for Baldwin County?
SPEAKER_03Well, one of the biggest goals I'd like to see is I'd like to see our eastern western corridors improved. Uh, I said that throughout the campaign. I would like to see County Road 32 or I think they're bo I believe they're working on US 31 coming out of uh Stapleton and Spanish Fort. And then we also got to look at Lillian and 98 kind of going into Alberta and coming out of Florida, three Lillian in Alberta. I understand the downtown Alberta, they m may not want to, you know, jeopardize that character, but but but but there there needs to be some traffic flow improvements in these areas. I know that's state road, um, but we can do a lot of a lot more matching funds instead of 80-20 split. We could do uh, you know, maybe 60-40. We'd have to look at the project costs and budgets, of course. But those are some of the biggest things I would like to see accomplished uh during this first time.
SPEAKER_02And where do you see Baldwin County uh going in the course of your term if you get elected?
SPEAKER_03Well, we're growing. We're scheduled double in size in the next 25 years. Um and so we have to take and plan for the next 25 years, the next 50 years. Um we don't need to be as reactive. We've got to let people know what they can do when they're coming here. And so we're gonna have to work with our legislators to get a little bit more tools in our toolbox, or the legislators are gonna have to work with us. So we've got to create kind of a comprehensive plan long-term going forward. We I mean there will be some growth coming here uh based on the numbers that the MPO has presented, and that's 250,000 people moving here over the next 25 years.
SPEAKER_00Um, I was watching the forum that you were a part of last night, and one of the questions I thought was a pretty good question. What is the thing or the couple of things that you think really distinguish you from your opponent? And we asked that at our forum too, but I think it's always good to sort of tell voters the boilerplate of like, why, what do you have up? You know, what's the leg up that you have? What is the thing that makes you distinguishable?
SPEAKER_03Well, currently in the primary on May 19th, I had 47.42% of the vote versus roughly 28% of the vote for my opponents. I have a 20-point leg up heading into this runoff. I would say that's one of the biggest differences between the two of us now. Uh another difference would be um I entered the race a year ahead of him. So I've been campaigning for a year and a half at this point, essentially, versus six months for for him. So uh, you know, I've spent a lot of time and effort. I've got more time, effort, and energy involved in this race than my father.
SPEAKER_00So a year and a half campaigning is a very long time. I've done only one race that long. I was a sheriff's race, and it was campaigning for two years. It was very long. So I know the length of that. Um, throughout that year and a half up until now, what was your favorite part of it and what was kind of the hardest part of it?
SPEAKER_03My favorite part was coming on WFUZ TV calls.
SPEAKER_01Good answer. Good answer.
SPEAKER_03That's been my favorite part by air. But uh in all seriousness, and getting to meet people and getting to know people and learning uh people throughout the county and learning about different parts of the county that you don't always go to is when you live somewhere and then you run for office, you start learning about a lot of things people bring you that you didn't know they have a problem here or there, and you're learning. So I love to learn, and so my favorite part of the campaign is just being able to learn from others.
SPEAKER_00What about like the hardest part?
SPEAKER_03Uh the hardest part, I mean, to me is it's easy, it's just showing up, listening, being accountable, you know, listening to the people. I mean, you know, it's it's not hard to me to do that. It's easy for me to do that. A lot of people consider it. I mean, it's just a lot of time. You got time away from your family, you got time you're spending. I mean, you're you're in advance till eight or nine o'clock. That may be an hour and a half away, and you're getting home late at night, and then you're leaving the next morning early to go to, you know, first Friday forum is at seven o'clock here in Orange Beach Gulf Shores, and you may be in Stockton till eight thirty, nine o'clock the night before. Or you know, we had a forum in Tinsell one night, and I believe I can't remember if there was a what there was the next morning was something early the next morning. And then but I will say the hardest hour has been campaign night um the night before the election, May 19th. I mean, I was up 41 to 43 hours. So that that that is a pretty tough two-day stretch right there.
SPEAKER_00Well, you definitely done a good job at getting out to all the events for the past, you know, over a year. And even on election day, I saw you at the polls. Like it is hard to be at all those precincts. And I think people don't realize we had, you know, Christina McGuinness on here on her anniversary, and we had Angelo Fermo on here, and he said the same thing about it's really hard on the families. When I ran for office, it was really hard on our family. It was really hard because of all the time and effort and how it opens you up. And it's definitely something that I admire. Anyone who takes the chance and willingness to go do it, I know it's not easy. So, I mean, thank you for putting yourself out there. And I hope that in the, you know, the coming days, it kind of dies down. You get to spend a little bit more time. You're almost through the finish line here.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I'm we're looking forward. Me and my wife are looking forward to getting through this here next week. And then uh, you know, laying laying on the beach and uh, you know, just enjoying each other's company and enjoying a lot of the sights and sounds that the uh tours get to enjoy that we don't always take part in. And we live in such a wonderful place. And I I believe we all probably take it for granted a little bit sometimes, uh, you know, with lives and our work and other things that that we have going on. So I hope to be able to just kind of step back, take a breath, and enjoy some of that.
SPEAKER_02So I think that the one thing that I've heard pretty much every candidate say as far as problems that constituents come to them with is infrastructure and traffic. Are there any niche uh problems that you've had brought to your attention on the campaign trail?
SPEAKER_03Uh I mean I've had people ask about speed bumps and speeding in neighborhoods. Uh there's been drainage, you know, in different places that people talk to me about. We've had um, you know, with what happened in the bay with runoff in the bay. I mean, we've got water quality. I mean, water quality is a big one, I would say. Uh, you know, we've got to fiercely protect our economy. But uh, you know, it's mostly and and there's funding, you know, different municipalities have different needs when I talk to them. But most of those needs are infrastructure needs or working together needs. Uh and you know, so you see a lot of hey, this is working together, and sometimes it's with the state, and sometimes there's things that are out of the county and the city's control, but we have to be good stewards and try to try to work with the state and build some relationships. Maybe that state doesn't require people to do, maybe the county steps involved. You build a new school, and then you don't they're not required to the held to the same standards as me or you would be building a building that brings in that much traffic because they have a little bit more state control. So but you know, maybe we step in and say, hey, we're gonna put a turning line in here instead of waiting until after construction, the traffic's there, and then you're doing something. Let's do something on the front side instead of after the fact.
SPEAKER_00I also think it's good to have public education around reroutes and when roads are being worked on and stuff, because a lot of times people don't even know what's happening and they just take their typical route and then there's been no real notice, maybe a Facebook post, you know, from whatever entity is doing it, but people aren't really like checking to L. Facebook or like the county Facebook that much. So then they're really thrown off when their route is totally like, you know, a whole different way and it gets really confusing. It happened to me today. So um that's something as a suggestion. Um I'd like to see more communication about when these changes are being implemented, how long they're going to last, and a better like public awareness of the different traffic and construction projects.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we could do something. Uh I say the kid. Um, you know, Facebook groups are pretty popular. What's happening in, you know, Alberta, what's happening in Spanish Fort, uh, Fair Hope Now, those kind of groups. And a lot of people are getting their their message in there instead of just going to the Balma County Commission Facebook page and published or EMA. I think we need to maybe take a look at, hey, what's the 10, 15, 20 largest groups in the county in different areas, right? You gotta get to different regions, north, south, east, and west, and then make sure that we get that message not just on our page, but distributed to all those groups. It may be a little bit better. I'm not saying it would, but uh, you know, the paper these days, I mean it's maybe a text messaging system even through XMS.
SPEAKER_02You know?
SPEAKER_03Argue in the comments below. What do you think? Text messaging can be a little more expensive. Or you know, major stuff I could I could see it, but you know, on a little run-of-the-mill stuff, it would be a little little tougher, same with mailers, but you know, uh, we've got media now. Um, you know, maybe we'll get maybe WFUC TV to uh share the expensive. Yeah. Maybe we can get you all the help to file and get it.
SPEAKER_00We can just come up like we're like Debbie Williams style and be like, did you know this road's about to be closed? They never went accordingly.
SPEAKER_02Shout out to WKIG.
SPEAKER_03It seemed like you uh got some uh traffic signs moved to murder.
SPEAKER_00That was one of our first improvements.
SPEAKER_02If you did, they will come.
SPEAKER_00One thing that I would also like to see going forward with the county, and I think I mentioned this before, but like speaking of text messaging, things like that, technology and portals and communication tactics, and I know there's been improvements. I mean, they did come up with the baldy, the little baldy eagle that like will answer stuff, which was really cool, and I appreciated that happening. Um but more stuff like that. I think you know, we don't want to, we don't want to lean too far into the AI or anything, but some some stuff with technology in the future is you know worth considering if it streamlines our process. Like we were looking online, it was a Secretary of State site for some stuff, and it was really hard to navigate to. And I'm I'm just an ease website person. I like to have simplicity, I like to like do my forms online and be done with it. And anything you got to print and drive up and do is very frustrating.
SPEAKER_03Agreed 100%. I don't I you know don't like to use paper, I like to use things on my phone or my computer if I can. Um, you know, I was at the DMV earlier today and I had to provide a document and I had QR code to scan. You can upload the document. Now you'll have to go in and email. So I was like, oh, that's that's new, you know. But that's a good use of technology that the county's implemented or DMV's implemented. Uh we've got to do more of that and gotta do it throughout the county. I mean, get broader with it so we can make you know citizens' lives easier. Uh I'm fairly tech savvy myself, but you know, if somebody has trouble finding something with a county or something, and my job as a commissioner is to get that information to them. You know, if it's information we've got access to, let's get it and get it to citizens that they want it. Let's find a way to get it to them. And if it's difficult, okay, now let's find a way to make it easier.
SPEAKER_02So I agree with you. I do wish we could have a satellite courthouse down here on the island. I think that would cut down on traffic going off to Robertsdale and Foley and wherever the other one is. But that's just me.
SPEAKER_03I I understand. I'd have to look in that. I don't I don't know the the judicial what the ramifications and how close they're gonna be. I don't know if there's mileage limits that they'd have to be within of the main courthouse and Mayonette. Seemed like I remember hearing that somewhere at some point in time. But uh yeah, I mean we're getting busy on the island. We're getting a lot of people here between I know, Bill Shores, Orange Beach. Just throw it a margarita bill.
SPEAKER_00When Tony Cannon came on our show, he said he would be open to putting an annex in Orange Beach. So rewind to that interview. He did say it. So it would be cool if one day that happened. I mean, look at right now with the consolidation of the UPS store and how overflowed like the one UPS store is in Gulf Shores. Like to be able to do basic things like notarized documents, like that's now the UPS store in Gulf Shores is like one of the only places around here where we can do it. And it's just so, so packed. Um so I do think eventually that will be happening, especially because you said we're gonna double in 25 years. So that's one of the plan for the future things, I think.
SPEAKER_03Yes, yeah. Well, we've got a lot. I mean, you know, we're growing as a county. Where do those 250,000 people move to?
SPEAKER_02Close to the beach as possible.
SPEAKER_03I mean, to the water. I mean, you know, people tend to kind of pay towards the water. And whether that's, you know, Fair Hope Daphne or Point Fleer or up this way to the beaches. I mean, you know, or out toward Lillian. I mean, there there's there's a lot of people coming. I mean, we're a great place to live. But I I I get why people want to be here. That's why I'm here. You know, good funny.
SPEAKER_00So speaking of people moving here, one of the things that we're going to see an influx of, as much as people, you know, are not happy with it, we are seeing it right now is, you know, people are struggling to afford stuff, especially in these kind of upper-tier expensiver areas. Expensive or more expensive areas. More expensive, yes. Um there is going to be, I think we're entering an era, and the writing's on the wall, where homelessness is going to be more prevalent, where mental health and addiction issues are becoming front and center. And we're fortunate we haven't had as much as other areas in those, you know, those issues aren't as to the surface like they would be in Pensacola or Scambia County, Florida. But I think they are happening here. So as a commissioner, um, I know Commissioners Ball and Underwood sort of had a passion project for mental health. What are some things that you think a commission could do to kind of curb some of those, you know, foreseeable possible issues?
SPEAKER_03Well, we've got some great programs here in the state or in the county. Like you got the C Glass Initiative, and they've done some great things like um if you go to them and you're looking to and say get a bus ticket from here to Maine, um, they will help you get there. And they help homeless people get to where they're going. Um, I believe we need to look at ways that we're able to maybe help them with those programs or if we can't help them, at least make them more known about. Uh get the messaging out there, get the messaging to our our officers and our deputies, and so that way these people can go and get some more help than they currently have resources for. So I I believe that that would be where we need to kind of focus some of our efforts at. Um, you know, we've got to work with the other municipalities, other states, whatever. I mean, homeless people kind of transition, we're we're close here, we're close there. So, you know, we we gotta kinda we gotta take care of our people, but we also gotta help the people in need because everybody's not as fortunate as others, and people are down on their luck, and we gotta be able to, you know, create bustling economies, uh, gig economies. I mean, we've got a lot of different things that we can offer. I know we got a lot of seasonal work down here. Uh, you know, we're busy with the nine million visitors a year we get, especially right now, peak season, so work's a little easier to find. But um, you know, we stabilized our economy with some more year-round labor on down this way, I believe I could kind of build two.
SPEAKER_00So overall, what do you think your policy is on development? And I'll give you some example options. So some people are very much like no development whatsoever, some people are slow the development, some people are balanced the growth and the development, some people are pro-development. Like, where do you think kind of fall on the spectrum and how would you describe your development um ideals?
SPEAKER_03Well, I mean, you have private property rights, right? So if you're zoned for something and you can build something on your land and it doesn't impact other People and it's not creating a safety issue or an environmental issue. I mean, there's no reason you can't go build your house on your lot of land that you own. Um, you know, as long as you're zoned for it and you meet the requirements. Uh, I don't believe we need to harm our water or our quality. That protects our economy and protects our property values, your property, my property. So we have to fiercely protect our waterways to protect our economy here, because our our economy is predicated off the water that we have here, whether that's through homeownership, vacation rentals, the visitors and tours that we get here from the bays to the Gulf. Um so from that standpoint, you you've got to be careful. And you also can't be reactive. We we need to be proactive and plan ahead. So when people want to invest here in our county, they know what they can do when they do invest here and not find out after the fact. But we also have to protect our own and protect Ballin County and do what's right for Bollin County.
SPEAKER_00And uh something also to throw out there is that scent also affects property values. So if you happen to live near a landfill or wastewater treatment plant or some sort of area that does not smell that good, that can also affect your quality of life. Um I think people want to live in a good smelling, operational, beautiful place. And I hope that in the future, wherever developments are made, they think about how it affects all of your senses.
SPEAKER_02The canal stinks, fix the canal.
SPEAKER_00Um aside from development and what specifically about your experience do you think you would like to highlight in terms of why you are the best person for this job?
SPEAKER_03Well, I'm in large teams of people. I know how to work with people, how to work together, uh, build build teams. Um so I I mean, leading, you know, outages and leading projects where you got thousand, two thousand people on them. I mean, it's it takes a lot of work. And I have the energy, the time, the effort to put into that to make sure we're successful. I work hard, I listen to the people. That's one thing I love to do is listen, learn, and you know, we get smarter together. So we have to work together. And I think, you know, bringing some of those uh skills to the table that I've had throughout, you know, my 23 years in industry, um, working with others is something I can bring to the table. I'm relatable. I'm a I'm a hard working guy who come from the field, who come straight out of high school going to work in a paper mill, and have built a successful business. Me and my wife built a successful business. We've got 10, 12 employees uh currently. And, you know, that that that's tough to do to build a business. And so we've learned how to run businesses, we've learned how to work with others, we've learned how to stand up for ourselves, and we we've learned how to um you know speak on our behalf when we need to, but we also know how to work with others when we need to. So I think those are some of my key highlights of experiences.
SPEAKER_00Do you have anything else you'd like people to know before they go vote on Tuesday?
SPEAKER_03Vote Tater, June 16th. Find out more at by me at taterharris.com. Uh, you can also uh reach me on Facebook, John Tater Harris or Tater Harris. Um if you want to talk with me, I'd love to talk to you. My cell phone number's on there. Um just reach out. Got any questions. But if you uh don't remember anything else, get out and vote. The second thing to remember is hate John Tater Harris.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, Blair. Thank you, Tom. Yes, sir.