Stephens

SILVERHILL, Alabama — Longtime resident and town council member Shirley Stephens will challenge Timothy Wilson for the mayoral seat in Silverhill.

A graduate of Robertsdale High School, Stephens has spent nearly her entire life in the area.

“We moved to Silverhill when I was 2,” she said. When she was 19, Stephens moved to Elsanor, then moved back to Silverhill in 1996.

Stephens retired after spending over 30 years with the U.S. Postal Service, starting with the Silverhill Post Office. After one year, she moved to the Loxley Post Office, where she served for 20 years before retiring from the Foley Post Office.

She is now the volunteer director with the Oscar Johnson Memorial Library in Silverhill and serves as treasurer of the Silverhill Library Board. She is also a volunteer with the Silverhill Fire Department and is secretary for the Neighborhood Watch Program. She is a member of Zion Lutheran Church, where she serves as church treasurer.

As mayor, Stephens said her platform will be to work for a “better future for all our citizens,” and she sees the major issue facing the town is in its infrastructure.

“This is something that we’ve been talking about for the last three years and nothing is being done to solve our infrastructure issues,” Stephens said. “This is not personal (with Wilson). I have a lot of respect for him and think he’s done a fine job as mayor, but I feel he has reached a point where he doesn’t know what else to do. We need a fresh perspective and we need someone who can devote full time to resolving our issues and that is why I am running.”

Stephens said she feels that transparency issues also need to be addressed between the mayor and town council.

“We need to have updates every three to six months on where we stand with the budget,” she said. “We see the bills, but that is not enough. There are employees’ salaries and other things that we are not seeing. As mayor it will be my job to keep the council better informed of where we stand with the budget so that they can be better informed in the decision making process.”

If elected, Stephens said, she is looking forward to working with three new council members.

“I appreciate the service of all of those who have served on the council, but I think having at least three new council members will be a good thing for our town,” she said. “It will give us a fresh perspective in resolving some of the issues that are facing our town.”