Voters to decide next district 5 JeffCo commissioner in Tuesday election
David Silverstein (left) and Mike Bolin face each other in an election on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, to fill an open seat on the Jefferson County Commission.
The Jefferson County Commission District 5 seat is up for grabs in a special election Tuesday.
The vote will decide whether former judge Mike Bolin or developer David Silverstein will fill the term of former Commissioner Steve Ammons, who resigned recently to become CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance. The winner will serve in the seat until the 2026 election.
The district includes parts of Hoover, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, Birmingham and Leeds.
You can determine whether you’re in the district, find your polling place and check whether you’re registered to vote here.
Read profiles on the candidates:
Bolin points to judicial experience in race for JeffCo Commission
Mike Bolin could only play so many rounds of golf.
The former Alabama Supreme Court justice says he was miserable after retiring Jan. 15 of this year. He found that he’s more like his Fairfield steelworker father than he realized.
“He used to work every day,” said Bolin, who’s running for the unexpired District 5 seat on the Jefferson County Commission. “Back in those days, you didn’t get paid if you didn’t work.”
Silverstein touts his business experience in race for JeffCo Commission
Don’t call David Silverstein a politician.
Yes, the former lawyer and career developer is running for the unexpired Jefferson County Commission District 5 seat of Steve Ammons in Tuesday’s special election. But don’t call him a politician.
“I don’t consider myself a politician,” the Mountain Brook resident said. “I consider myself a businessman that’s had his success, been part of this community since my birth, that wants to serve. I don’t see myself as a politician.”
Judge orders new Alabama Senate map after ruling found racial gerrymandering
U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco, appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, issued the ruling Monday putting a new court-selected map in place for the 2026 and 2030 elections.
Construction on Meta’s largest data center brings 600% crash spike, chaos to rural Louisiana
An investigation from the Gulf States Newsroom found that trucks contracted to work at the Meta facility are causing delays and dangerous roads in Holly Ridge.
Bessemer City Council approves rezoning for a massive data center, dividing a community
After the Bessemer City Council voted 5-2 to rezone nearly 700 acres of agricultural land for the “hyperscale” server farm, a dissenting council member said city officials who signed non-disclosure agreements weren’t being transparent with citizens.
Alabama Public Television meeting draws protesters in Birmingham over discussion of disaffiliating from PBS
Some members of the Alabama Educational Television Commission, which oversees APT, said disaffiliation is needed because the network has to cut costs after the Trump administration eliminated all funding for public media this summer.
Gov. Kay Ivey urges delay on PBS decision by public TV board
The Republican governor sent a letter to the Alabama Educational Television Commission ahead of a Nov. 18 meeting in which commissioners were expected to discuss disaffiliation.
A proposed Bessemer data center faces new hurdles: a ‘road to nowhere’ and the Birmingham darter
With the City Council in Bessemer scheduled to vote Tuesday on a “hyperscale” data center, challenges from an environmental group and the Alabama Department of Transportation present potential obstacles for the wildly unpopular project.
