TWO QUESTIONS DECIDE FAIRHOPE'S FUTURE
Karin Wolff Wilson is in Fairhope, AL. August 2 at 2:46 PM Two questions every voter should be asking in this city council election:
- Should the mayor take a second salary as utilities director or should that money fund a qualified engineer to oversee electric, gas, water and sewer?
- Do you support creating council districts so that citizens have a clear representative instead of five at-large seats that protect special interests?
These two issues shaped my time as mayor.
I refused the double pay and used those funds to hire a professional engineer dedicated to city utilities. Fairhope has had engineers before, but never one in place to manage a city that owns all of its utilities in need of major upgrades.
I also secured 40 million dollars in BP funding for utility upgrades and more. Has anyone seen an update on those projects that should have been completed by now? After I left office, Mayor Sherry Sullivan fired the utilities engineer, took the second salary herself, and now a high school graduate manages all of it. On districts, I pushed hard for accountability. Five council members are still elected at-large. That means no one represents you directly. If you have a concern, you have to chase all five. It protects special interests and makes it easy for them to dodge responsibility. I tried to put districts on the ballot. The council spread misinformation and the vote failed. A district system with a city manager would let the mayor be a figure head like in most cities, while professionals manage operations like a business. Which is exactly why the incumbents fight it. If you want these things to change, you cannot keep voting for the same people and expect a different result.
Upcoming Vote Tuesday, Aug 26th