Government

Bolin Elected to JeffCo Commission, Preserves Republican Majority on the Commission

Mike Bolin is retired no more. The former Alabama Supreme Court justice has a new job as the newly elected District 5 representative on the Jefferson County Commission. Bolin, 74, of Vestavia Hills received 5,728 votes, or 59% of the total, while developer David Silverstein, 67, of Mountain Brook amassed 3,924 votes, or 41%. “I spent 35 years in the judicial branch of government,” Bolin said after learning of his victory. “Now I’ll be embarking on a quasi-executive-legislative branch of government. I’m anxious to work with the members of the commission, to be fiscally conservative (and) to work for the betterment of the whole county I was born in and I’ve always lived in and always will.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

‘This just can’t go on’: Birmingham City Councilors Somber a Day After Firefighter’s Death

As Birmingham’s city councilors met Tuesday, the mood was somber. Just a day earlier, Jordan Melton, a Birmingham firefighter, had died as a result of injuries he suffered when he and his colleague, Jamal Jones, were shot inside Station 9 on July 12. As council members gathered in Boutwell Auditorium for their regularly scheduled meeting, a shirt was draped in solidarity across the tables at the front of the room. It was a show of solidarity: “Birmingham Fire & Rescue,” it said across its front. “On behalf of Mayor Woodfin, I want to express that our hearts are with the Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service and the Melton family as they continue to mourn Monday’s passing of firefighter Jordan Melton after he was shot last week at Station 9 in Norwood,” Cedric Sparks, the mayor’s chief of staff, said at the meeting. Read more.

by Lee Hedgepeth

Proposed Alabama Congressional Map Would Only Have 1 Majority-Black District

A Republican-dominated reapportionment committee Monday approved a new state congressional map that creates a majority-Black congressional district and one that is 42% Black. The party-line vote, coming on the first day of a special session for redistricting, came after Democrats said they were being ignored in the process and after two hours of discussion that often felt like the start of legal arguments for a federal court hearing scheduled next month. Read more.

by Jemma Stephenson, Alabama Reflector

Bolin Points to Judicial Experience in Race for JeffCo Commission

Mike Bolin could only play so many rounds of golf. The former Alabama Supreme Court justice says he was miserable after retiring Jan. 15 of this year. He found that he’s more like his Fairfield steelworker father than he realized. “He used to work every day,” said Bolin, who’s running for the unexpired District 5 seat on the Jefferson County Commission. “Back in those days, you didn't get paid if you didn't work." Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Voters to Decide Next JeffCo Commissioner for District 5 in Tuesday Election

The Jefferson County Commission District 5 seat is up for grabs in a special election Tuesday. The vote will decide whether former judge Mike Bolin or developer David Silverstein will fill the term of former Commissioner Steve Ammons, who resigned recently to become CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance. The winner will serve in the seat until the 2026 election. The district includes parts of Hoover, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, Birmingham and Leeds. You can determine whether you’re in the district, find your polling place and check whether you’re registered to vote here. Read profiles on the candidates:

Bolin Points to Judicial Experience in Race for JeffCo Commission

Mike Bolin could only play so many rounds of golf. The former Alabama Supreme Court justice says he was miserable after retiring Jan. 15 of this year. He found that he’s more like his Fairfield steelworker father than he realized. “He used to work every day,” said Bolin, who’s running for the unexpired District 5 seat on the Jefferson County Commission. “Back in those days, you didn't get paid if you didn't work.”

Silverstein Touts His Business Experience in Race for JeffCo Commission

Don’t call David Silverstein a politician. Yes, the former lawyer and career developer is running for the unexpired Jefferson County Commission District 5 seat of Steve Ammons in Tuesday’s special election. But don’t call him a politician. “I don't consider myself a politician,” the Mountain Brook resident said. “I consider myself a businessman that's had his success, been part of this community since my birth, that wants to serve. I don't see myself as a politician.”

by BirminghamWatch

Silverstein Touts His Business Experience in Race for JeffCo Commission

Don’t call David Silverstein a politician. Yes, the former lawyer and career developer is running for the unexpired Jefferson County Commission District 5 seat of Steve Ammons in Tuesday’s special election. But don’t call him a politician. “I don't consider myself a politician,” the Mountain Brook resident said. “I consider myself a businessman that's had his success, been part of this community since my birth, that wants to serve. I don't see myself as a politician.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Wise Drops Out of Commission Race, Leaves 2 Men in Tuesday’s Balloting

Jeff O. Wise said he was underfunded and understaffed in his bid for the District 5 seat on the Jefferson County Commission. “I’ve always been the underdog,” he said Sunday. Thursday, the underdog bowed out. Wise dropped out of the race to fill the unexpired term of Steve Ammons, who stepped down recently to take the job of CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance. Wise’s decision to drop out leaves only Alabama Supreme Court Justice Mike Bolin and developer David Silverstein in Tuesday’s election. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Birmingham Council Approves $5 Million to Build Birmingham Amphitheater, Discusses 20-Year Contract With Live Nation to Manage It

Birmingham taxpayers will provide $5 million toward the construction of a proposed 9,000-seat open-air amphitheater on 25th Street North, adjacent to the site of the former Carraway Hospital. In its meeting Tuesday, the Birmingham City Council voted 7-1 to approve the amphitheater funding. Councilor Valerie Abbott voted against the measure, and Councilor Carol Clarke abstained. Tuesday’s discussion also revealed new details about the management of the planned venue, including an overview of a planned 20-year Live Nation contract to promote and operate the amphitheater. Read more.

by Lee Hedgepeth

Mayor-Council Act, Which Tilted Power Toward Mayor, Still Under Fire 7 Years After Adoption

The Birmingham City Council approved Mayor Randall Woodfin’s proposed budget for the 2024 fiscal year last week. It was the culmination of the city’s most contentious budgeting process in years. Since Woodfin took office in 2017, almost all of his budgets have passed without any alterations from the council, thanks mostly to state legislation from 2016 that took away their ability to do so. The Mayor-Council Act is the state law governing the separation of powers between the branches of Birmingham’s municipal government, but some argue that changes to the bill approved the year before Woodfin took office have shifted that balance of power too heavily toward the executive. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

In Dueling Alabama Congressional Map Proposals, a Dispute Over Possibilities

Can Alabama draw new maps on explicitly racial lines? Maybe. “It’s kind of head spinning and even lawyers who are in the space get a little confused,” said Michael Li, a redistricting expert and senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. At the Tuesday public hearing, attorney James Blacksher and Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, went back and forth about whether Alabama’s new maps can split counties to be on explicitly racial lines. The answer to that question remains to be seen. Read more.

by Jemma Stephenson, Alabama Reflector