State Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow said he couldn’t be more proud to continue serving the citizens of House District 18.

Morrow, who was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1990, defeated his Republican challenger Gerry Wallace by a decisive margin. Morrow took home 3,937 votes in Franklin County to Wallace’s 2,026 and won the district with over 60 percent of the vote.

“I want to express a sincere thanks, to all of my supporters, to my wife, Martha, and to all those who went out to the polls today and voted for me,” Morrow said.

“I have been the representative for District 18 for 24 years, and I am humbled and pleased that the people of this district have once again chosen me to be their representative.

“I love Franklin County and my whole legislative district, and I am glad to have the opportunity to serve them for the next four years.”

In his 24 years of political service, Morrow has taken pride in being a voice for his constituents.

Last year, Morrow was instrumental in passing a school safety bill, signed into law as Act 2013-268, that allows former and current school personnel, as well as community volunteers, to be trained as reserve sheriff’s deputies or police reserves and would have the authority to act as security forces on school campuses in the event that an intruder comes on the school’s campus with the intent to harm students or employees.

He has also been a strong advocate for rehabilitating the property at Overton Farm near Hodges so that it can benefit school children and others in the community; a part of the expansion and creation of jobs at IHP and Southern Energy Homes; he has worked on the four-laning of Alabama 24;

he helped create a veterans recognition program that teaches school children the importance of veterans and their contributions to our country; and he helped secure funding through the Tennessee Valley Caucus to bring TVA in-lieu of tax funds back to Franklin County to be disbursed to local groups.

“The bottom line is, I care about the people of this county, and I am happy to continue serving them as their state representative,” Morrow said.

Moving forward, Morrow said he would be focusing on jobs and improving the quality of life for the citizens of his district.

“Our part of the state has so much potential for new industry, money from visitors to our area, and hard-working people who really care about the children and senior citizens,” he said.

“I have been working on creating an environment where a family can live with gratitude for our veterans, a great public school system and an appreciation of God’s nature among other ideals.

“I look forward to the next four years of working with the people of House District 18.”