County View

By Jeff Poor

It’s not that security is totally askew at Government Plaza. I don’t totally enjoy being accosted every week I make my way downtown to attend commission meetings, but in a post-September 11 world, better safe than sorry, right?

However, if the leaky roof is indicative of the quality construction at the monstrosity known as Government Plaza, we have some serious concerns. Oh, what a dilemma.

To save or spend

A last-minute agenda item was slipped in with little discussion at the last meeting, apparently to the dismay of Mobile County Commissioner Mike Dean. The commission received $2.1 million from the state of Alabama reimbursing them for complying with federal voting laws.

Mobile County Commissioner Stephen Nodine introduced an agenda item to place the $2.1 million refund in their reserve fund. Nodine said it would eventually improve the county’s bond rating, a necessity for the county to borrow more money.

Mobile County Commissioner Mike Dean thinks it would better used to fund road-resurfacing projects than sitting idle.

“I’m not interested in borrowing more money,” Dean said. “There’s just so much in roads that needs to be done.”

Dean sees road improvement as one of the primary objectives of his job as county commissioner. The issue of road improvement is one of Dean’s self-proclaimed key interests. But, that’s not without some obstacles.

Dean has faced his share of criticism, especially from John Graham, a west Mobile businessman and regular on Ron Frazier’s morning radio talk show on the AM dial, for wanting to create a more direct thoroughfare from the south part of the county to Mobile Regional Airport. Graham spoke at last week’s meeting in opposition to this project because it will divert traffic away from his business. Dean doesn’t think that is necessarily the case.

“I’m going to show them there’s access to their buildings,” Dean said.

Whether or not this will hurt Dean and Nodine’s constituencies in west Mobile by affecting businesses remains to be seen; however, it is obvious Theodore-Dawes Road and Schillinger Road could be problematic if the west part of Mobile County continues to grow at its present rate.

Coden Community Center

Mobile County Commissioner Mike Dean has received his fair share of criticism from the people in his district for under-representation, but he has been working toward establishing a community center in Coden.

At last week’s commission meeting, the subject of spending $700,000 on a 7,500+ square foot building as a new community center to replace the building devastated by Hurricane Katrina in Coden was discussed.

According to Dean, it will be placed on the agenda for the Feb. 12 commission meeting, and a decision will be made.

“It’s a positive for the community,” Dean said.

Commissioner Gary Tanner? Not so fast..

The Mobile County Republican Party maintaining its hold on the county commission is a hot topic in some circles. Presently, all three commissioners are Republicans, something the county hasn’t seen since the era of Reconstruction.

Looking forward to 2008’s commissioner elections, Nodine appears to have the most solid shot at maintaining his seat. Commissioner Juan Chastang, albeit optimistic, is the most likely to lose his seat to the Democrats, and Mobile County Commission District 3, held by Dean, becomes the seat that could sway the balance of power in Mobile County.

Former District 35 State Senator Gary Tanner, a Democrat, has been mentioned to run against Dean in 2008 and would be considered by some to be a favorite, seeing that he previously held that seat on the commission. However, since the commission districts were changed, the strong Democratic-voting black portion of Mobile County has been moved to District 1, held by Chastang, and this could be what is different the next go around.

Tanner, who hasn’t formally declared interest in the seat, has caused some to question Dean’s ability to hold on to District 3, especially with the strong criticism from city officials in Bayou La Batre and Coden. Spencer Collier, one of the community’s most popular political figures, has been called upon by some to run for the seat, but Collier has emphatically and repeatedly denied having any interest in a run for county commissioner in 2008.

Dean is quickly losing favor with local Republicans for that reason. Could he possibly lose to Tanner in 2008 if he ran? There’s definitely a possibility.

With Mobile’s early primary for the 2008 election, candidates will be able to begin raising money for campaigns next month, a year out as allowed by state law. Whether or not Dean has a strong start in doing so could be a telltale sign of things to come in 2008.

Contact Jeff Poor at jeffreypoor@yahoo.com.

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