MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Newly elected Rep. Marilyn Lands, D-Huntsville, told Alabama Daily News that she is prioritizing building relationships across the aisle and sharing stories with her colleagues in order to come together on legislation.
“I think stories are what changes people’s hearts and minds,” she said.
The Democrat won House District 10 in March in a special election, flipping the formerly Republican-held seat. Lands initially ran for the seat in the 2022 regular election cycle and lost to Republican David Cole. He had to resign the seat last fall after entering a plea deal on a felony voter fraud charge.
Former Rep. Mike Ball, R-Madison, who held the seat from 2010 to 2022, endorsed Lands. She said that it was through a 2022 conversation with Ball, who would soon retire, that she decided to run. She said the pair share a passion for improving mental health and she helped him with some related legislation.
“I think that is what planted seeds in my head that if Mike decides to retire, and step away, that, you know, that might be my next thing,” she said. “I do think we need more Democrats to step up in this state.”
“I wanted to at least get it out there and it is HB 494, which would provide presumptive eligibility for pregnant women to Medicaid and it’s modeled after legislation that was recently passed in Mississippi,” she said. “I see that as an area where we need to make a lot of strides. And so I’m happy to be a champion for health care but especially for mental health.”
“… Mental health is just exploding exponentially the problems that suicide, with opiate addiction and with our children, particularly,” Lands, a licensed professional counselor, said. “It breaks my heart.”
Leave a Reply