Serving as the chief financial officer for the Tuscaloosa County Commission for almost 39 years, Bill Lamb says he was at a crossroad.
While the idea of settling into a comfortable retirement crossed his mind, Lamb told Alabama Daily News it was his desire to serve his community – coupled with an interest in politics and history – that ultimately led him to seek office in the Alabama House of Representatives.
In November 2022, Lamb won his race to represent House District 62 in eastern Tuscaloosa County, defeating his Democratic opponent Brenda Cephus by a wide margin. The seat was previously held by Republican Rep. Rich Wingo, who did not seek reelection.
“I always wanted to serve, and I’ve always had an interest in politics and history, so (it was) just a perfect opportunity to go ahead and seek office,” Lamb said.
“I had some of the same frustrations everybody else has about the people (not) getting their voice heard, so I wanted to be available to the people in the district, be accessible and also accountable.”
A lifelong resident of Tuscaloosa, Lamb graduated from the University of Alabama, and would go on to work with the Tuscaloosa County Commission for decades. Lamb said that his experience working with the county government on everything from budget preparation to expenditure analysis has equipped him with the skills and knowledge he hopes to put to use as a freshman state House representative.
Lamb said that one of his main legislative priorities will be to help draft the state’s budget and distribute roughly $1 billion in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. Beyond the budgeting process, Lamb also voiced concern over the state’s workforce participation rate, which according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, stood at 56.8% in December 2022.
For comparison, the U.S. average workforce participation rate – which is the percentage of people of working age either employed or actively seeking employment – was 61.5% the same month.
Regarding House committees, Lamb was appointed to three: Boards, Agencies and Commissions, Ways and Means General Fund and Fiscal Responsibility. While calling all his committee appointments “excellent,” Lamb said that it was the Fiscal Responsibility Committee in particular that he felt he could bring some strong experience to the table.
Q&A with Rep. Bill Lamb *questions are paraphrased
Q: What was your motivation to run for office?
“I was at retirement age, so I had a career that was financially stable enough to go ahead and retire. I didn’t need a job or another career, but I was just looking for a place to serve, and that’s my whole focus; I wanted to service my district and the state at large.
I thought I’ve got a lot to offer because I’ve been chief financial officer for the Tuscaloosa County Commission for 39 years, so I knew the budget process, government finances, and spending.”
Q: What do you feel will be your single-biggest legislative priority as a freshman House representative?
“The budget process; budget is the only thing that the legislature actually has to do. I’m not focused on seeing how many bills I can pass, but I do want to be well informed on the process so I’ll be able to vote intelligently on issues that come up.
I think the primary focus will be – initially at least – on the budget. We have that $1 billion left over from the ARPA funds, so that’ll have to be decided how that’s going to be allocated. Then there’s some (surplus) from the previous year and that has to be allocated. That’s going to be some of the first things.”
Q: You voiced concerns over Alabama’s workforce participation rate. What tools would you consider to improve this rate?
“I want to concentrate on workforce development. There’s a lot of auto-related industries, and they’re really having trouble getting employees. That’s kind of unusual in Alabama history, having more jobs than we’ve got people available to fill them.
I’ve met with the community colleges here and the trade schools, and I think we need to communicate to the students that you can decide at an early age which way you want to go; you want to go to the skilled trades area, emphasize that, if you want to go to college in the academic area, emphasize that. I don’t think we’re doing too good a job of communicating all that to the students.
The workforce participation rate in Alabama is only like 57%, and that’s able-bodied people that are able to work, so 43% of people choose to not participate in the workforce. I’d like to encourage that number to be changed dramatically. It’s imperative that we figure out what causes that.
When I was talking to some community college presidents here, they tell me that 43% of the people who exit high school have absolutely no plan. That’s an education process that we need to start early to help kids know what their opportunities are and help them to achieve them. At the same time, I think we’ve lost some track of what education’s all about and I think we need to refocus on the core courses like math, reading, science; maybe less emphasis on social issues and more emphasis on core issues.”
Q: Where do you land on the topic of diverting funds earmarked for public education toward private and public charter schools?
“I think we should have more (school) choices. I guess the buzzword is school choice, and I’m not a strong proponent on either side of that issue, but I think it needs to be looked at and pursued. I don’t think anything’s off the table in that area – we need to pursue what’s best for parents and students.”
Q: What personal or professional experience do you have that you feel may influence your decision making as a state legislator?
“I have an accounting degree and I’ve worked as a chief financial officer for so many years that I know government finances; budget preparation, revenue analysis, expenditure analysis… that’s what I know. So I think that will lend itself well to participate in the process.”