Plenty of names have been floated over the years for the title of “King of Mobile” — shorthand for whoever can make things happen in this city, or stop them, on a whim. In June 2011, a lighthearted local reader poll put the question to the public, and early voting produced some eyebrow-raising matchups, including a tongue-in-cheek rivalry between local personality Trey Lane and WKRG meteorologist John Nodar. None of the candidates had any knowledge of — or consent to — their nominations.
Strip away the fun, though, and the ballot doubles as a decent map of who actually shapes Mobile and the broader Gulf Coast. Here’s who was in the running:
The Contenders
Abraham Mitchell. The well-known real estate executive and philanthropist, whose family lent its name to the Mitchell Center and the Mitchell Cancer Institute, has played an outsized role in modernizing Mobile.
David Bronner. Head of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, Bronner’s investments — most visibly the RSA Tower — have left a permanent mark on the downtown skyline and the city’s growth.
Shaul Zislin. Founder of the Surfstyle chain, Zislin conceived the Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores, an event credited with roughly a $30 million economic impact and a boost to the area’s progressive image.
John Nodar. “King of the Mobile Weather,” the morning and noon anchor has delivered forecasts at WKRG-TV for 25 years — a daily presence in more households than any politician.
Mike Dow. Mobile’s mayor through much of the 1990s, Dow drove the String of Pearls neighborhood renewal effort and remains a behind-the-scenes force.
Ann Bedsole. A former mayoral candidate known as the “Queen of Arts,” Bedsole’s donations seeded much of downtown’s arts renaissance.
Trey Lane. Mobile’s self-styled Renaissance Man: musician (The Port Wine Stain, Seduction Bomb), artist, filmmaker, entrepreneur and organizer of the Mobile Bay Film Scrambles, with fame from his years as call-screener on the Uncle Henry Show.