Birmingham News (AL){PUBLICATION2}
SOME SEE NEW HOOVER COUNCIL TOO CLOSE  
 
September 22, 2004  
Section: Neighborhoods  
Page: 1-H  
   JON ANDERSON News staff writer  
Hoover voters, for the second time in a row, replaced all but one City Council member.  
 
 
 
So what can residents expect from the new crop of council members elected this summer?
 
 
Some members of the new council say people will see a more cooperative group with less fussing and fighting. Some residents wonder, however, whether this council is so close that it will conduct business behind closed doors.
 
 
"I think it will be totally different, and I think it will be totally positive," said Jack Wright, the only council member re-elected this year, as he was when he survived the council rout in 2000. "I think we'll see a brand new spirit of cooperation up there," Wright said.
 
 
People are tired of the petty bickering and bloc voting, Wright said. Mayor-elect Tony Petelos will set the tone for the new group of elected officials, Wright said.
 
 
Instead of being satisfied with getting just enough votes to pass something, voters should expect to see their new mayor working to get seven votes to pass his initiatives, Wright said.
 
 
"It's time for Hoover to grow up and everybody push in the same direction," he said. "It's now time for the council to get itself together and become a positive force."
 
 
Councilman-elect Gene Smith said a lot of the new council members are like-minded and will put the city first.
 
 
"I don't see any of these people allowing petty disagreements to create turmoil amongst ourselves," Smith said.
 
 
Outgoing Councilwoman Donna Mazur agrees that the incoming council members will be close, but said she fears they'll be too close. She expects to see Brian Skelton, Gary Ivey, Trey Lott and Wright voting together a lot, she said.
 
 
"They're all friends," she said. "That's OK to be friends, but there's more to it than that . . . I really hope that they're not going to make any decisions behind closed doors - that they're going to listen and do what's right for this city. It just scares me who's going to be running this city again." 'Power bosses'
 
 
Outgoing Councilman Kyle Forstman said he expects Smith to be of like mind with the new council members Mazur named.
 
 
"I think, definitely, you're going to see that group be the power bosses of the council," Forstman said. "They all know each other very well and campaigned together."
 
 
Councilman Jody Patterson, who lost his bid for mayor last week, had picked each of those five as his preferred candidates for the council.
 
 
Wright and Smith both said they campaigned separately. Efforts to reach Skelton, Ivey and Lott for comment were unsuccessful.
 
 
Wright said it's no secret that he, Skelton and Ivey are friends, and he's known Smith for 20 years, but "I wasn't on anybody's slate."
 
 
Wright said he thinks everybody on the new council understands that business needs to be done in the open. "The mandate is to eliminate the behindclosed-doors stuff," he said. "I think the people would turn against that kind of thing."
 
 
Smith said he even would lobby for details of new council ordinances to be presented at their first reading rather than their second reading. That would give the public more time to learn about the proposals and respond, he said.
 
 
It's that kind of citizen involvement that Paul Elkourie, president of the Concerned Citizens for the Future of Hoover, said his group desires.
 
 
Elkourie said the success of the new council depends on how much value it puts in history.
 
 
Most members of the current and previous city councils were voted out of office because they failed to involve and listen to residents, Elkourie said. They allowed too much growth, and the current council has had too much bickering and a lack of civility, he said.
 
 
"This group that's (coming) in here now, if they can learn from that, maybe in the next election, it will be a different story than the last two," Elkourie said. 'Jekyll and Hyde'
 
 
The current council members "seemed to pull a Jekyll and Hyde routine" once they got into office, he said. "For some reason, politics brings the dark side of people out," he said. "A lot of people, when they get into political positions, they change."
 
 
People in Hoover are turned off by the voting blocs that formed over the past four years and closed-door decisions, Elkourie said. There's a good potential for that to happen with the new council, but "we'll just have to see whether that materializes or not," he said.
 
 
The Concerned Citizens for the Future of Hoover endorsed Lott, Smith, Wright and Mari Morrison but not Skelton, Ivey or Mike Natter. To the contrary, Elkourie said Ivey, Skelton and Natter were the only candidates among the 10 in runoffs who "were not acceptable choices."
 
 
Skelton and Ivey were too pro-development, Elkourie said, although he wouldn't comment on Natter. "Our big hope now," he said, "is that the ones we didn't support prove us wrong."
 
 
Natter said he doesn't know the other council members well but he doesn't expect that will be an issue.
 
 
"I like to believe that these guys are going to be open to every side," Natter said. "It doesn't matter whether we're good friends or whether we're not good friends. I feel confident they'll give me an equal voice on issues. Maybe I'm a little optimistic, but I like to be optimistic. I think everybody's got the best interest of the city at heart. That's the most important thing."
 
 
Pro-development?
 
 
Forstman said he thinks many residents will be surprised at how pro-development the new council will be compared to the current council. The existing council has turned down numerous projects over the past four years, including the Hoover Towne Centre development at the intersection of Interstate 459 and John Hawkins Parkway, phase two of the Patton Creek development near the Riverchase Galleria, and Skelton's proposal for a condominium complex on land he owned near Greystone.
 
 
Forstman also noted the $5,000 contribution Skelton and Ivey each accepted from Alex and Suzy Baker. Alex Baker is the president and chief executive of AIG Baker, the development company that built the Patton Creek and Lee Branch shopping centers.
 
 
Mazur said she was concerned the new council would be favorable to approving residential development without the retail development to support it.
 
 
Wright said that's not the case. "Commercial growth is a priority for any potential annex ation," he said. However, "I think we've got about all we can probably handle."
 
 
The new council is positive toward growth, but "the facts are that city services have not kept pace with growth for the past three years," Wright said.
 
 
Growth will be driven by the free enterprise system and private developers, Wright said. With the new mayor and council, though, "I would expect a lot longer and open process," Wright said. "You just can't ram through a major annexation."
 
 
Outgoing Mayor Barbara McCollum said she has no idea what the new council's attitude will be toward new developments, but she hopes members will weigh the benefits and liabilities before making decisions.
 
 
She said she believes the new council eventually will come to realize that the annexation of the 1,600-acre Ross Bridge development in western Hoover is one of the best economic development moves the city has made. Immigrant issue
 
 
McCollum and Mazur both said they were concerned with how the new council will deal with immigrants along Lorna Road. "They have to make sure they follow the law," McCollum said. "You can't just go out and arrest people."
 
 
If the Multicultural Resource Center closes, there will be more day laborers along Lorna Road and more crime, Mazur said. "At least (now) they have a place to go," she said. "They have people helping them."
 
 
Smith said the immigrant issue is a sensitive one that needs to be handled carefully. Most people are concerned about the immigrants who are here illegally, Smith said. Those who are legal "deserve every opportunity we can give them."
 
 
janderson@bhamnews.com  

Birmingham News (AL){PUBLICATION2}
PETELOS PLEDGES FRESH START AS HOOVER MAYOR  
 
September 15, 2004  
Section: News  
Page: 1-A  
Illustration: A Newschart titled 'Hoover runoff election results' accompanied this article.
 
   TROY GOODMAN and JEREMY GRAY News staff writers  
Hoover voters Tuesday overwhelmingly elected former state representative and Alabama Department of Human Resources Commissioner Tony Petelos to be their next mayor.  
 
 
 
Petelos received 7,148 votes, 63 percent, in the runoff election. His opponent, City Councilman Jody Patterson, took 4,131 votes, 37 percent. Patterson failed to claim any of Hoover's 12 boxes or a majority of the absentee vote.
 
 
In Hoover's council runoff races, four residents of eastern Hoover, including three from Greystone, lost. The council seats were won by Mari Morrison, Gary Ivey, Brian Skelton and Mike Natter.
 
 
In the mayor's race, Petelos and Patterson had emerged from a field of six candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara McCollum, in the Aug. 24 general election.
 
 
In his acceptance speech at his campaign headquarters on U.S. 31 at Patton Chapel Road, Petelos said his vote totals showed people want a fresh voice at City Hall. That was something long-time Hoover resident and former McCollum supporter Patterson could not provide, Petelos said.
 
 
"The citizens of Hoover wanted a change of leadership and that is what we're going to have," he said.
 
 
The loss was bittersweet, Patterson said, because he wanted to beat Petelos, but had confidence in the former representative's ability to bring sound decisions on growth and finances to Alabama's sixth-largest city.
 
 
"I am disappointed because I played to win, but I feel a lot of great things are coming for the city," Patterson said. The Trace Crossings-based home builder gave up a bid for re-election to the council to launch his mayoral campaign.
 
 
Many Petelos supporters said their candidate won handily because his experience as a threeterm state representative and DHR chief shows he can lead a large staff and handle the city's $76.5 million budget.
 
 
Only one incumbent, Jack Wright, will remain on the Hoover council.
 
 
In the Place 3 race, Hoover Planning and Zoning Commissioner Morrison defeated Greystone resident Mary Sue Ludwig 5,746 votes to 4,864.
 
 
Henry lost the Place 4 race to Gary Ivey. Ivey had 7,214 votes, Henry 3,572. Ivey also is a member of the Hoover zoning board and owns Crest Cadillac Hummer.
 
 
Skelton won Place 6 with 5,908 votes over Jim Summerlin of Southlake, another zoning board member and president of Mayer Electric Supply Co. Summerlin had 4,891 votes.
 
 
Natter defeated Greystone resident Daniel Whitman 6,384 votes to 4,182.
 
 
Morrison, Ivey, Skelton and Natter will join Wright and two other newly elected council members, Trey Lott and Gene Smith, on Hoover's new sevenmember council.
 
 
Wright, of Verdure Knolls, won Place 5 and will begin his third term when the new administration is sworn in Oct. 4.
 
 
Lott, a Greystone resident, won Place 1 and Smith, of Bluff Park, won Place 2 in the August general election.
 
 
Both Petelos and Patterson campaigned on promises to seek stronger enforcement of immigration laws to minimize concerns about Hispanic day laborers who gather along Lorna Road north of the Interstate 459 overpass.
 
 
Petelos has said he will push for Hoover to partner with Pelham, Helena, Alabaster and other cities to fund a federal immigration agent to work the area and crack down on those who may be working or driving without proper permits.  

Birmingham News (AL){PUBLICATION2}
JEFFCO, SHELBY HOPEFULS RAISE NEARLY $100,000, REPORTS SAY  
 
September 11, 2004  
Section: News  
Page: 14-A  
   JON ANDERSON News staff writer  
Candidates in Tuesday's runoffs for mayor and city council seats in Jefferson and Shelby counties collected about $100,000 for the last leg of their campaigns in the past three weeks, according to finance reports filed this week.  
 
 
 
Most of the money - $81,052 - again went to people seeking public office in Hoover. Hoover mayoral candidate Tony Petelos raised more cash than anyone in Jefferson and Shelby counties during the period, taking in $19,922 in contributions.
 
 
His opponent, Hoover Councilman Jody Patterson, collected about $2,100 in cash, plus in-kind contributions of $6,181.
 
 
Hoover candidates made up eight of the Top 10 fund-raisers for the runoff period. Outside Hoover, the top fund-raiser was Homewood council candidate Laura Gaines, who collected $3,245 for her battle with incumbent Peggy Wininger.
 
 
In neighboring St. Clair County, mayoral candidates Joe Funderburg and James McGowan each took in about $2,700 in a rare three-way runoff with Adam Stocks, who added $1,300 to his account.
 
 
The $98,480 that Jefferson and Shelby county candidates reported raising in the past three weeks pushes total campaign contributions for the 2004 municipal elections to just under $1 million. Hoover candidates collected about $400,000 of that.
 
 
Thanks to the latest contributions, total donations have risen to $58,941 in Alabaster, $38,827 in Homewood, $38,738 in Pell City, $36,940 in Gardendale, $13,067 in Leeds, $11,211 in Adamsville, $9,050 in Fairfield, $8,800 in Tarrant, $5,312 in Argo, $4,639 in Moody, $4,245 in Pinson and $740 in Warrior.  

Birmingham News (AL){PUBLICATION2}
CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS  
 
September 11, 2004  
Section: News  
Page: 14-A  
Candidates for municipal offices
 
 
 
Candidates running for mayor and city council seats in Tuesday's municipal election runoffs were required to report campaign contributions and expenses if they raised or spent $1,000 in the past three weeks.  
 
 
State law requires that the reports be filed with county probate judges between five and 10 days before the runoff election. The deadline for filing was Thursday.
 
 
There are numerous cities in Jefferson, Shelby and St. Clair counties that have runoffs but no candidates reporting contributions or expenditures of $1,000 or more. They include Brighton, Clay, Columbiana, Graysville, Harpersville, Hueytown, Irondale, Mulga, Springville, Vincent and West Jefferson.
 
 
Here's a look at reported contributions in cities in Jefferson and Shelby counties and parts of St. Clair County: JEFFERSON, SHELBY  
 
 
Hoover Candidates in the Hoover runoffs raked in $81,052 in campaign cash during the most recent three-week reporting period, boosting the total amount raised in this year's Hoover campaigns to nearly $400,000.
 
 
Mayoral candidate Tony Petelos raised $19,922 cash in the most recent period and a total of $72,431 during the campaign. Challenger Jody Patterson raised $2,098 in cash during the most recent period and a total of $36,472 for the campaign.
 
 
For Council Place 3, Mary Sue Ludwig recently raised $6,460, bringing her total contributions to $20,486. Mari Morrison most recently reported $225 in cash contributions and loaned herself $1,424. Her total campaign contributions were $6,870.
 
 
For Council Place 4, Gary Ivey reported $19,073 in new contributions, including a $5,000 loan from himself. That brings Ivey's total contributions to $35,017. His opponent, Jim Henry, received $250 in non-itemized cash contributions in the past three weeks. Henry has raised $2,250 during the entire campaign.
 
 
In Council Place 6, Brian Skelton raised $15,800 during the latest reporting period, bringing his total campaign contributions to $30,595. Jim Summerlin recently raised $3,255, pushing his total to $4,755.
 
 
In Council Place 7, Daniel Whitman recently raised $7,024, tallying $10,289 during the entire campaign. Mike Natter raised $5,521 during the most recent reporting period, boosting his total to $9,654 for the entire campaign.
 
 
Candidates reporting contributions of $100 or more are:
 
 
Jody Patterson, for the mayor's race: $4,220 (in-kind consulting, food) - Robbin and Robert Sorrell, Vestavia Hills. $1,511 (in-kind advertising, food) - Crayton and Jane Patterson, Hoover. $1,000 - Shan and Tricia Paden, Hoover. $500 - Birmingham Auto PAC (new car and truck dealer PAC chaired by Brett McBreyer, Birmingham). $250 - Chris Dorris and State Farm Insurance, Hoover. $150 -George and Cindy Mullins, Hoover. $150 (in-kind food) - David and Krista Brewster, Hoover.
 
 
Tony Petelos, for the mayor's race: $2,500 - Birmingham Association of Realtors, Birmingham. $1,500 - Bradley Arant Rose and White PAC, Birmingham. $1,000 - Bank of Alabama PAC, Birmingham; Bruce Gordon, Birmingham; Still Hunter Jr., Birmingham; Thomas Logan, Birmingham. $500 - Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon, Birmingham; Steven Casey, Hoover; Glenn Dorough, Helena; Richard Farrar, Birmingham; Hueytown Chiropractic Clinic; Kent Corp., Birmingham; Phillip Nichols, Birmingham; Frank Schilleci, Montgomery; U.S. Infrastructure Inc., Birmingham; Walston, Wells, Anderson & Bains, Birmingham; Marjorie White, Birmingham. $475 - Jimmie Barnes, Hoover.
 
 
$325 - Eugene Byars, Hoover. $300 - Ronald Moore, Birmingham; William White, Hoover. $250 - Alex Farris III, Hoover; Kenneth Gomany, Birmingham; Danny Patterson, Birmingham; Teresa Percy, Trussville; Richard Rookis, Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.; Debbie Thompson, Birmingham. $200 - Austin Cunningham, Hoover; Dunn Building Co., Birmingham; Matthew Fridy, Montevallo; Bob Sanford, Horton; Edward Tumlin, Birmingham. $150 - Accuploy Inc., Hoover.
 
 
$100 - Beers Properties LLC, Hoover;; James Birchall, Birmingham; Ellis Brazeal III, Birmingham; Curtin & Associates, Birmingham; N. Christian Glenos, Birmingham; Heyward Hosch III, Birmingham; Mary Jackson, Hoover; Kimberly Livingston, Birmingham; He len McMahon, Birmingham; Jackie Mitchell, Birmingham; Susan Murrell, Hoover; Mark Myatt, Birmingham; Terry Ratigan, Alabaster; David Ringelstein II, Mountain Brook; George Singleton, Hoover; K.M. Trowbridge, Hoover; John Wilson, Hoover.
 
 
Mary Sue Ludwig, for Council Place 3: $5,000 - E.A. Drummond, Jasper. $1,000 - Dolphus Morrison, Hoover. Mari Morrison, for Council Place 3: $1,424 - Self-loan. $100 - Bill Ash, Vestavia Hills; Linda Chastain, Hoover.
 
 
Gary Ivey, for council Place 4: $5,000 - Alex and Suzy Baker, Birmingham; Self-loan. $2,000 - Leslie Keith, Birmingham. $1,500 - BES PAC (free enterprise PAC chaired by Stephen Bradley, Birmingham). $1,000 - Birmingham Auto PAC (new car and truck dealer PAC chaired by Brett McBreyer, Birmingham); Alabama Builders PAC, Montgomery. $500 - Stan Adams, Southlake; Robert Pears, Hoover; Mike and Robin Wood, Birmingham; WPH LLC, Birmingham. $250 - Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood PAC, Montgomery; KAN Inc., Birmingham; SouthTrust Corp., Hoover. $200 - Austin Cunningham, Birmingham; Doug Clark Properties, Pelham. $100 - David Fievet, Birmingham; Steve Flowers, Hoover.
 
 
Brian Skelton, for Council Place 6: $5,000 - Alex and Suzy Baker, Birmingham. $2,000 - Leslie Keith, Birmingham. $1,500 - ALA BIZ PAC (free enterprise PAC chaired by Stephen Bradley, Birmingham. $1,000 - Alabama Builders PAC, Montgomery. $500 - Stanley Adams, Birmingham; Birmingham Auto PAC (new car and truck dealer PAC chaired by Brett McBreyer, Birmingham); Greystone Health Partners, Inc., Birmingham Robert Pears, Birmingham; South Haven Management Corp., Birmingham; The Barron Group, Inc., Birmingham; The South Haven Corp., Birmingham;
 
 
Michael or Robin Wood, Birmingham; WPH LLC, Birmingham. $250 - KAN Inc., Birmingham; Stuart Nichols, Birmingham. $200 - Michael or Kathryn Ousley, Birmingham; Melinda or Richard Rushing Jr., Birmingham; Bryan Starr Jr., Birmingham. $200 - Austin Cunningham, Birmingham. $100 - Mr. or Mrs. Beelher Creasman, Birmingham; Joann Lewis, Birmingham; Meter & Lowe LLC, Birmingham; Stephen and Lynn Shepherd, Birmingham.
 
 
Jim Summerlin, for Council Place 6: $2,500 - Self-contribution. $300 - Dr. Doug Christopher, Hoover. $100 - Ralph Cash, Hoover; Johnny Morgan, Hoover. Daniel Whitman, for Council Place 7: $2,900 - Self-loan. $500 - Stanley Adams, Birmingham; Keith Development Corp., Birmingham; Lake Cyrus Development Co., Birmingham; Prime Realty Inc., Birmingham; Smith Paving Inc., Birmingham. $300 - Charles Daniel, Birmingham. $250 - James Summerlin, Birmingham. $200 - Henry Dailey, Birmingham; Givianpour House Account, Birmingham; Donald Morgan, Birmingham. $150 - Brylnda Roper, Birmingham. $100 - Bernie Higginbotham III, Birmingham; Louise Robertson, Birmingham.
 
 
Mike Natter, for Council Place 7: $2,000 - Political Action PAC, Montgomery. $500 - Heather Natter, Hoover; WPH LLC, Hoover. $250 - Mike Wood, Hoover.

Birmingham News (AL){PUBLICATION2}
SPEAK OUT  
 
September 8, 2004  
Section: Neighborhoods  
Page: 2-H  
Why was voter turnout so low? The voters of Hoover recently had the opportunity to cast their vote for mayor and council members of their city. There are approximately 40,000 registered voters in the city of Hoover.  
 
 
 
Approximately 14,500 of these cared enough to go to the polls and cast their vote. This indicates that 25,000 Hoover citizens don't care who runs their city! Sad is it not?
 
 
Sixty-five percent of Hoover's voting citizens don't value the fact that thousands, even millions of our people have died since 1776 so that we have a say as to who is elected to a place of leadership in our country.
 
 
We will have a chance to vote on who will be our next president in November. Will you stay away from the polls again? If you do, don't complain later. David L. Ponds Hoover  
 
 
CCFFH members tout Patterson We, the undersigned, are active members of the CCFFHThe Concerned Citizens for the Future of Hoover. One is a 2000 CCFFH founding member and all are 2004 members, with one a current officer, and all were involved in the 2004 interview and evaluation teams of the Hoover mayoral and council elections.
 
 
We urge all Hoover residents to review CCFFH's Web site at www.ccffh.org to learn some of the group's comments on the runoff candidates and read the model for the ideal candidate.
 
 
This is an unfortunate letter in that some members of CCFFH, among them the signers, feel our organization has made a grave error and deviated from our original group goal of coendorsing all equally qualified candidates. This may have misled Hoover's voters regarding mayoral candidates Jody Patterson and Tony Petelos.
 
 
These candidates were both found highly acceptable by a group of CCFFH members. The group was stalemated on selecting the two candidates and discussions of the original plan of the co-endorsement were not successful. An unfortunate decision was made to endorse only one candidate and not coendorse the two highly acceptable candidates. The fear was the possible risk of splitting the vote and ending up with neither candidate being elected. In a recent meeting with members and guests to discuss the runoff, it was decided not to return to the original plan to issue co-endorsements, but to continue with the flawed process of endorsing a single candidate.
 
 
With both candidates being selected as highly acceptable, we feel it is the public's right to know how the selection process was conducted and how, in our opinion, it was a flawed process to the detriment of the mayoral candidates and voters.
 
 
While we feel Mr. Patterson better fits the CCFFH model, we realize that it was not equitable to revoke the prior flawed endorsement process. We strongly feel that Mr. Patterson should have been endorsed as well. He has a long-standing personal and professional stake in Hoover. He was elected to the City Council four years ago and has kept the promises he made to the voters and this group. As an example, he was on the Planning and Zoning Board until he refused to vote for the Ross Bridge development because it included 600 apartments. Mr. Patterson has local level and broad experience on the council and Planning and Zoning Board, something Mr. Petelos lacks at the working level.
 
 
As leaders of CCFFH we feel this should be brought to the attention of Hoover's voters for their consideration in the upcoming runoff election. George Mullins, Fred Benjamin, Ruth Peters and Nick Peters Hoover  
 
 
District officials prone to mistakes I have been following Hoover's politics for a number of years, and especially the current election. Of particular interest is the desire of some for election of council members by district. While I understand their motives and needs, I feel that they need to study the mistakes of other cities in this regard in order to keep from making the same mistakes.
 
 
Prior to retiring, I spent over 30 years in public service, from county government, to being a department head in municipal government. I worked for a city that went from a five-person council elected at large, to a seven-member council elected by district. The change was not only dramatic for those of us who had to make the city run on a day-to-day basis, (not the elected officials), but was very disruptive and inefficient.
 
 
Instead of all elected officials answerable to all citizens, they only had to please the small group in their district where their votes came from. All department heads ever heard was, "What are you doing in my district?" Instead of directing services where they were most needed, they were spread out to areas which actually needed less. Employees were pulled in seven different directions whether warranted or not. This is not efficient.
 
 
Politically, with a mayor elected at large and council members by district, there was always conflict. The mayor is trying to fill the needs of the entire city, and seven council members were only interested in "their" district. This not only stifled proper growth, but caused constant conflict and polarization. In addition, when you do get a bad egg, and eventually you will, it is almost impossible for voters to remove them as long as they can hoodwink the small number of voters in "their" district.
 
 
The voters of Hoover have just spoken out loudly and clearly that they were sick and tired of such polarization and petty bickering and childish behavior on the part of their politicians and have demanded that future leaders be professionals, treating disagreement as professional rather than personal.
 
 
The City of Hoover has finally reached a point of possibly having a professional governing body and being able to be proud rather than ashamed of their conduct. Seven council members is no problem, however, from real personal experience, I fear that by district voting we may very well regress rather than progress. The secret is for all citizens to become more involved in the welfare of the entire city rather than just their neighborhood. W. Gibson Hoover  

Birmingham News (AL){PUBLICATION2}
LOVE OR HATE ELECTIONS, BUT VOTE  
 
September 8, 2004  
Section: Neighborhoods  
Page: 1-H  
   Peggy Sanford  
Right now I'm deep into the throes of a love/hate relationship with election season. And I'm not even including the presidential elections  
 
 
 
I'm talking Hoover and the political swirl leading up to the Sept. 14 runoff elections for mayor and four of the seven City Council seats.  
 
 
Political races, as candidates and coalitions vie for office (authority, power, influence - take your pick), often have their dark edges where truth tends to get lost in the shadows.
 
 
It's impossible to really know a candidate's motivations for seeking office, and rumor, accusation and innuendo are almost always going to fly. Sometimes it's easier to turn away in frustration or disgust than to risk voting for a candidate who may prove disappointing, or worse, dishonest.
 
 
That uncertainty and the half-truths and calculated misdirection that can come with political battles all factor into the downside of my relationship with politics and elections.
 
 
On the more inspiring side, government and the American process of free and open elections are never any closer to us than in municipal elections. Our city officials will make decisions that affect us directly and daily, regulating how we build our homes, how well we are protected in them and what can be built next to them. City officials also will influence the condition of the roads we drive routinely and appoint the officials who oversee the schools our children attend.
 
 
For most of us, if we're ever to meet, interact or socialize with the people running our government, it will be with elected officials of the city where we live.
 
 
Hoover residents can have a real say in the direction the city will take by casting an informed vote for their city leaders.
 
 
Trying to help them do that, by interviewing candidates, reporting who gives them money and trying to keep pace with the issues and how candidates are responding to them is a pursuit and responsibility we journalists take seriously.
 
 
It's the quest to help inform and the feeling of taking part in the process of democratic elections that figure into the love side of my connection with politics. A free press is critical to an informed electorate.
 
 
Someone will be elected as Hoover's mayor and council members whether 4,000 or 40,000 people vote. There's no perfect candidate, no perfect slate.
 
 
We are, however, blessed with the opportunity to decide who our leaders will be. It's our responsibility to take that opportunity seriously.
 
 
Try not to vote blindly. Try to learn something about the candidates who will begin making decisions for the City of Hoover come Oct. 1.
 
 
Vote your conscience, and pray for the best.  

Birmingham News (AL){PUBLICATION2}
MAZUR: HOOVER VOTERS WILL REGRET OUSTING MCCOLLUM  
 
September 8, 2004  
Section: Neighborhoods  
Page: 4-H  
   JEREMY GRAY News staff writer  
Mayor Barbara McCollum lost re-election because she wouldn't accept the status quo, said Councilwoman Donna Mazur, one of the mayor's strongest allies who also lost her bid for re-election.  
 
 
 
Two other council incumbents, Kyle Forstman and Bob Austin, said they still are pondering what led to their defeat.
 
 
Four years ago, those three council members, along with McCollum and Councilman Jody Patterson, were swept into office on a tide of voter dissatisfaction.
 
 
On Aug. 24, voters cleaned house again, sweeping McCollum and three of those council members out of office.
 
 
Patterson is in the runoff for mayor against Tony Petelos, while incumbent Councilman Jack Wright won re-election a second time.
 
 
Mazur, who finished last in a four-way race, links her defeat to McCollum's ouster.
 
 
"She's not a politician and she cleaned things up," Mazur said of the outgoing mayor.
 
 
"I'm not a politician either," she said.
 
 
"You can do something right and not get elected, or do something the wrong way and keep things the same and get reelected," Mazur said.
 
 
McCollum was unable to get support for her plans from some high-ranking city employees because they were angry that the mayor limited their authority, Mazur said.
 
 
With McCollum gone, Mazur warned that those "good ol' boys" will do what they please "with nobody watching them."
 
 
"The people of Hoover are going to realize what they've lost," she said.
 
 
Forstman, who finished third in a three-way race, said the feedback he got on the campaign trail didn't reflect the election results.
 
 
"The majority of the people I met had a lot of positive things to say," he recalled.
 
 
Forstman said he was hurt by the fact that challenger Gary Ivey was able to loan his own campaign $12,000, while Forstman had to solicit the nearly $15,000 he collected in campaign contributions.
 
 
"The fund-raising time took away from the campaigning time," he said.
 
 
Another obstacle, Forstman said, was that so many of the six mayoral candidates, who came from across Hoover, cam paigned on an anti-incumbent platform.
 
 
"They solidified their home bases and that made it difficult to go into those different areas and campaign," Forstman said.
 
 
Austin, the council president, was one of McCollum's supporters in the early days of her administration, but eventually became one of her most outspoken critics.
 
 
"I gave her the benefit of the doubt on many occasions, but it got to the point that the doubt was too great," he said.
 
 
While the mayor and her supporters suffered defeat, Austin lost to challenger Trey Lott by more than 5,500 votes.
 
 
"I'm satisfied with the people's choice and I'll be there to question them (council members) if I think they're making the wrong decisions just like there were people there to question me," Austin said.  

Birmingham News (AL){PUBLICATION2}
GREYSTONE MAKES BID AT POLITICAL INFLUENCE RUNOFFS COULD PUT MAJORITY OF COUNCIL IN CONTROL OF EAST HOOVER NEIGHBORHOOD  
 
September 7, 2004  
Section: News  
Page: 1-A  
   TROY GOODMAN News staff writer  
The Hoover neighborhood of Greystone has staked its claim in city politics and, depending on the outcome of council runoffs, could shift the balance of power from the city's core to its eastern edge.  
 
 
 
The Hoover City Council is set to have its first Greystone council member, Trey Lott, sworn into office Oct. 4. If three other Greystone residents win their runoff races, they would join Lott and establish a Greystone majority on the seven-member council.
 
 
Greystone residents in the Sept. 14 runoffs for three council seats are Mary Sue Ludwig, Jim Henry and Daniel Whitman. They each face candidates Mari Morrison, Gary Ivey and Mike Natter, respectively.
 
 
"To go from zero representation to a chance for four is significant," said Henry, a retired steel executive who has become active in Hoover politics in recent years. He attributes the rise in participation to Greystone homeowners wanting a voice in growth, zoning and school-related issues.
 
 
Candidate Ludwig, a Greystone Homeowners Association board member, said residents in the gated community make a regular showing in the council chambers because they feel Hoover's leadership takes them for granted. Ludwig has lobbied to slow the spread of big retailers along U.S. 280. She also wants to strengthen restrictive covenants made by developers when they build in the city.
 
 
"I really think that Greystone has come of age politically," Ludwig said. She lost a 1996 bid for election to the council, sat out the 2000 race, then joined a push to expand the council from five to seven members before this year's election.
 
 
Natural result
 
 
Morrison, Ludwig's opponent in the runoff, said shifting the center of politics away from the core areas such as U.S. 31, Alabama 150 and Bluff Park is a natural result of growth in a democracy. Mayor Barbara McCollum and all five council members live west of Interstate 65.
 
 
Morrison is a member of the city Planning and Zoning Commission who lives just west of the Riverchase Galleria. She said Greystone gaining too much council control could happen at the expense of older areas.
 
 
"They have an agenda: they have not been represented in the past," Morrison said.
 
 
Henry and another Greystone activist, Betty Jean Barker, said they doubt all four of the community's candidates will be elected due to their opponents strong showing in the Aug. 24 general election.
 
 
Outgoing Councilman Kyle Forstman, of Russet Woods in the southwestern corner of the city, said he believes it is wise to have elected leaders from east of I-65. He cautioned against having a majority of council seats occupied by one eastern neighborhood when so much of Hoo ver's recent growth is westward.
 
 
"We are elected at-large, not by districts, so every area of the city should feel they have equal voice on the council, not just those people who live on U.S. 280," Forstman said.
 
 
Greystone has 2,600 homes spread across 3,000 wooded acres, according to its developer, Daniel Corp.
 
 
Greystone's voter turnout jumped in the latest election, from 23 percent in 2000 to 29 percent in 2004. Greystone's more than 4,000 residents represent about 7 percent of the city's population, according the 2000 U.S. Census. The overall Hoover election turnout Aug. 24 was 36 percent of registered voters.
 
 
One of the first issues to stir Greystone homeowners was a proposed 78-acre hotel-shopping complex called Tattersall Park at the northeast corner of U.S. 280 and Alabama 119.
 
 
Greystone activists rallied against the project because they said it would violate their neighborhood's covenants. Tattersall Park developer EBSCO Industries Corp. dropped its plans for the site when negotiations failed with potential retailers.
 
 
When the issue came up in recent months to expand the City Council, Greystone's Henry joined the fight against McCollum to win court approval of the plan. The Alabama Legislature and Gov. Bob Riley OK'd the plan, but McCollum refused to sign the measure, saying it would violate election laws.
 
 
A judge later ruled the council expansion should go forward.
 
 
After McCollum lost her Aug. 24 bid for re-election, several Greystone candidates said the seven-member council issue was a small part of her defeat.
 
 
More important, several candidates said, was her unwillingness to consider how school issues, development and wasteful spending would affect basic services like police and fire protection in Greystone, Inverness, Southlake and other eastern areas.
 
 
Randolph Horn, an associate professor in Samford University's political science department, said the Greystone rise in activism is common in areas of high growth with an educated populace.
 
 
In Hoover, he said, it also is a sign of the center of politics shifting from west of I-65 toward the east. That focus may head west or south in the future, once neighborhoods in those areas start working to be heard at city hall, Horn said.
 
 
A geographic shift in city politics "is the kind of phenomenon you might recognize over the course of decades in most places, but here it is happening over the course of years," Horn said.  

Birmingham News (AL){PUBLICATION2}
LUDWIG, MORRISON CITE CITY CIVIC INVOLVEMENT IN RUNOFF  
 
September 1, 2004  
Section: Neighborhoods  
Page: 4-H  
   JEREMY GRAY News staff writer  
The candidates for Place 3 of the Hoover City Council say the Sept. 14 runoff is more than just a matter of geography.  
 
 
 
Mary Sue Ludwig and Mari Morrison are vying for the Place 3 seat. Ludwig is one of three Greystone residents competing in runoffs. Another Greystone resident, Trey Lott, was elected to the Place 1 seat.
 
 
Ludwig, a 66-year-old homemaker, and Morrison, a 53-year-old attorney, said the most important issue in the runoff is electing capable candidates.
 
 
Morrison hopes to convince Greystone voters that she has shown in her work on the Planning and Zoning Commission that she is dedicated to helping people in every community.
 
 
"My votes represented, for the most part, what the residents wanted," she said.
 
 
Ludwig said her 12-years of community involvement has prepared her to help all Hoover residents as well.
 
 
New industry Morrison, a former salesperson for Blue Cross Blue Shield, wants to see Hoover restructure its industrial development board, which she said now meets on "an as-needed basis."
 
 
Morrison said the body should function more as an economic development board composed of executive officers from area companies and local business owners.
 
 
"I know how involved these people are with other businesses for supplies or other facets of their work," she said.
 
 
"I know we could get their cooperation and maybe bring in their fellow vendors," she said.
 
 
The city, Morrison argues, should focus on bringing in more industry rather than commercial retail development.
 
 
"We're going to be losing a lot of people who have been coming here to shop" because of growing retail centers in Shelby County, she said. Sewer systems Ludwig, who ran unsuccessfully for the Hoover council in 1996, said one of the biggest problems Greystone residents have faced involved the sewer system.
 
 
Now, she said, Hoover wants to abandon its sewer system in Riverchase because it needs to be repaired.
 
 
"Hoover wants to get rid of it. They're going to leave it in the hands of Jefferson County, which doesn't have a good record of managing people's money," she said.
 
 
"I can help with that."
 
 
Ludwig said details of what she would do in office are hard to offer until constituents come to her with their individual problems.
 
 
"We can, as council people, be helpful to the people," she said. Mayor, council relationship Both candidates had admittedly strained relationships with outgoing Mayor Barbara McCollum and both said if elected they will strive to forge working relationship with whomever voters put in office.
 
 
Morrison supported McCollum in her 2000 campaign and was appointed by the mayor to the city's Planning and Zoning Commission. Morrison later told reporters she was not satisfied with the mayor's leadership.
 
 
Ludwig was a frequent critic of the mayor, particularly on McCollum's refusal to support efforts to expand the city council.
 
 
"This wasn't a personal thing with the mayor, it was about issues," Ludwig said.
 
 
Both candidates say they want the next administration to lack the acrimony of the present one.
 
 
"I've always been the kind of person who tried to resolve issues," Morrison said. "You've got to be a negotiator; sometimes you've got to set the standard yourself," she said.
 
 
Ludwig said she believes everyone competing in the runoff has the best interests of the city at heart and she'll work with all of them to reach a consensus.
 
 
"As long as they try to do what's best for the city, I won't argue with them," Ludwig said. Dollars and endorsements Morrison was endorsed by the Concerned Citizens for the Future of Hoover. Ludwig, however, said group members told her its endorsement of Morrison was simply because she had served on the planning commission.
 
 
Ludwig said her relationship with the mayor kept her off city boards.
 
 
While Morrison might have that endorsement to boost her campaign, Ludwig has the money, according to campaign finance disclosures.
 
 
Ludwig was able to raise more than $14,000 in her campaign, nearly three times that of Morrison, who has financed her campaign with a self-loan and some small donations.
 
 
In general election votes, Morrison edged ahead of Ludwig.
 
 
Morrison claimed 4,421 votes, Ludwig, 4,189 votes. The two will vie for the votes that went to John Goodwyn and incumbent Donna Mazur who received 2,391 votes and 2,194 votes respectively.  

Birmingham News (AL){PUBLICATION2}
HOOVER VOTE SAYS RESIDENTS WANT CIVILITY  
 
September 1, 2004  
Section: Neighborhoods  
Page: 1-H  
   Peggy Sanford  
All the candidates in the Sept. 14 runoffs for Hoover mayor and City Council are talking of the need for civility and collaboration in government.  
 
 
 
The desire for that seems to be one of the stronger messages from last week's general election in the city.
 
 
It's rare that political incumbents are given their walking papers as decidedly as Hoover voters handed Mayor Barbara McCollum hers.
 
 
Incumbency, that existing claim on office and on-the-job experience, usually gives them a strong edge in the running.
 
 
Hoover's mayor, however, claimed barely more than 15 percent of the vote in her bid for re-election. Why is that?
 
 
Some point to the swell in political momentum from Hoover's eastern communities, a group that heretofore hasn't put a candidate into city office and now has four candidates in council runoffs.
 
 
Others wonder at the political influence of the citizens' group that four years ago endorsed McCollum over incumbent Mayor Brian Skelton, but this time around backed challenger Tony Petelos over McCollum.
 
 
The Concerned Citizens for the Future of Hoover in 2000 also endorsed all the winning council candidates, candidates that then-challenger McCollum also supported. Those four candidates - Bob Austin, Kyle Forstman, Donna Mazur and Jody Patterson - all won their 2000 races in runoff elections.
 
 
In the 2004 runoffs, Patterson and Petelos are vying for mayor. Council candidates in runoffs are Mari Morrison and Mary Sue Ludwig for Place 3, Gary Ivey and Jim Henry for Place 4, Brian Skelton and Jim Summerlin for Place 6 and Daniel Whitman and Mike Natter for Place 7.
 
 
Other than Petelos, the Concerned Citizens group endorsed Morrison, Henry, Summerlin and Whitman in the general election.
 
 
That may speak to the Concerned Citizens' continuing political acumen, but three of the four runoff challengers carry the endorsement of another group. The Alabama Builders Political Action Committee has backed Natter, Ivey and Skelton. The builders' PAC, however, also endorsed McCollum, so it can't claim a sweep, even if its three council candidates win.
 
 
Consistent in the city's general election is that McCollum and every candidate she backed was voted out of office or didn't make a runoff.
 
 
The voters clearly are saying they don't like the way the mayor and the City Council have handled business the past four years.
 
 
Residents and voters want their views heard and considered by elected officials. They want debate on issues, not decrees from the mayor, and they want representatives who will try to work together for the betterment of the city, despite how much they may dislike one another personally.