By PERRY HOOPER, JR.
A public servant is defined as someone who works honorably, conscientiously, and with dedication putting the public’s interest above their own. This truly defines Martha Roby. Since first entering public life on the Montgomery City Council 16 years ago at age 26, Martha Roby has always done the right thing for her city, her state, and her country.
When Democrat Bobby Bright was elected to represent her Congressional District in 2008, Martha was devastated. The district had been in Republican hands for 50 years. So, Martha rolled up her sleeves and went to work defeating Bright in 2010. Now as Alabama’s first female Republican Congressman the hard work began, stopping the socialist agenda being implemented by the Obama Administration especially the drastic cuts he was making to the military. These cuts would have been devastating to the Second Congressional District home to Maxwell, Gunter and Fort Rucker.
Through her leadership these cuts were not only avoided, but the military’s presence in her district has increased. Especially important, Martha led the successful effort for the 187th Fighter Wing at Dannelly Field to receive the coveted F-35 Joint Strike Fighter mission. She successfully fought reductions to the fleet of C-150s stationed at Maxwell and Gunter. Martha also ensured strong funding for the Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker.
She has worked tirelessly for Veterans which led to the construction of a new Veterans Health Facility in Montgomery.
She has been a strong voice for Alabama’s biggest industry – Agriculture as witnessed by her work on 2 farm bills. She also made sure of the availability of disaster recovery funds for Alabama farmers who experienced extreme devastation when Hurricane Michael made landfall during the harvest last October.
Martha has consistently supported pro-life efforts in Congress; from offering amendments to federal funding bills to stop funding organizations that provide abortions, to giving speeches on the House floor standing up for all of us in the pro-life community.
Congressman Roby showed the Nation her quick wit and keen intelligence during her questioning of Hillary Clinton during The Select Committee on Benghazi hearings and most recently during her questioning of Robert Mueller during his appearance before the House Judiciary Committee.
On a personaI note, I have known Martha all her life and I really hate to see her decide not to run for re-election. She has built up a lot of seniority and respect. She is a member of the House Republican leadership and an invaluable member of the Alabama House Delegation. But I also understand family. I can only imagine how difficult it is spending so much time away from them, missing your son playing football or your daughter cheering as a cheerleader. I know how much she looks forward to spending more time with husband Riley, daughter Margaret and son George.
I would like to thank her parents Judge Joel Dubina and her mother Beth for raising Martha to be such an outstanding leader for our Nation.
Hopefully we will continue to hear from Martha even after she leaves the House.
Perry O Hooper, Jr. is a former State Representative from Montgomery who serves on the Alabama Republican Party Executive Committee. In 2016 he chaired Alabama’s Trump Victory campaign.