The Jefferson County Commission is back up to its required five members after Mike Bolin was sworn in Monday as the newest commissioner. Shown are commissioners Lashunda Scales, Joe Knight, Bolin and Sheila Tyson, with Chairman Jimmie Stephens (center front). Bolin recently was elected to the District 5 seat, left vacant when Steve Ammons resigned to become CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance. Read more.
County Manager Cal Markert displayed a wry smile when asked if he is looking forward to budget hearings in August. “I look forward to it being over and done, I guess,” he said after the Jefferson County Commission’s meeting today in Bessemer. “It’s coming up and we’ve got to do it. It’s just a lot of extra work. Not extra work but a lot of work.” Setting the county’s budget is an annual balancing act of determining where funds can be allotted to accomplish needed projects, and it involves hearings during which department heads meet with Markert and county commissioners to make their case for requested funds during fiscal 2024. Read more.
Jefferson County Commissioners today received a progress report on construction of the Cooper Green Mercy Health Services Authority building. The new clinic is being constructed where the Cooper Green Hospital parking deck had been. Administrator Laura Hurst said the building will have five stories with the first four being occupied upon completion. The fifth floor allows for expansion. David Randall, board president and CEO of the health authority, said the construction is only part of the changes at Cooper Green. Read more.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
Probate Judge James Naftel III used a 1971 Lipton TV commercial — Is it soup yet? — to address the ballot to fill the vacant District 5 position on the Jefferson County Commission. “It is soup. It is,” Naftel said Thursday. “We have three official candidates and one who didn't have enough signatures, so her name will not appear on the ballot. The ballots are being printed and delivered to the absentee (voting office) today.” District 5 voters will choose from recently retired Alabama Supreme Court Justice Mike Bolin, Jeff O. Wise and David Silverstein. Read more.
Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens on Tuesday broached the idea of the commission creating an economic enhancement fund. Read more.
