Helena's Leigh Hulsey seeks Alabama House District 15 seat
Leigh Hulsey tried to get elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2021, but she lost a race for House District 73 to Pelham’s Kenneth Paschal in April by 63 votes.
Now, she’s trying again, but with the redrawn legislative districts, she finds herself in Alabama House District 15, which includes parts of Hoover, Helena, McCalla and Bessemer.
Hulsey, a member of the Helena City Council for 13 years, faces Bessemer resident Brad Tompkins in the May 24 Republican primary. The District 15 seat now is held by Allen Farley, who is not seeking re-election.
Hulsey, a lifelong Alabama resident, said she has a passion for serving people and said the Lord has specifically placed her in the world of politics. She believes she has a record of getting things done for the people of Helena in her role on the council and sees the Legislature as the next step for her.
She is in her 10th year of owning CrossFit Alabaster and operated the business herself until removing herself from daily operations last year to run for the Legislature. Her experience owning and operating a business has prepared her for issues she would tackle as a legislator, she said.
“Joe Biden’s failure is more proof that our country needs people with real-world experience in office,” Hulsey said. “The citizens of District 15 deserve a God-fearing, qualified, conservative, pro-jobs leader fighting for them.”
Hulsey described herself as a champion of conservative causes who believes in preventing government overreach and protecting the unborn, the right of people to have guns and states’ rights.
“I really truly believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets and freedom,” Hulsey said. “Those are what makes this country great.”
Hulsey said she doesn’t have a strong personal agenda she wants to enact.“Far too often we see people with their own agenda,” she said. “This is a representative government, and it is for the people and by the people.”
Her most important issues will be whatever is most important to the people of District 15, she said. She believes people in her district see roads as important and will work to secure funding for road projects in the district, whether that be the continuation of road widening such as is being done on Morgan Road and Alabama 261 or the development of new connector roads to help relieve existing arteries, she said.
She also wants to make sure schools are funded well and education is a priority, she said. “Education is extremely important to me.”
As the parent of a child with special needs, she also sees herself as an advocate for such children, she said. She believes quality-of-life issues are important, such as the development of walking trails, biking trails and blueway trails, such as connecting the Buck Creek trail system to other nearby trails, she said.
“I think the pandemic showed us people really do like to have things to do in their communities,” she said.
She’s sure other issues will surface over time, and she will do what she needs to do to help address those issues, she said.
Hulsey has lived most of her life in Shelby County. She graduated from Pelham High School in 1995 and then obtained a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies from Auburn University in 2001.
She and her husband, Dennis Hulsey, have been married almost 25 years and have three children: a 24-year-old son who graduated from Auburn University, a 19-year-old son who is a sophomore at Jefferson State Community College with plans to attend the University of Montevallo, and a 17-year-old daughter at Helena High School who has committed to play soccer at Auburn University at Montgomery.
Hulsey worked as a stay-at-home mom for about 12 years and as a paralegal for a few years before opening CrossFit Alabaster.
She is president of the Alabaster Business Alliance, vice president of campaigns for the Republican Women of North Shelby County and on the executive committee for the Shelby County GOP. She has been active at the Church of the Highlands Riverchase campus, where she previously served as a small group leader and prayer team leader.
For more information about her, go to leighhulsey.com.
Editor's note: This article was updated at 4:31 p.m. to correct the date of the 2022 Republican primary in Alabama. The date is May 24.