Mayor Sam Jones Says Senator May Have Lost Her Mind

Mayor Sam Jones says Washington Senator Patty Murray is delusional and "may be off her medications."

Murray created a firestorm when she told NPR's All Things Considered that she "stood on the line in Everett, Washington where we have thousands of workers who go to work every day to build these planes. I would challenge anybody to tell me that they’ve stood on a line in Alabama and seen anybody building anything.”

Governor Bob Riley and both of Alabama's Senators have criticized Murray for making the statement. Tuesday, Jones wrote the letter below to Murray's doctor:

TO THE PERSONAL PHYSICIAN OF:

The Honorable Patty Murray
U. S. Senator
State of Washington

Dear Doctor,

Would you please check on your patient? Her recent remarks indicating that she has “never seen anybody in Alabama building anything” makes me believe that she may be off her medications.

As you and the rest of the informed world know, Alabama is an epicenter of high-tech industrial production. That is why Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Honda have located state-of-the-art assembly plants here. There are over 300 Alabama aerospace industries producing the rocket boosters for our space program and missiles for our national defense.
Ironically, Boeing has recognized the strength of the Alabama workforce as it is one of our largest defense contractors.

We knew that Senator Murray was slipping from her past remarks when she attacked our partners in the U.S. Air Force refueling tanker competition who also happen to be important to her own State’s economy. As you may be aware, Northrop Grumman and its suppliers currently employ over 4,000 persons in Washington State and have an annual economic impact of over $500 million. If a dual acquisition award were to be made, in addition to the Boeing jobs which she currently touts, Washington would benefit by 2,700 more jobs with an additional annual impact of over $145 million.

Among the Washington suppliers supporting the Northrop tanker are: ELDEC Corporation in Lynwood; Honeywell in Redmond; Kaiser Aluminum in Spokane Valley; Accra Manufacturing in Bothell; and Exotic Metals Forming Company in Kent. A dual award would be a win for Washington, for Alabama, for the Air Force, as well as for both competing companies.

In addition to whatever therapy the Senator might need, you may want to consider prescribing a curative change of scenery and a restorative vacation in Mobile, Alabama. I will be pleased to host Senator Murray, give her a tour of some of the most sophisticated manufacturing facilities in the world and introduce her to a workforce that is second to none. After she tours the next-generation littoral combat ship USS Independence, built in Mobile by Austal Shipbuilding, and the many existing aerospace facilities at Brookley Field, this may provide medical relief if not a cure for Senator Murray’s current delusion.

Sincerely,

Samuel L. Jones, Mayor
City of Mobile