Harper, who was selected Monday night to be Northport’s economic development director, has been a Democrat throughout his time in the Legislature. He was first elected to represent District 61 in the House in 2006 and was re-elected in 2010. 
 
 “This is a decision that has taken many months of deliberation and thought,” Harper said. “In the end, I made the decision because it is best for District 61. I was elected to serve my district to the best of my ability and this decision reflects that.” 
 
 District 61 encompasses Pickens County and a slice of west-central Tuscaloosa County, including Northport. Harper won 68 percent of the vote in 2006 and 65 percent of the vote in 2010. 
 
 His change in party affiliation comes as a Legislature with a Republican super-majority in the House and Senate prepares to redraw district lines based on the 2010 U.S. Census. Harper will face redistricting as a member of the legislative majority but he said he has not received any promises about how his district will shape up and has not made any promises in switching parties. 
 
 “I haven’t received any promises and I don’t do quid pro quo,” he said. 
 
 Harper said his decision does not reflect a change of heart or philosophy. At this time, the Republican Party is a better fit for him personally as well as his district, he said. 
 
 “My ideals and philosophies for a better district and to improve our state have not changed one bit,” Harper said. “I’m still the same person I was when I got out of bed this morning and will be tomorrow morning. My support of business, education, new jobs and the well-being of the citizens of District 61 are priority number one.” 
 
 He said he plans to run for re-­election in 2014 and his change in parties will get a mixed reaction. 
 
 “There is no best time to make a decision like this,” he said. “Some folk are going to be happy and some may be upset. What is important to me is to be forthright, to let all citizens in District 61 know my decision well before the next election in 2014. It’s the fair and right thing to do.” 
 
 The House now has 66 Republicans and 39 Democrats. ||||| State Rep. Alan Harper is on a self-described "personal crusade" to encourage people to shop at stores owned by Christian Americans — and shun those owned by immigrants. 
 
 Friends, I have posted regarding this issue once before and believe it worth another read. As you travel during the holidays or any other time, please try to shop and purchase gas and other items at American owned stores. The C stores/tobacco outlets, etc. with the lights around the windows and doors are not owned by God fearing Christians. In large part, these stores are owned by folk that send their profits back to their homeland and then in turn use these funds against our country to create turmoil, fear and in some cases death and destruction. I realize I am "painting with a broad brush" here, but the madness has to stop. Please join me in making the extra effort to never support these stores/shops! I am trying to do my part and I know you will to. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May God Bless. Alan Harper State Representative District 61 
 
 In a post on his Facebook page on Monday, the Northport Republican said convenience and tobacco stores "with the lights around the windows and doors are not owned by God fearing Christians." 
 
 "In large part," the post continued, "these stores are owned by folk that send their profits back to their homeland and then in turn use these funds against our country to create turmoil, fear and in some cases death and destruction." 
 
 In reply to a comment on his post that asked how to know whether a store owner is American, Harper posted: "Look behind the cash register. Most are owner/operators." 
 
 Further down in the comment thread, Harper said, "Please keep sharing. I am on a personal crusade to do my part to turn back those that would harm our great nation." 
 
 Harper, a former Democrat who switched parties in 2012, represents District 61 in the state House of Representatives. The district comprises part of west Tuscaloosa County, including most of Northport, and a large part of Pickens County. 
 
 In a text message exchange with The Tuscaloosa News, which asked Harper to explain his Facebook post, the lawmaker said his point was "to simply say 'buy locally and buy American'." 
 
 "God bless America!," he said. 
 
 Harper said he stood by his post but could not comment further because he was at the doctor's office for tests. 
 
 In his original Facebook post, he admitted that he was "painting with a broad brush" but went on to say, "Please join me in making the extra effort to never support these stores/shops! I am trying to do my part and I know you will to." 
 
 His post generated discussion among his Facebook followers. Some agreed with his sentiments while others said they would not "share such hatred." 
 
 Store owners in his district took issue with such a broad characterization based solely on their appearance and the color of their skin. 
 
 "I don't understand that," said Ali Gewani, 31, who has been operating the Texaco at the intersection of Alabama Highway 69 and Union Chapel Road for about six months. 
 
 Gewani said he was born in India and that his parents emigrated to the United States about 20 years ago. They are now U.S. citizens. 
 
 Gewani said he has been here about five years and is still going through the process to become a U.S. citizen. 
 
 He confessed that he lacked the ability to express fully what Harper's comments meant to him outside of his native language, but he did say that he found Harper's post offensive. 
 
 There was no such language barrier for Jay Patel, the 45-year-old owner of C Mart Spirits on U.S. Highway 82 in Northport, across from Mr. Bill's Family Dining. 
 
 Patel, now a U.S. citizen, also came here from India and has been living on U.S. soil for the past 25 years or so. 
 
 "We get that a lot," Patel said after reading Harper's Facebook post. Often, he said, customers ask if he and his family are Arabs, or from the Middle East. But he's not letting that stop him from running his business or contributing back to his community. 
 
 Before relocating to Northport, Patel operated a RaceWay in Tuscaloosa and, before each school year, he would donate school supplies to the local district, he said. 
 
 "We believe in putting back into the community right here," he said. 
 
 And while Patel said that he agreed with Harper's concerns over American money being used to attack or harm U.S. citizens and forces, he said that such an indiscriminate approach could harm his livelihood. 
 
 "At the same time," Patel said, "we get cooked." 
 
 Patel's son, 21-year-old Roshan Patel, is a graduate from American Christian Academy. He agreed with his father that Harper's comments were offensive. 
 
 "He's basically just profiling us all into the same community," Roshan Patel said, before extending an invitation to Harper, a former Northport City Council member, to visit his family's business to see who operates it and how. 
 
 At the Jet-Pep on Lurleen Wallace Boulevard South, located just before the Hugh Thomas Bridge, Brijesh Darji said he found it confusing that an elected official would be so blatant in his condemnation of business owners who looked like him. 
 
 Darji, 36, said he has been dealing with prejudice his whole life, so that aspect of Harper's comments did not bother him as much as the selective representation of those living and working in Alabama. 
 
 "It's not something he should've said," said Darji, who came to the U.S. in 1987 at the age of 8. "As a state representative, he should be looking out for the benefit of the state. 
 
 "It just raises so many questions in my head." 
 
 Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200. ||||| Monday on Facebook, State Representative Alan Harper (R)-District 61 says people should shop only at American-owned convenience stores, gas stations and tobacco outlets. 
 
 Harper says the stores with the lights around the windows and doors are not owned by quote "God-fearing Christians." Harper also writes "in large part, these stores are owned by folk that send their profits back to their homeland and then in turn use these funds against our country to create turmoil, fear and in some cases death and destruction." 
 
 Bobby Luogon owns the Cheap Smokes Discount Tobacco and convenience store in Tuscaloosa. Luogon is from Liberia and tells us he finds Harper's post uncalled for. 
 
 "For someone to say something like that who is a public figure. I mean, it just bothers me a lot. I'm a Christian. I own this store and to hear somebody saying something like that or writing something online like that that is not true. You can't just paint everybody with the same brush," Luogon said. 
 
 Harper writes he realizes he's "painting with a broad brush" here but says the madness has to stop. He's asking people to join him in making the extra effort to never support these stores or shops. 
 
 Luogon tells WBRC, he and his wife, who also owns a business, came to America years ago for a better life. 
 
 "For every basket of good apples there are bad apples. I think on a larger scale there are good people in this country than bad people when it comes to people in the convenience store business," Luogon said. 
 
 We reached out to Representative Harper to answer some questions about this on camera but through email he said he's simply saying "buy local and buy American." Harper adds his Facebook post speaks for itself. 
 
 Copyright 2015 WBRC. All rights reserved.
– An Alabama lawmaker is calling on US citizens to show their patriotism this Yuletide season (and, ostensibly, for always)—by frequenting only American-owned convenience stores, gas stations, and tobacco outlets, WALB reports. And GOP state Rep. Alan Harper has an easy way for consumers to tell which stores are true-blue American stores and which aren't. "The C stores/tobacco outlets, etc. with the lights around the windows and doors are not owned by God fearing Christians," he wrote Monday in a Facebook post. Harper—who seems unaware that his message to avoid stores with lights might have been more effective if he had waited until after the holiday season—adds that the "madness has to stop," because "in large part, these stores are owned by folk that send their profits back to their homeland and then in turn use these funds against our country to create turmoil, fear and in some cases death and destruction." Harper, a former Democrat who switched sides in 2012, notes further down in the comments section of his post that he's on "a personal crusade to … turn back those that would harm our great nation," the Tuscaloosa News notes. And the comments get heated: One poster writes, "So, basically, don't shop at places with brown people. Got it," to which Harper replies, "God bless each and everyone and God Bless America! Isn't it funny when things are taken out of context. Please buy American every chance you get to build our local economies." One person who definitely takes issue with Harper's post: Bobby Luogon, a native Liberian who owns a tobacco and convenience store in Tuscaloosa, and who also happens to be a Christian. "For someone to say something like that who is a public figure … it just bothers me a lot," he tells WALB. "You can't just paint everybody with the same brush." (Cross the Buick Envision off Harper's Christmas list.)