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Several incoming freshman legislators have joked about the daunting task of getting acclimated to the State House.
“I just hope to find the bathrooms,” one new lawmaker joked about his expectations for his first year in office.
But that shouldn’t be a problem for District 89 Rep. Marcus Paramore, who has spent the last 20 years advocating on behalf of Troy University in the legislature as the college’s director of governmental affairs.
“I think I understand how the Legislature works, how the process works,” Paramore said. “I’m sure my colleagues coming in are very intelligent people and will catch on very quickly, but I do feel I have a little advantage in that I’ve been there 20 years now on the other side of the equation. I’m going to work with he new members and veteran members to make sure the things we need for District 89 are taken care of.”
In addition to his role with the university, Paramore has also spent 10 years with the Troy City Council including six years as president of the council.
“(I think) my experience helping to entice other businesses to come to our area of the state and to Troy (will translate to my role in the Legislature), recruiting retail and restaurants— kind of what we call quality of life economic development,” Paramore said. “We want that to happen in Brundidge, Goshen, Ariton, Skipperville— all over District 89 and southeast Alabama. We want to continue to grow and provide good quality high-paying jobs to our constituents.”
In Paramore’s time on the Troy City Council, the city recruited some landmark companies, most notably Kimber Manufacturing, a major firearms manufacturer which has made Troy its headquarters.
Paramore also outlined his other priorities coming into the office.
“We definitely want to protect the agricultural interests and commodities in our area,” Paramore said. “It’s one of the major aspects of our economy want to make sure the people who serve in agribusiness our farmers not necessarily held back with red tape and burdensome regulations, unfunded mandates … I’m a firm believer in protecting second amendment rights. I’m very much pro-life. I will protect our conservative Christian values for our area and stand in the gap for those all day every day. Make sure kids have good quality education. I believe in school choice our ability for our parents to put children in best opportunity they see fit to educate their children.”
