How well do you really know the candidates?

How well do you really know the candidates?  Do they have a consistently conservative voting record over an extended period of time?  How will they really vote once they become “established” as a member of Congress?  Have they been “tested” in an environment where they have faced opposition from the state’s most powerful political figures …and won?

Stephanie Bell’s consistently strong conservative voting record is well-documented over an extended period of time.    Her principled convictions have remained the same even when she has faced tough, unprincipled opposition from some of the state’s most powerful political figures.  She is well-known in Alabama’s Second Congressional District where she has lived for nearly 50 years.   

While others talk about problems, Stephanie Bell has worked to solve those problems.  Her life is committed to making a difference – with positive results!

Stephanie Bell has been persistently forceful in fighting corruption and blocking attempts by those who want to conduct public business behind closed doors.  She has successfully promoted and supported honest, open government.   She has worked diligently to expose – against great opposition - those who abuse the trust given to them within Alabama’s two-year colleges.  She worked to protect the many dedicated and trustworthy two-year college employees who faced potential intimidation and retribution from corrupt superiors who have now been convicted.

Stephanie Bell first wrote about problems within the two-year college system in 1980 when she was a reporter with The Montgomery Advertiser/Alabama Journal.  After she was elected to the state Board of Education in 1994, Mrs. Bell stood alone as she continued to expose abuse of public funds.  For example, she questioned why former Chancellor Roy Johnson’s son was living on state property at the lake free-of-charge and paid a salary to oversee a conference center owned by the postsecondary system. (Documented by The Anniston Star, The Daily Home, The Montgomery Advertiser)    In 1995, she requested lists of contracts for those with two-year college system business, including attorneys, architects, consultants, etc.   Despite strong opposition, she made the same request when Roy Johnson was chancellor.  These lists of contracts were crucial in providing key evidence to expose many of those who benefited from unlawful behavior.   Her very early - and vital role - in successfully exposing corruption and cleaning up the system is well-documented in The Birmingham News Pulitzer Prize-winning series of articles.   In 2002, she was the only school board member who opposed hiring former Chancellor Roy Johnson and one of two board members in 2003 who voted against his exorbitant salary and contract.  She was one of only two state board members calling for the resignations of various two-year college employees and administrators, including former Chancellor Roy Johnson.   

Stephanie Bell was one of the original four board members who supported the “double-dipping” ban (which was ultimately approved) to prevent legislators from holding jobs in the two-year college system.  She also supported financial and programmatic audits of institutions to ensure taxpayers and students are getting their money’s worth.  Background checks are now required for two-year college employees, and all contracts are posted on the Alabama Community College System website.  She convinced the board to return the prison community college to its very important statutory role as a technical school focused on workforce training and adult basic education, including reading.  She was also successful in getting the board to approve trying to sell the multi-million dollar lakefront retreat where Roy Johnson’s son lived at taxpayers’ expense. 

 While others talk about opposing taxes, Stephanie Bell is on record.  In 1994, she participated in a televised debate sponsored by a Birmingham station where she opposed the Folsom/Alabama First plan which would have required massive tax increases and a multi-billion dollar bond issue.  (The Legislature did not approve the plan.)   In 2003, she appeared in an hour-long debate on statewide television as one of two opponents of the largest proposed tax increase in state history.  The next day, the tax increase amendment was defeated by more than 70% of the vote.

Always a voice for conservatives and family values, Stephanie Bell has been quoted in major books about education, including “Not with My Child” by nationally syndicated author Robert Holland and “None Dare Call It Education” by best-selling author John Stormer. 

Stephanie Bell was one of the first to support three initiatives which have become major achievements for the state: the Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI), the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI), and the Annual Report Card  for schools, systems, and the state.  These important issues were part of legislation she helped draft and promote before she was elected to the school board.  Alabama’s reading initiative is a model for other states and the report card was the first in the nation.  It was reported in the recent National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) for the state that Alabama showed more progress than any other state in the entire history of NAEP testing across the U.S.

Stephanie Bell continues to fight for academic excellence in textbooks and courses of study.   She wrote the final version of the first insert sticker placed in biology textbooks to counter the “evolution as fact” bias.  She has promoted pro-life, abstinence-based curriculum and successfully pushed to inform students about the dangerous health risks of a promiscuous lifestyle.

With the support of teachers, she has successfully pushed for meaningful teacher testing, including extensive subject matter testing.  She voted for criminal background checks for teachers and other school employees who have direct contact with children.  She has been an outspoken advocate of quality professional development and teacher education programs, voting to close failing teacher education programs at Alabama’s four-year colleges.

Stephanie Bell has been there for her constituents as graduation speaker, award presenter, and “listener.”   She will continue her strong, conservative stand and commitment to represent her constituents’ points of view.