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Atmore Elects Jim Staff As Mayor, New Council Members
August 29, 2012
Atmore elected a new mayor and three council members Tuesday, while two council races are headed to an October runoff.
Jim Staff won the mayor’s job, defeating challengers Lloyd Albritton and Bernard Bishop without a runoff required . Staff received 58 percent with 830 votes. Bernard Bishop had 356 votes, while Lloyd Albritton received 243 votes.
Elected to the council were Webb Nall, District 1; Cornell Torrence, District 2; and Christopher Walker, running unopposed in District 3. An October runoff will be required in District 4 and District 5 where no one received 50 percent of the vote.
After a total of more than two decades in office, current Mayor Howard Shell did not seek re-election. He was first elected to the Atmore City Council 1984 before being appointed mayor after the death of then-Mayor Patricia McKenzie. After winning the mayor’s race twice, he remained in office until being beaten in 1996 by Rodney Owens, an Atmore chiropractor. He returned to office in 2000 and is serving his third term since returning to office.
Here are complete, but unofficial results:
Mayor
- Jim Staff – 830
- Bernard Bishop – 356
- Lloyd Albritton – 243
District 1
- Webb Nall – 177
- Chad Thrower – 80
District 2
- Cornell Torrence -129
- Thomas S. McNeal – 99
District 3
- Christopher Walker – unopposed
District 4 - (runoff required)
- Susan Smith – 240
- Larry Houck – 217
- Phil Johnson – 51
District 5 – (runoff required)
- Chris Harrison – 106
- Michael Arnold – 70
- Gregg Akins – 61
- Sandra Gray – 40
Pictured top: Atmore mayor-elect Jim Staff (left) is congratulated Tuesday night by Mayor Howard Shell (right). Photo by Emilie Mims for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
39 Responses to “Atmore Elects Jim Staff As Mayor, New Council Members”
Now we get to see if your Shell2.0 or of you want to see Atmore become what it has always wanted or of the old money stays the only money. I lived there for years worked for years and only by leaving made a change and found success and began to make money. Jim you have the chance but do you have the ability to make the people….. All the people your choice and not the select few!!
I’ve read all the comments and feel most of them were from the losing sides. Mayor Shell has done an outstanding job spearheading Rivercane so the town can move forward. The City doesn’t have the ability to get free money from grants but we do have a beautiful town. I have been in 49 states and in many, many small towns and have not seen but two that comes close to Atmore and they are in Fairhope and Foley. It’s kept clean (without a $500,000 street sweeper), streets are kept up as money becomes available, all parks are maintained, beaufiul shrubbery, flowers and trees are maintained daily. Small town businesses cannot compete with large, corporate businesses and that isn’t the Mayor or Council’s fault. I can remember when we didn’t have ANY SHOPPING CENTERS except downtown; now we have several. I believe with about one more business at Rivercane you will see that debt abolished and more tax money will come in. It is an excellent place for businesses connected with Airbus so how can you say Howard Shell has not been an excellent Mayor and Jim Staff will also be an excellent leader. If you don’t like it here, then move. I’ve lived here all my life and I love it; I don’t like the BIG CITY LIFE. So far as the Mayor and City Council having ANY say in the school system, they have no authority – no more than you and I. That’s the School Board’s business. How dumb can anyone be to comment on anything there being changed by Atmore officiials?
Some relatives of mine were here at Christmas time a couple of years and they could not believe how beautiful Atmore was for the glorious Holiday. Like I said before, IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT – MOVE ON; AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE WE LOVE IT AND WE’RE STAYING. I’M PROUD OF OUR PRESENT MAYOR AND COUNCIL AND I’M PROUD OF THE NEW MAYOR AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEW ONES THAT ARE ELECTED.
Again, if I was that unhappy with the city that I was “born in” (me too) I would find somewhere else to live. Look around maybe you can find a little positive somewhere! How sad that in our town you cant find things that are good. Give him a chance, maybe you will be surpirsed.
Sounds like es. co. fl. at election time…….
‘Congratulations Jim! I know you will do a great job. To all the naysayers….move away if you are that unhappy with our city govenment’
–Don’t I wish I could. Unfortunately, the town is in such a shape no one wants to live here, so the house won’t sell
we dont have a good mayor now we will still have a no job and busniess it will be a ghost town it will be a repeat of howard shell
Well soapbox I was born in Atmore…and I ain’t goin to be run out by a bunch of snobs….I guess your position would bethat anyone who doesn’t agree with the status quo should be exiled? Yeah right
To Augerplow. Why do you stay? Nobody making you. If I truly felt that way I think I would find some other town that might let me run it!
I hope things improve economically for Atmore. I remember there used to be restaraunts on Main Street and now I do not think that there is one that is still open.
Brantley Tire is closed. I don’t believe there is still a bowling alley or skating rink now. It just seems so very much has gone by the wayside.
Mr Staff congratulations on your Mayorship, maybe you guys can jump start the economy in Atmore and get things rolling.
Yall know full well that only people in the clique get to be on the committes and boards in Atmore….been in the city limits 20 years and have never seen it fail to be that way. That election was a farce…and as for moving away, a lot of good people already have….you can see what we are left with..they’re runnin city hall.
Congratulations Jim.My first job was with Staff Chevrolet in their body shop.and their integrity and fairness couldn’t be questioned.Good luck to Jim and the city of Atmore.
Congratulations Jim! I know you will do a great job. To all the naysayers….move away if you are that unhappy with our city govenment! Quit whining and complaining and step-up or shutup! Your canidate did not win becuase he didnt get the votes! Deal with it. You want change? Get up off your behind and work for a change. Your opinion means nothing when you dont back it up. Again congratulations Mayor Staff!
Congratulations to all of the candidates for running a clean race. Only time will tell if the newly elected officials will bring much needed change to Atmore.
Not sure he is the right man for the job. Albritton had a forward moving plan to improve Atmore’s appearance, ask our schools and teachers to put forth even more effort to teach our kids and to take pride in our hometown~~~~ which I see is lacking, not only with our properties but other areas as well. In saying all that, I wish Mr. Staff all the success in the future but I don’t see anything changing much in Atmore.
Just amazes me how people react when they (or their canidate) do not win. Why does that mean the other side cheated? Sore losers! And while you are at it start teaching your children that it is ok to lose. Hard work and HONESTY go a long way with the voters and will take you further than gripping, complaining, and sitting at home not working. Stop the whining, and start working together to change/improve things. Take your brilliant ideas on how to “fix” everything to powers that be. I am sure anyone including those running for president would welcome a way to fix everything!
All these old towns built up along railroad tracks over the past years will end up looking a lot like Repton soon enough. The future is tied to Interstate off-ramps. Maybe Poarch can annex Atmore later on.
Well people knew before the late box all you had to do was go look at the polling places. The count was on the doors.very proud of the two canidates that ran a clean race.
Well I use to work for Jim and Pee Wee and I can say I always thought Jim Staff was a great guy and he was a good friend to me all these years and I think he wont do any worse than what Flatmore has in the years past. I say what the heck and give him a chance to see if he can turn it around, Jim is a smart guy and I hope everything turns out for the good. Congrats Jim and good luck with your new appointed office.
those who say riged, tell me how?
Glad to see lloyd and his pal larry were not elected. those kind of people are not what the city needs.
if anyone is unhappy, remember to vote next time. until then, enjoy the new mayor.
HAHA! Rigged? You could say this if the results was a little bit closer. Mr. Staff won by 428 votes, I say that more citizens of Atmore found him to be the better mayor. Congrats Mr. Jim Staff!
Way to vote Atmore Tha best guy for the job Jim Staff !!
Flomaton is not any better, i smell a rat there also..a difference of twenty votes and the mayor was reelected..by twenty votes
Congratulations Mr. Jim Staff and Mr. Webb Nall….The outcome of the votes couldn’t have been any better!
Pitiful voter turnout. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all candidates for being willing to run for office and serve our city.
It is sad that our community doesn’t want to see it grow and our children have a future here. We have lowest of job opportunities and streets with flooding issues that need to be resolved. The city is in debt because of Rivercane. I have lived here in this community for 38 years and haven’t seen much accomplished. Most people go out of town to shop and for recreation. I had hoped that we would give another person a chance to step up to the plate with a greater vision for Atmore.
Other people commented on supposedly seeing certain candidates coming and going from the mayors office and that these people were using calculators…why would candidates be allowed in da mayors office and crunching numbers in there? Smell a rat, find a rat!
Can y’all say…..RIGGED????
I bet most of the complainers here didn’t even vote.
Things looked funny at city hall. One box came in an hour late-how does that happen? Accusations in the air. Atmore will remain the same…a quagmire. It amazes any THINKING person how people could vote for Staff in that he was successor to the Shell regime. They raises sales tax and property tax in the spring with 0 public input. Anywhere else they’d be voted out by the electorate.
For you people who voted for Staff…you will get the decaying and defunct city you asked for. BTW…bet the local papers convienantly neglect to discuss that VERY late arriving ballot box.
All these “Happy Atmore Citizens” shouting for joy over the results of the race. How come only one or two of the submitters use their names? Happy, but ashamed to admit it? Just curious.
HERE WE GO AGAIN NOTHIN WILL CHANGE IN ATMORE EVERYTHING WILL STAY THE SAME WE GO AND SPEND OUR MONEY IN ANOTHER CITY LIKE WE BEEN DOING WORK IN ANOTHER CITY ATMORE HAS NOTHING
Congratulations to mayor Jim staff.
way to go atmore you are all your own worst enemy…
Congratulations to mayor Jim staff! I am glad the citizens chose the right man for the job.
The Shell dynasty lives on
More of the same. Way to go atmore! I guess people like how atmore is turning into. Atmore looks like a ghost town with all of the for sale signs and crime rate up. Lets see how much he learned from mayor shell
WE HAVE THE WRONG MAYOR NOW HE WILL NOT HELP ATMORE HE WORRY ABOUT RIVER VANCE NOW
Nice! Glad Mr. Staff was the best choice.
Way to go Atmore Voters. This is the BEST Man for the job!!!