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
Brett Gaar Returns!
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On tonight’s episode of The People’s Voice, Blair Castro and Thomas Jenkins sit down for a special run-off highlight episode with Brett Gaar as Election Day draws near!
Returning to the WFUZ-TV studio, Brett discusses the issues that matter most to voters, reflects on his campaign, and shares his vision for the future of Baldwin County if elected.
Watch now on WFUZ-TV, The People’s Voice!
Hello, welcome to WFUZ TV. I'm Blair Castro here with Thomas Jenkins, and we have Brett Garr back in the studio with us today. Brett, thank you so much for coming in. We wanted to ask you, you know, why should people vote for you this coming Tuesday? The runoff is only four or five days away. So give us the answer on why we should get out and vote for you.
SPEAKER_02Well, thank you, Blair. And Thomas, thank you for having me. Um I appreciate the opportunity. Um please get out and vote. Um I am running because I want to help Baldwin County. I think it needs some help. Uh, and I think I have a unique background uh in environmental compliance and engineering uh that it would be helpful to the county. And I have the time now that I haven't had in my in my life, and I want to use that opportunity to help the county. The county's been good to my family, and and it's a great place to live, and I want to help. So please get out and vote.
SPEAKER_01So, what qualities would you say that you have versus your candidate that makes you the most qualified for this seat?
SPEAKER_02Well, number one, I have a long history in the county. My family's been here for a long time, and I think that's a big advantage because I know the county very well. I've I've been a volunteer for the county for uh nearly 30,000 uh 30 years, and um as working on the county environmental advisory committee and as a board of adjustments member. Uh and that plus living here, plus what I did for a living uh as an environmental compliance uh officer for Volkert and uh environmental scientist gives me a unique perspective for what the county needs. Um I think that's a good fit for being a county commissioner.
SPEAKER_00What would you say to people that number one, you know, we have low voter turnout the first time, and going into the runoff is probably gonna be unfortunately even lower than the initial primary vote. What would you tell people to get them incentivized to go vote and why is this important? Why should they care? And specifically, why should they care about this particular county commission seat?
SPEAKER_02I think it's very important for for voters to get out and and and vote if you want to see the county move in the direction you think it should, and you need to support that candidate you think is gonna do that. And if you don't do that, you might get a lot more of the same that you don't like. So I hope you would get out and support the can the candidate's gonna um put the put the co uh county in the best position, both from the infrastructure standpoint and environmental uh protection standpoint.
SPEAKER_00So a lot of people uh you know development is the hot button issue right now. What would you say your general thoughts on development are? Would you say you are an anti-development candidate, a balanced development, a pro-development? How do you describe your thoughts on that?
SPEAKER_02I would consider myself a moderate on development. I mean, some development is okay, but I think we're trying we we probably fit 50 years worth of development into the last 10, and and that's overdevelopment. Um I think we we have to have some development for our economy, but uh with all of the subdivisions uh going up, that's that's I don't think that helps Wall County that much. It it puts a lot of pressure on our infrastructure, and when I say infrastructure, schools, hospitals, utilities, roads, drainage, all of it. And um I I think there's a better way to do that, and we've got to be smart about it.
SPEAKER_01What future do you envision for Baldwin County if you're able to help guide it?
SPEAKER_02There would be more open space and there would be incentives for farmers to keep farming where they can where they can. Certainly there are places that they can't. Um there would be um and they would be incentivized to keep those places rural.
SPEAKER_00So the same thing goes with solar farms, I would say. Um I understand the incentive to want to sell your land for top dollar, and just like being turned into a subdivision, it could be turned into a solar farm. You can't really control what it's turned into if there's not zoning in place, and if there's not, you know, people looking out for you at a like local and county and state level, I think.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think the solar fields are incentive, the incentive coming down from the federal level is what's causing this. If there wasn't federal money involved in the solar business, we wouldn't be having the conversation. So I hate to see any community, not just Baldwin County, have to deal with, and from what I understand, it's happening everywhere. But um, you know, we're trying to offset incentives at the federal level, and that's not the way that's supposed to work. I understand where they were the reasons for they were trying to incentivize green infrastructure, but you don't go level 2,000 acres of of trees or green infrastructure. That's counterproductive. Right.
SPEAKER_00Who are some of the people or groups that have endorsed you? And what do you think those endorsements say about you as a person and your experience?
SPEAKER_02Um I I've had quite a few personal endorsements from individuals, not that many political um endorsements that I haven't really pursued them either. Um Mayor Helmick and Foley endorsed me, and uh and then I was glad to have that. And the reason I I am glad to have it is because I've known Ralph a long time and and he's very involved in some conservation work that I'm involved with at Wolf Bay watershed. And so I've gotten to know him, knowing him my whole life, but really gotten to know that side of him, and I'm glad to have people like that that endorse me because of conservation advocacy. Uh Skipper Townsmeyer, uh uh Andrew uh Saunders, uh great businessmen and done very well in in business, but they're also big advocates for conservation, and I've I've served on some boards with them, and those guys are my heroes. These kind of people I like to associate with because they they do what I want to do.
SPEAKER_00The Common Sense Campaign also endorsed you, I saw, in the upcoming runoff here, so it's good to have that grassroots support from them as well.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely it is, and I'm very appreciative to that group for that. Um and they also they endorsed Tracy, but after the the um uh primary, they they regrouped and decided to endorse me. So that's that that says a lot for them to to to look forward. And uh they didn't stop at the primary, they took it on into the runoff, so that's great. And I'm I'm very thankful thankful to have that.
SPEAKER_00And the fact that Tracy endorsed you, so your former opponent has come out and put her support behind you and or telling all her supporters to vote for you. So I think that is, you know, should not be overlooked as well because she could have went either way or stayed silent, but she chose to make that endorsement.
SPEAKER_02So absolutely. Tracy's been great, and um she's been a trooper, man. She's been working hard, quite harder than I have in trouble. She's really going at it, and she's out talking to all her supporters and and a lot that weren't her supporters. So I'm very thankful to thank to Tracy for what she's doing.
SPEAKER_00Remind everybody when it is that they could go vote. And can you tell people again why they should vote for you on Tuesday, June 16th, which is right around the corner.
SPEAKER_02I would love to have your vote on June 16th, uh, which is this this Tuesday. I'm running because I want to make Bowen County an even better place than it is. I think we live in one of the best places in the world. And I've been all over the United States, I think 44 states out of 50, and I've seen some pretty places, but there's none, there's none any better than Bowen County, and it needs our help. We gotta take care of it. We can't just assume that it's gonna be be there. And when I say that, I'm talking about our rivers, our bays, not just our beaches. We gotta take care of all of it. And that's why I'm here. So please vote for me June sixteenth. Thank you.