Shell will not seek re-election

Published 4:45 pm Monday, April 11, 2011

After nearly 30 years in the political arena, City of Atmore Mayor Howard Shell announced this week that he would not seek re-election in 2012.

“I will not be running for office again after this term,” Shell said during Monday’s council meeting.

The announcement came as a shock to Shell’s fellow council members who were unaware of his decision not to run for office again.

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“I was with him all day and did not know anything,” Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Staff said following the meeting.

The announcement comes with nearly 21 months remaining in Shell’s term in office. Shell said he believes there is one candidate for mayor currently “in training.”

“Mr. (Jim) Staff as mayor pro-tem has done an excellent job and I would like to say he’s in training,” Shell said. “So we’ve got some good leadership coming on.”

Staff announced later Monday evening that he would in fact run for mayor in 2012.

“We have several projects that I believe need finishing,” Staff said. “Paying the debt off at Rivercane is No. 1. We’ve also got streets that need paving and the general maintenance of the city that we have been wanting to do, but haven’t had the means to do so.”

Currently the city owes a total of $16,837,393.75 for the Rivercane project broken out into five monthly loans ($24,618 per month total), one twice-yearly bond issue and one yearly bond issue. Payments on a third bond issue in the amount of $6,805,681.61 are made as property is sold at Rivercane, based on a percentage of sales price, according to city records.

Staff, 70, is in his third term as the District 5 councilman. He said that he is looking forward to working more closely with state and federal politicians.

“We’ve got some prospects looking at us and I don’t think we need a hiccup in the chain of command,” Staff said. “I’ve met with all of the folks in Montgomery during my time in office. I don’t know them as well as the mayor does, but I’m sure over the next year, I’ll begin getting to know them even better.”

Shell entered politics in 1983, winning the 1984 election for a city council seat. Two years later, following the death of Mayor Patricia McKenzie, he was appointed mayor to complete her term. He remained mayor for 10 years winning two elections before being unseated by Rodney Owens in 1996.

Shell regained his seat in office with a successful bid for mayor in 2000 and will finish up his third term since being re-elected in 2012.

Shell said he plans on enjoying retirement once his term is over, but said he would be available to the city if needed.

U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), left, poses for a photo with Atmore Mayor Howard Shell during his visit to town last month for a town hall meeting.|Photo by Adam Prestridge