Council spot up for vote

Published 2:00 am Wednesday, October 3, 2012

On Oct. 9 Brewton city voters will go to the polls for a run off to decide whether Bill Littles or Butch McKinzie will be the next city council member representing District 3.
Littles said he appreciates the support shown to him during the primary.
“You stood by me,” Littles said. “You stood up for me and you voted for me. I want to thank all the supporters and ask that you all come out on Oct. 9.”
Littles said he didn’t care who voted for him or against him in the first election. But he does ask that people check out his record of 10 years on the school board.
“I have a great love for my community,” Littles said. “I know that I can’t change things for the better all at once, but we have to start somewhere. I think the work that  has been done to the old middle school to prepare it for use as a community center is a positive thing.”
Littles said he plans to seek information on how to best handle some issues facing Brewton and to encourage a better working relationship between members of the council.
“I want to check into other cities and see how they would handle the kind  of problems we have,” Littles said. “One thing that we hope for is to have more interaction with the other members of the council and see if we can work together a little better.”
Littles said growth for the community is important but, he says, much work is needed throughout the city to make that happen.
“If we want to encourage people to relocate to our area, we have to clean up the town,” Littles said. “We have streets that need attention, and all that it would take is to use the sources we have now.”
Butch McKenzie is also hoping to win the spot that will allow him to represent the citizens in district 3. Having secured a spot on the run off ballot, McKenzie has found support and advice from citizens and former opponents.
“I felt good about the primary,” McKenzie said. “I have talked to both of my opponents that did not get into the run off and they have given me some good advice. I plan on being out there knocking on doors. People tell me it looks good.”
McKenzie said that the condition of the city streets are just terrible and that needs to be addressed. He agrees that families need more places for recreation.
“The people in district 3 are concerned about several things that I see that need attention,” McKenzie said. “Maybe with some new people on the city council and a new mayor, we will see some changes.”
Along with regular duties of a councilman’s position, McKenzie said there are several areas of interest he wants to explore in regard to benefitting the city.
“There are several things that I would like to explore,” McKenzie said. “I would like to see Brewton get a by-pass. I think we should take a good look at how we are spending our money. We need some incentives to help businesses in the downtown area stay in business. We also need to check and see about the possibility of getting some of the business that would supply the big plants in Montgomery and Mobile. We have the railroad close enough to be very useful. The industrial park would have had more benefits from the train service if it was on the other side of the highway.”
Both Littles and McKenzie say voters need to make their way to the polls to choose a candidate for the open position for district three.
“I want to encourage every voter to get out and voice your opinion by voting on Oct. 9, no matter who you vote for,” McKenzie said.
“A lot is at stake on Oct. 9,” Littles said. “We need to stand together, united in our belief in the power of community and the city council.”
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Brewton Community Center behind the Brewton City Hall complex on Douglas Avenue and at the Thomas E. McMillan Museum on the campus of Jefferson Davis Community College in the Alco community.

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