Mayor’s Minute By Stewart Welch III - August 2022

City elections are just around the corner.

Mountain Brook uses a ‘split-election’ format where three council member positions are up in one four-year cycle and two council positions plus the mayor are up in the next cycle. The purpose is to avoid the possibility of having all new council members who may lack experience in municipal governing.

When I became mayor, I felt certain that my long history as a business owner would translate well into city management. To this day, I am still amazed how different working within the municipal system is compared to the business world. The learning curve is steep, so I think our decision (many years ago) to have split elections was a wise one.

Turnout for citywide elections is typically light, so I suppose it means that voters are generally happy with how the city is being run. However, I want to encourage everyone to vote. If you attended City Council meetings on a regular basis, you would quickly realize just how much work goes into keeping Mountain Brook a great city. There are hundreds of decisions, many requiring significant research and deep thought, that our council members and city staff endure.

Obviously, our staff gets a paycheck, but I assure you, they operate from the heart and love our city. Being a member of the City Council is a volunteer position that demands a minimum of 500 hours per year. It takes a lot of dedication to serve on the City Council. The quality of the council members determines the future of our city, so this election is very important.

Each of the three open council seats has multiple candidates, so I strongly encourage you to get to know the candidates and determine, for yourself, who will best serve the residents of the city of Mountain Brook.

Be looking for the notice from the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce for their ‘Get to Know the Candidates’ event coming soon. Your vote matters.