Congrats to Mark Hall for the win and Thank you to Sonny Penhale for his years of service.
Charles W."Sonny" Penhale served on the Helena City Council until elected Mayor in 1968. Since then he has served 44 years in that position. I have been told that he is one of the longest serving Mayor in Alabama history but it changed tonight when former Helena Police Chief Mark Hall, won the office. The results according to the election tapes shows
63 % Mark Hall 2,087
37% Penhale 1,234
The total votes was 3,321 which was more people than who voted in the general election. Traditionally, runoff elections are smaller than the general election. It will be a big change for Helena since the majority of the City Council is changing as well. Also the census changes the Helena form of Government, where the Mayor does not sit with the council anymore. The Mayor will have the power to veto but the council will control the agenda and the finances.
The actually change of government will occur in November when the new City Council and Mayor are sworn in. I hope now that this is over that the healing can begin and everyone will work together.
Here are the local news stories. I will updated as more are posted
First Time in 44 Years
Longtime Mayors Ousted
Voter pick Hall over Penhale
4 comments:
I hope that our new Mayor and city council will allow the tree canopy to grow back over Main Street, and I hope our new government understands that Wal-Mart and its Neighborhood Market store is not a friend to our town. Congratulations to Mayor Hall. This should be an exciting term for the newly elected Helena government.
I'm excited to see where this takes Helena. Though I was a Hall supporter, I do appreciate a lot that Mayor Penhale did during his time in office, including coming to my house personally more than once to address safety issues on my street.
Finally, Helena can move to the 21st century. Get rid of the brother in law politics and jobs. Maybe the elected can take Helena to the next level. Support the local business and not try to stop growth like the other Penhale supporters did. Get the Drugs and crime out of Helena. If you don't think there is a drug problem in Helena you have your head stuck in the sand.
I really don't get it. Helena became one of the "100 greatest towns to live in" under Penhale. What exactly has happened recently that made so many want a change? I love our "little town" vibe. I hope the new mayor doesn't try to turn us into a hoover.
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