2 seats on City Council must be filled Tuesday
By DONNA THORNTON, Editor
Boaz voters go back to the polls Tuesday to select a mayor and to fill two council seats.
First-time candidate Jana Pair faces former Mayor Tim Walker in the mayor’s race. Walker received 754 votes in the Aug. 23 election, while Pair received 585. Incumbent David Dyar came in third.
In the race for Place 2, candidates Steven Bates and Riley Young are the contenders. Young received 621 votes on Aug. 23; Bates got 787 votes.
Kevin Brooks Jr. faces Alan Hales for the Place 3 seat on the council. Hales received 832 votes Aug. 23 while Brooks received 593.
The polls will be open at the Boaz Recreation Center from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the runoff.
Walker missed public service
The voters of Boaz will select a mayor in the runoff election Tuesday after the incumbent came up short in the three-person contest Aug. 26.
Mayoral candidate Tim Walker is not a political newcomer. He served as the city’s mayor for four terms, after serving one term on the council.
He’s been out of politics for nine years. “I’m asking to go back because I feel like I can make a difference and move Boaz forward,” Walker said.
Walker currently works in sales at Alexander Ford in Boaz. Before he became involved in politics, he said, he came to work in Boaz with the outlets when he got out of college.
“After a few years I opened my own business and was in business for myself with a clothing business and a little deli,” he said. He did that for about 13 years, and he thinks it will be a big benefit in serving as mayor.
“To understand how small business works is huge,” Walker said. “That’s mostly what’s around Boaz, small business. I understand where merchants come from – how sometimes its really hard, and they are sometimes really busy.
“I have a pretty broad understanding of the business environment in Boaz, for sure,” he said.
The decision to run this year came out of missing public service. Walker said he has sat in his job at Alexander Ford every day thinking, “what could I do to make Boaz better.” With that, and a lot of supporters asking him to run again and to build on past successes he’d had with business and industry, he decided to run.
“I think people are looking for leadership in the city that can recruit business but maintain our small town environment,” Walker said. In campaigning, he heard people voice concern about neighborhoods — making sure that houses are kept up to standards and cleaned up and yards are taken care of, as well as making sure that the number of people living in houses are an acceptable number.
Walker said he’s been around campaigning a lot. While he’s had a lot of time to get out to see people, Boaz has gotten a lot larger, he said, and there are many more people to see.
“I ask people to vote,” and he said he’s asked citizens to come by Alexander Ford to talk or to reach out to him on social media.
“I have a direct email that’s called [email protected], that they can (use) to send me their concerns for the community and things that they see, that the public may see, that may make us a better place to live,” Walker said.
Pair sees a desire for change
The 2025 Boaz mayor’s race is Jana Pair’s first bid for political office, and she believes that’s her advantage. Pair faces former mayor Tim Walker in a runoff Tuesday.
“With 27 years in high-level sales and management, I know how to market, organize, and get results,” Pair said. “It’s time for a change.
“I believe our city needs fresh eyes, new energy, and someone who will find solutions instead of excuses.”
Pair said she’s a team player and she plans to put great highly creative people around her, rather than trying to run the whole show.
“I’ll involve community members. I believe that the city offices downtown belong to you, not the mayor. We’ll roll out the red carpet and make people feel welcome,” she said. “I’m not just looking for an answer to our problems. I’m looking for the best answers and I’ll make sure that my team looks at multiple solutions to every issue our city faces,” she said.
Pair decided to run because she’s been disappointed with a lack of progress in Boaz in key areas. “Our revenues aren’t expanding rapidly enough,” she said. “The way to improve revenues is to help existing businesses to expand and to bring new businesses in.”
Under some administrations, raising revenue meant raising sales tax — something she pledges she will not do. “I’ll find a way for us to operate more efficiently and to bring in new sources of revenue,” she said.
She said quality of life is determined by two factors: the quality of job opportunities and the quality of city employees.
“They are currently underpaid and often under appreciated,” Pair said. “Our city cannot function without those key people.”
During the campaign, Pair said there’s a long list of concerns she’s heard from residents. She noted two, saying they impact many families.
First, too many of our young people leave because they don’t see job opportunities or a vibrant community. Our economic plan tackles both by growing careers and building youth culture right here at home.
“Second, many families are caring for loved ones with special needs or chronic illness,” she said. “We’ll launch a Special Needs Bureau to connect families with resources and strengthen the great agencies already serving our community. We won’t replace them — we’ll help them succeed.”
Pair was surprised while campaigning to hear how many families suffer from serious drainage problems — some for more than 20 years with no real progress.
“That ends with me,” Pair said. “My administration will tackle this head-on with a real plan, not lip service. If you are affected, I want to hear your story so we can fix it together.”
Pair said voters can contact her with questions or concerns through her Facebook page, her campaign Facebook page Jana Pair For Mayor, or by email at [email protected] .
