Mobile’s Meet the Candidates tour made its second stop May 20, 2025 at Dauphin Way United Methodist Church to meet with residents of the city’s Historic Districts.
Joined by the De Tonti Square, Lienkauf, Church Street, Oakleigh Garden and Old Dauphin Way districts, as well as others, Mobilians gathered for conversations around neighborhood preservation and revitalization, infrastructure, public safety and homelessness affecting the Port City’s oldest neighborhoods.
Also in attendance was the Mobile Historic Development Commission, Historic Mobile Preservation Society, Lower Dauphin Street Commission and Government Street Collaborative.
Seven candidates were present: Former Mobile Police Chief Lawrence Battiste, Former District 3 City Councilman Jermaine Burrell, Former District Court Judge Spiro Cherigotis, Alabama House of Representatives District 103 Rep. Barbara Drummond, Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson, Former County Commissioner Stephen Nodine and Former Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine.
Each candidate started with an opening statement and was randomly assigned four questions based on the seat number they drew: Burrell, Battiste, Drummond and Prine received odd questions, while Hudson, Nodine and Cherigotis received even questions.
All questions were sent to candidates, with the mayoral hopefuls unaware of which questions they’d be asked. Candidates were given two minutes to answer.
The evening started with the issue of revitalization for historic neighborhoods, with candidates asked how important historic neighborhood revitalization is for the future of Mobile, and whether they would commit to using land bank and redevelopment authority.
Burrell cited a desire to leverage land banks to maximize revitalization and find ways for owners to reclaim and restore their property before going into a land bank.
“Mobile is rich in historic character,” he finished. “And I think revitalizing it will just benefit the entire city.”
Battiste shared his goal of increasing housing stock in historic areas through land banking, saying, “We need to be focusing on how do we create housing spots, create opportunities for people to stay in our community and the City of Mobile.”
Drummond noted Alabama’s historic tax credit, saying she’d like to see homeowners and homes–not just developers and commercial properties–included.
“Right now, it’s only for commercial growth and we need to make sure we take care of those historic homes and create a[n] [eco]system.”
Prine proposed pushing land banks versus demolition by neglect, noting a systematic problem with the city not following up on ordinances, and citing the importance of “relentless follow-up” in a strategy plan.
Later in the evening, questions of public safety and ordinance enforcment came up with Hudson, Nodine and Cherigotis being asked, “What specific steps would your administration take to reduce violent crime, improve public safety, enforce existing policies, such as the Noise Ordinance, in order to change the perception that crime rates are up and that downtown and midtown are unsafe?”
“We have a youth gun violence problem,” Cherigotis started. He continued saying that the city should “shine a bright light” on young men involved in gangs and provide an opportunity for other young men.
“We need to…paint a very clear pathway to young men so they don’t feel it necessary to turn to that way of life to find some success.”
Hudson followed, stating she believes in “Putting police in visible places…” and adding that police presence sends a message. She continued sharing her support for re-establishing neighborhood watch groups trained by Mobile Police Cepartment (MPD) and bringing in community-based organizations to address youth gun violence.
“My question is, what are you going to do,” Nodine asked attendees. “We look for answers and solutions through youth progams, through church programs…But it’s up to you, the citizens, to get engaged in your community and say enough is enough.”
The forum concluded with candidates sharing closing statements, reminding attendees of their reason for running and their vision of the Port City.
Prine reminded residents of his public service as police chief, and his education in business and criminal justice, “two of the major disciplines” he says Mobile’s next mayor needs.
Cherigotis spoke on current projects started by the Stimpson administration, such as the airport downtown, saying, “there’s a lot of work left to do in this city.” The former district court judge said he’s “committed to doing what is right no matter what the political cost,” and that he’s “all in” on Mobile.
Representative Drummond told attendees “service is in my DNA,” reflecting on her accomplishments as the District 103 representative.
“Opportunity is in Mobile,” she closed, “and Barbara Drummond is going to work her hardest to make sure that everyone–not just some–will have opportunities to take advantage of all the greatness that is in Mobile’s future.”
Nodine says he’s running for mayor to address the “serious issue” of resident migration from the city, claiming the Mobile has had “1,500 citizens leaving this community to go to Baldwin County.”
“We need to consolidate government, we need to get back to the basics,” he stated.
Former Police Chief Battiste followed sharing his public service experience through the city of Mobile, Mobile County and the city of Prichard. He finished saying, “May the works that I’ve done for this community speak for me.“
Commissioner Hudson spoke about the trickle-down effect of the mayoral administration, advocating for a municipal government that operates based on community concerns.
She shared that her career has been centered around improving qualify of life issues, saying achieving these improvement “takes leadership, it takes buy-in from the community, it takes us all coming together and we can do that.”
Former councilman Burrell closed out the forum highlighting that not every Mobilian has been served by past administrations.
“The status quo is stagnant and it’s holding all of us back and hurting our city’s growth.” He continued speaking on his experience in the public and private sector, reiterating that he “is not the status quo,” and that he’s working to build a future “that gives everyone a voice and builds our community wonderfully.”
Election day is set for August 26th, meaning hopefuls only have about three months to secure Mobilians’ votes. You can find more info on candidates and their platforms here.
