Cut Wasteful Spending
In 2024, the entire Alabama State Budget was 45.49 billion dollars. Over 33.67 billion of that is earmarked for specific projects - either from the federal, state, or local government. Only 3.01 billion dollars was allocated for the general fund and 8.79 billion dollars was allocated for the education trust fund. Every year, the State of Alabama has increased it's spending going all the way back to 2015. To think that we have zero waste would be insanity. Over 70 million dollars of the general fund was set aside in 2024 for cities, non-profits, and programs. Some of these programs are worth supporting like Still Serving Veterans or Food Bank Grant Program but a lot of these are going to organizations that should be funding themselves.
On the Education Trust Fund side, over 58.5 million dollars was set aside for cities, non-profits, and programs. Again, some of these are worthy of keeping funded but a lot of these should be providing for their own needs through donations, sales, etc. This doesn't even touch on the over 210 Alabama Department of Education Employees making $100,000 or more! Including the State Superintendent making $308,866.77 - that is almost as much as the President of the United States' salary!
We need to fully audit our spending to ensure we are paying for only necessary expenditures.
Reduce Our Taxes
The State of Alabama has two primary budgets, the General Fund and the Education Trust Fund. Each fund is funded by different taxes with the General Fund being funded by Alcoholic Beverage Tax, Cigarette Tax, Property Taxes, Use Tax, Insurances Co. Taxes, Lease Taxes, and many other taxes, fees, and commissions. The Education Trust Fund is primarily funded by Sales Tax and Income Tax.
When we talk about reducing our taxes, I want to specifically address the issue of reducing our income tax. Florida doesn't collect income taxes, Tennessee doesn't collect income taxes, Mississippi has passed a law to reduce and eventually remove state income taxes, and Georgia passed a law to reduce the state income tax by .1% each year until reaching 4.99%. The State of Alabama collects a 2% to 5% income tax with almost everyone in the 5% tax bracket. Soon, Alabama will have the highest income tax in the entire Southeast. But, the only way we can reduce our taxes is if we reduce our spending. This is why cutting wasteful spending is so crucial to a more economic and free Alabama! We need to, in conjunction with cutting wasteful spending, set about a plan to cut our State Income tax to 0%.
I also want to explore the elimination of property taxes for everyone's primary residence, where they live. Afterall, we have homestead exemptions already in place that reduce the property tax, why not eliminate it? You shouldn't have to pay the government rent every year to live in your own home!
Help Micah Messer get elected, spread the word and vote on October 21st!
Audit Our Elections
Alabama is the only state in the entire country that does not have statutory post-election audits. Don't think election fraud happens here in Alabama? Think again. This year, in both Russell and Chambers county, individuals were arrested for Absentee Ballot Fraud. In 2024 and 2023, individuals in Alabama were arrested, tried, and convicted in Election Fraud cases. Right here in Lee County, a poll watcher took photo-copied ballots and placed them in a vote counting machine as a test during the public testing session that happens before each election. What do you think the results were? The machine read the photocopied ballots and counted them as valid!
If our elections are so secure here in Alabama, let's give the People the peace of mind and put in place regular, statutory audits. We should have random, hand counted, paper only, election audits of a certain percent of all precincts statewide with a focus on areas that have had violations in the past. One day voting, on paper, no machines - elections don't have to be super complicated. As I learned in the military, usually the simplest plans work best.
Fight Crime
As a former police officer, crime is a real issue - it's not just happening in other states or other areas, it is happening right here in Lee and Chambers county each and every day. While there are definitely other states that do worse than Alabama, we cannot continue to be okay with the status quo. We need to fight illegal immigration, human trafficking and drug trafficking and to do that we need to provide training and resources to law enforcement across our state.
Listen, I know how hard it is to be a law enforcement officer, I've been there with the knife wielding criminals who want to take your life, the drug dealers abandoning children on the side of the street. Law enforcement officers see everyone's worse day of their life, every day of their life. We need to incentivize strong, steady, and constitutional minded individuals to enter law enforcement. We need to fund our departments, providing grants and assistance to ensure all law enforcement officers are certified in more than just basic self-defense tactics. I would have loved the opportunity to have jiu-jitsu classes paid for by my local department but funding just wasn't there. We didn't even have level IIIA ballistic vests, only issued level IIA, we had to buy our own plates if we wanted more protection.
We need to also reform our justice system. I've been there when criminals were out on bail before I finished the paperwork. We need stronger sentencing on repeat offenders while protecting the rights of us, the citizens, as innocent until proven guilty.
Transparency in Government
How often do you truly know what’s happening in your State Government? Far too often, citizens are left in the dark. That must change.
I believe that government should be accountable and communication should be clear. With years of experience in both traditional and digital media—from engineering to production management—I know how to break down complex issues and deliver the truth directly to the people. You shouldn’t need a law degree or hours of research to understand the state budget or learn what’s in a bill. Government belongs to the people, and the people deserve simple, honest, and timely information.
If elected, I will be your voice and your watchman. That means showing up in your community, answering your questions, and keeping you informed through modern platforms like social media, blogs, and online publications—while also meeting face-to-face at local gatherings. Most importantly, i will stand guard over your freedoms, raising the alarm whenever your liberties are threatened.
Because in a free republic, transparency is not optional—it’s the duty of every servant of the people.