Hale County Commissioner Addresses Transphobic Social Media Post Critical Of UA

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A former Tuscaloosa County commissioner and current Hale County commissioner says a transphobic post he made on the social media platform LinkedIn was taken down after a complaint, while insisting that he was never banned from the site and doubling down on his criticism of the University of Alabama System.

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“So, is a Queer Transgender man straight or what, does it have a wee-wee or not?" Wallace posted. "WTH [What the hell] is the University of Alabama teaching and wasting our tax dollars on?”

Wallace, whose account is active as of the publication of this story, told Patch on Thursday that LinkedIn received a complaint about the post and removed it.

He then explained that when he was notified, he tried to reset the account to see if he could get the full post back, but did not know it would take 24 hours to reactivate it.

"They did not delete my entire account," he said.

Wallace, who served two terms on the Tuscaloosa County Commission before opting against running for a third term in 2012, went on to say that he made the post to express his frustration regarding reports of spending decisions by the University of Alabama and others.

A longtime president of the Alabama Republican Assembly and a certified public accountant in Northport for more than two decades, Wallace has been a fixture in GOP politics in Alabama for some time. His CPA firm purportedly performs "audits of local governments, nonprofit agencies, churches," along with individual and small business tax work.

Wallace most recently won his first term to represent District 1 on the Hale County Commission with 67% of the vote during the Nov. 8, 2022 general election.

Following the backlash from the social media post, Wallace stood by his criticism of how his alma mater and the state of Alabama spend taxpayer money.

"The priority evidenced by decisions made, including the UA system, leave children taken to school on unsafe roads, areas where emergency vehicles will not respond, or places like UA’s Moundville Archaeological Park that is lacking in maintenance and presentation of ancient Native American grounds," he said. "My questioning is related to the priority of spending when many poorer counties like Hale, Pickens, Sumter and others across this state cannot keep up with basic infrastructure needs. I cannot even begin to count the number of roads in unacceptable condition, for which the money will not stretch far and fast enough."

Still, when speaking to the complaint about his social media statement, Wallace said he used what he believes to be a "made up reference that doesn't apply to anyone from what I can tell, and questions why my University is spending so many resources on related [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion/Critical Race Theory] programs when we aren't even taking proper care of other responsibilities."

The Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Alabama has the expressed mission of fostering a welcoming and supportive environment for students, faculty, staff, visitors and members of the community, regardless of cultural differences, beliefs, values, ethnicity, race, age, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, gender identity, or religion.

Separately, the Brookings Institute explains that the much broader concept of Critical Race Theory teaches that "U.S. social institutions ... are laced with racism embedded in laws, regulations, rules, and procedures that lead to differential outcomes by race."

Apart from the post that was removed, Wallace has been vocal in his opposition of DEI/CRT efforts at the University of Alabama, posting a week ago: "There is no place where we should be teaching anything other than all of us are created equal, with the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

In a statement to Patch, Wallace conceded that his post was unprofessional and used solely as an "absurd reference" to underscore questionable spending decisions made by government and related entities.

"I certainly would not try to dehumanize anyone, and if this were a legitimate group based on race, gender, or lifestyle choice, I would gladly apologize," he said. "While people’s private lives are their own, the spending of our money affects all of us when it comes to issues shared in common, like roads, schools, taxes, inflation."

Wallace then listed numerous infrastructure issues in the west Alabama area, where he contends that there are efforts underway by the state to take funding away from most counties.

"I can provide videos or images to demonstrate, places just a short distance from the University," he said. "Even the UA's photo of the Mounds this week showed wooden steps that are in need of repair at the park. The staff works hard to maintain the park with the limited resources they have, but ponds have been filled in, overgrown with weeds near the museum center at times, and other deficiencies. Yet, the UA spends large amounts of money on new [Diversity, equity, and inclusion]efforts when those funds could greatly improve other resources or fund basic infrastructure and public access."

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