Mobile City Council Advanced 2008 Annexation Election
Archived WKRG coverage shows the Mobile City Council unanimously authorized a 2008 special election on a disputed annexation proposal.
Historical report, published from archived local news coverage.
On Aug. 26, 2008, the Mobile City Council unanimously authorized a special election on Mayor Sam Jones’ proposed annexation plan. The proposal sought to add four areas to the city, including portions of Theodore, Tillmans Corner and Moffett Road.
The council’s action did not itself annex anything; it authorized a vote. Probate Judge Don Davis was to set the election date, and only residents within the proposed annexation lines would be eligible to cast ballots.
More than 300 people attended a meeting at Government Plaza to express their views on the proposal. The plan drew criticism from several local elected officials, and critics argued that businesses and other affected residents would not all have a voice in the decision.
City attorney Larry Wettermark said the proposal was based on Alabama law. Mayor Sam Jones said the city would give people who wanted to join Mobile the chance to vote, and those who did not wish to be part of the expansion could say so at the polls.
The vote that followed
The special election was held Oct. 7, 2008. In the area designated as the Theodore Area, voters approved annexation 460 to 193, and Judge Davis signed an order on Oct. 16, 2008, declaring that area part of the City of Mobile.
