By Taylor Burgess
Journal intern
A mother of four from Inverness recently announced she will run for a seat in the Alabama House of Representatives.
Amie Beth Shaver, a conservative activist, author and speaker, will run for the Alabama House District 43 seat in in the June 2014 Republican primary.
District 43 includes the Valleydale and Riverchase areas of Shelby County and part of the Altadena neighborhood in Jefferson County.
Republican Mary Sue McClurkin now holds the seat but announced that she would not seek re-election in 2014. McClurkin, an Indian Springs resident, has held the post since 1998.
Shaver, who grew up in Shelby County and graduated from Samford University, announced her candidacy on Nov. 5 through a YouTube web spot titled “Come Along.” In the spot, Shaver described her platform, which hinges on the importance of reducing wasteful government spending.
“How do you explain to a child the damage Obamacare and Common Core are doing to our country and their future? The importance of reducing wasteful government spending so their generation isn’t saddled with a debt burden impossible to overcome? Why we need to grow small businesses so when they get out of college, they’ll be able to find a job?” Shaver said in the YouTube video.
Shaver describes her position on other social issues, including abortion, adoption, teen pregnancy, motherhood and faith, in her book “Who Moved the Line? America’s Character Crisis,” which she publicized on a national speaking tour.
In 1994, Shaver became Miss Alabama with a platform centered on adoption. She has also been a spokeswoman for conservative Alabama grassroots organizations and is a frequent guest on conservative talk radio shows.
Shaver is the adopted daughter of Dr. Douglas Dickinson, a gastroenterologist at Brookwood Medical Center, and Barbara Dickinson. She has been married for 16 years to Dr. Chris Shaver, a gastroenterologist at Birmingham Gastroenterology Associates in Homewood.
The couple’s children are 14-year-old Emmy, 12-year-old Wesley Kate, 10-year-old Will and 6-year-old Mollie. The family attends The Church at Brook Hills.
For more information about Shaver’s campaign, call Jeannie Faherty at 917-273-5433.
