Gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne visited Troy Monday night in a local campaign fundraiser with ethics on his mind.

“One of the biggest public corruption investigations going on in the United States is in the state of Alabama,” said Byrne, Republican candidate. “When I had to take over the Two-Year College System, I knew it wasn’t the only corrupt part of the state, but that’s the part I was over.”

And if Byrne is tasked with head of all state government, he said reformation will be top on his list.

“It is time to take over state government and give it back to the people,” he said.

Byrne’s campaign is “ethics, education and economics,” and if elected, he promises to call a special Legislative session his first week in office to pass key ethics reform bills.

He hopes to change tenure laws and create an open, honest government. Byrne also addressed a recent television ad funded largely by the Alabama Education Association.

“Why do they lie about me? Because the truth is exactly what they don’t want you to know,” he said.

Byrne has battled with the AEA for years when he was head of the two-year college system.

“We have let one man run education for a number of years. It’s time to take our education system back from Paul Hubbert and give it back to the people of the state,” Byrne said.

Byrne said if elected he will have a unique advantage over many of the governors elected in recent terms in that he has served in the state Legislature, something he hopes will help him increase productivity in sessions.

“I was very disappointed that for the eight consecutive year, they’ve failed to pass ethics reform,” he said. Byrne said once ethics reform issues are addressed, he believes it will open doors for advancements in education and the economy.

“You make me the governor of the state of Alabama, and I promise you I will stand on principals and I will not back down.”