Mobile, Alabama - Government

Government

Since 1985 the government of Mobile has consisted of a mayor and a seven member city council. The mayor is elected at-large and the council members are elected from each of the seven city council districts. A supermajority of five votes is required to conduct council business. This form of city government was chosen by the voters after the previous form of government, which used three city commissioners who were elected at-large, was ruled to substantially dilute the minority vote in the 1975 case Bolden v. City of Mobile. Municipal elections are held every four years.

The current mayor, Sam Jones, was elected in 2005 as the first African American mayor of Mobile. He was re-elected for a second term in 2009 without opposition. He is currently running for a third term in 2013.

Since November 2, 2010, the seven member city council has been made up of Fredrick Richardson, Jr. from District 1, William Carroll from District 2, Jermaine A. Burrell from District 3, John C. Williams from District 4, Reggie Copeland, Sr. from District 5, Bess Rich from District 6, and Gina Gregory from District 7. Reggie Copeland, Sr. is currently serving as Council President with Fredrick Richardson, Jr. serving as Council Vice President.

In January 2008, the city hired EDSA, an urban design firm, to create a new comprehensive master plan for the downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods. The planning area is bordered on the east by the Mobile River, to the south by Interstate 10 and Duval Street, to the west by Houston Street and to the north by Three Mile Creek and the neighborhoods north of Martin Luther King Avenue.