By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

Longtime Pelham businessman Tom Vigneulle said he is looking to bring a “small business owner’s perspective” to Washington in his bid to represent Alabama’s 6th Congressional District during this year’s elections.

Vigneulle, a Wilsonville resident who has owned Royal Bedding in Pelham for more than 26 years, said he is looking to bring a fresh mindset to the U.S. Congress.

“The vast majority of U.S. representatives in Washington are lawyers,” Vigneulle said. “I want to take a look at the bills, regulations and taxation that is coming down from Washington, and put a small business owner’s perspective on it.

“I want to go to Washington to be different,” Vigneulle added. “If we continue to elect the same people, we are going to continue to see the same stuff.”

Alabama’s 6^th Congressional seat currently is occupied by U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, who has announced he will not seek another term. The qualifying period for major-party candidates for Alabama’s 6^th Congressional District will end on Feb. 7, and the general election for the seat will be held on Nov. 4.

Vigneulle said, if elected, he plans to bring the “art of listening back to Washington,” and said he will work to be available to his constituents.

“If it is an issue I don’t have a strong feeling on, I want to hear how the people in the 6^th Congressional District feel about it,” Vigneulle said. “I am not going to run away from that. I will hear your voice, and you will know that I’ve always got an ear to hear.”

Vigneulle also said he plans to support the enactment of term limits in Congress.

“There are so many people who go to Washington, and that money and power causes them to lose focus,” Vigneulle said. “I will have one person for each day of the week who will call me and hold me accountable.”