SPANISH FORT — Saturday night, Baldwin County residents had a chance to hear what most of the Alabama gubernatorial candidates had to say about the state of coastal homeowner’ insurance and what they would do to fix it if elected.

All but three candidates showed up for the forum presented by the Alabama Christian Coalition and Homeowners’ Hurricane Insurance Initiative, and attended by more than 200 residents, according to a count by the organizes. The dais chairs reserved for Republican candidate Tim James and both Democrat candidates, Artur G. Davis and Ron Sparks, were vacant at 7 p.m. when the forum began at The Gathering Place of Spanish Fort United Methodist Church.

In alphabetical order, each candidate was given 3 minutes to speak on anything they chose, but organizers asked them to offer their thoughts on the insurance crisis.

Candidate Robert Bentley said the problem not only affects the people of this area, but will ultimately affect the entire state.

“I believe we need to appoint an insurance commissioner that knows something about insurance, obviously, but they do not need to be hired from a large insurance company.”

He also advocated the establishment of an office of consumer advocacy that would operate under the state insurance commissioner. Bentley said he would like to appoint a person from each congressional district to hear residents’ insurance grievances and to find out the costs in each area when catastrophic events happen. He also promised to call a special session during his first year, if elected, to look at the problem and come up with solutions.

Candidate Bradley Byrne said the insurance problem was not limited to Baldwin and Mobile counties but was creeping northward across the state.

“I was in Florence yesterday and started hearing about increases in wind insurance premiums” for residents of that north Alabama community.

“The first thing we need is to have a coalition of coastal state governors, from Texas all the way up to Maine, to band together so that we can work not only with the federal government but with the insurance industry to come up with a solution to the reinsurance problem because that’s the core of what we are dealing with.”

Byrne said without that coalition, Alabama didn’t stand a chance because its coastline is tiny, “and we mean absolutely nothing to the big insurance carriers.” He also advocates a state statute that would contain catastrophe savings accounts, tax credits for coastal homeowners, the elimination of blanket pricing or redlining in coastal areas, to name a few.

Candidate Bill Johnson said the high insurance rates have a significant negative impact on the “second-biggest economic engine in the state.” He said the high rates directly impact Alabama businesses and then filter down to residents in increased costs for everything they buy.

Johnson said transparency of the insurance companies was important to him.

“I want to know how much they are making, how much they are losing, what their profit is and what their reserves are.”

Candidate Roy Moore said, “This problem of corruption in government can be corrected. Our government must turn back to the interests of the people and not those of special interests.”

He said the problem in Alabama homeowner insurance is the state Department of Insurance. He said the insurance commissioner was there to protect the insurance companies not the people of Alabama. Moore said he is committed to working with Alabama residents to choose an insurance commissioner that owes his allegiance to the people and not the insurance companies.

“What I say I’ll do, I will do.”

Candidate James Potts said if he was elected governor, Insurance would be fair.”

He said he would ensure that Alabama’s Department of Insurance would start collecting data.

Candidate Charles Taylor said, “My goal is to bring, within one year (after being elected governor) the insurance levels to pre-Katrina.”

He said he thought the transparency bill is critical and didn’t know why it couldn’t get out of committee. “The insurance issue would be the first thing I did every day, even if there were other pressing issues, I would make sure it was the No. 1 thing … until it was done.”

He also said the issue would have to be negotiated with the insurance companies.

Next, the candidates were given 30 seconds to respond to four questions they were given in advance of the forum. They then signed covenants promising to keep their word if elected.

For an hour prior to the start of the forum, those in attendance listened to a vocal presentation by Story, a ladies trio from the University of Mobile and several inspirational messages from area ministers and laymen. Three Baldwin County residents spoke briefly on “the nature of the pain” of the insurance crisis: Sister Julie Guillot, founder and director of Eastern Shore Affordable Houses; the Rev. Craig Bowyer, ACT-II steering board, St. Paul Episcopal Church; and Stan Virden, ACT-II steering board, Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, Gulf Shores.

The Homeowners’ Hurricane Insurance Initiative is an an initiative of All Churches Together (ACT-II), a faith-base, Christ-centered organization developed by Baldwin County Pastors. For more information, visit www.hhii.us.