Central SGA member on quest to interview gubernatorial candidates
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
SGA member and interviewer Christopher Prowell
Special to the News
Central High School Student Government Association member Christopher Prowell is on a quest to interview Alabama’s pool of gubernatorial candidates.
Prowell has contacted 10 candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as the independent candidate who granted him his first interview below.
The following is the article Prowell wrote from his Zoom interview with independent candidate Ronald Burnette Jr., who is running for governor. The interviews will also be shared in the school newsletter so seniors, who registered to vote during our voter registration drive in the fall, can be more informed when they head to the ballot box for the first time during the May 2026 primary elections. We would like to commend Prowell for his civic engagement and his desire to inform his classmates.
Ronald Burnette Jr., a North Carolina native, has been a Montgomery resident for the past 30 years. Burnette is a former U.S. Army field artilleryman, who brings a mix of discipline, technical skill and small‑business experience to his views on state policy.
Burnette attended Davidson College and Troy University and is now the owner of a plumbing contracting company. Burnette has spent years working directly with the skilled‑trades workforce that keeps Alabama’s infrastructure functioning.
In a conversation centered on inequities in political representation, particularly in rural communities and areas facing socioeconomic hardship, Burnette argues that the state’s long‑standing gaps in opportunity begin with unequal access to practical career pathways.
Burnette’s approach to strengthening the state’s future workforce centers on high school students. He proposes a structured job‑training program that introduces teenagers to skilled trades while they are still in school, giving them hands‑on experience, industry exposure and a direct route into stable, well‑paid careers. He believes that expanding workforce development in this way would not only address labor shortages in skilled trades in Alabama, but also provide rural and low‑income students with opportunities that have historically been out of reach for them.
Burnette also emphasizes the need to address Alabama’s educator shortage, particularly in districts that struggle to attract and retain qualified teachers. His plan includes recruiting strong educators from other states to supplement Alabama’s deficit, ensuring that students, especially those in underserved communities, have access to high‑quality instruction. He views this as a necessary step to stabilize classrooms, improve academic outcomes and create a more equitable educational landscape across the state.
Burnette further proposes establishing a statewide liaison program, placing one representative in each of Alabama’s 67 counties to serve as a direct point of contact between local communities and state leadership. These liaisons would gather concerns, monitor emerging issues and ensure that rural and low‑income areas have a consistent, reliable channel for communicating their needs.
Burnette argues that this structure would strengthen accountability, reduce blind spots in state decision‑making and give every county a meaningful voice in the political process. These liaisons would also serve in a disaster relief capacity, informing him of the state of affairs on the ground for the numerous natural disasters our state faces such as extreme freezing temperatures, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and power outages, helping mitigate the damage they cause to our property and our lives.
Prowell would like to thank Mr. Burnette for taking the time to allow him to interview him, which in turn will provide Prowell with the opportunity to inform his student body about the gubernatorial candidates.
Ronald Burnette Jr.
