Fairhope asks AG’s office for clarification on new form of government
The city of Fairhope, Ala. has already set October 2 as the date for a special election to allow voters to decide whether or not they will change the city’s form of government. Now, the mayor and City Council members are looking to the Alabama Attorney General’s office for clarification on how the new system would play out. After a months-long battle between Fairhope Mayor Karin Wilson, and a non-profit group, Fresh Start Fairhope the group garnered enough signatures to call for a special election; allowing Fairhope citizens to vote on whether or not they want to change the city’s current form of government. The new form of government being proposed would create a new governing body known as the “Council of the City of Fairhope,” which would have the same executive powers and duties of the council, but would make the mayor a member of the council, not an executive over it. Meaning the mayor would no longer preside over all city employees, or the council. Instead the mayor would be in charge of ceremonial events, and serve as a representative of the city. The council and the mayor are now seeking an opinion from the Attorney General’s office on how the new council members would be elected if the vote passes in October. According to meeting minutes from the August 13 Fairhope City Council meeting, the council voted to ask the AG’s office: “Does the petition process contained in the Council-Manager Act of 1982…permit the adoption of the council-manager form of government by petition to consist of council members elected at large as the legislature provided for in Section 11-42A-1.1 or does the petition process only to provide, pursuant to Section 11-43A-8(a) for election of council members in single member districts?” “Clarifying this important distinction is a must,” Wilson told the Lagniappe Mobile. “Many who signed the petition, including me, believed they were signing for a new form of government with council districts. The vote should not take place until this is clearly communicated.” Spokesman for Fresh Start Fairhope, Chuck Zunk also weighed in on the issue: “Our reading of the law is that the law is silent on whether the City Council should make a determination on at-large or district representation before or after,” Zunk also told the Lagniappe Mobile. “We would prefer before. But we’re not the lawyers and we’re not the attorney general.”
Personnel note: Alabama Policy Institute’s Katherine G. Robertson heading to AG’s office
Vice president of the Alabama Policy Institute (API), Katherine G. Robertson, will be leaving API after four years to take a position with the Alabama Attorney General’s Office. As of Dec. 1, Robertson will serve as senior advisor to Attorney General Luther Strange. “I believe that I speak for the entire API team when I say that we are thankful to have had the opportunity to work alongside Katherine Robertson during her time at API,” said API President and CEO Caleb Crosby. “Katherine’s move is a continuation of what we do at API, as people join our team, craft and influence policy, and then take their expertise to public office. She is joining the legacy left by Mayor Sandy Stimpson, Congressman Gary Palmer, Judge Tom Parker and many others who were all once members of the API team and now serve in government. We wish Katherine all the best as she joins the attorney general’s team and look forward to working with her in her new capacity.” Robertson started her career with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison in 2006, before going on to be a law clerk while she worked on her law degree from the University of Alabama. Upon completion of her J.D., Robertson served as Legislative Counsel for Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for little over a year before heading to API in April 2013. At API, Robertson began as senior policy counsel and went on to become vice president in 2014.
