As he prepares to launch a bid to become the next mayor of Cullman, former Cullman County commissioner and chairman candidate Jerry Parker wants to make one thing clear: He won’t be making any paperwork mistakes this time around.

“Paperwork is not going to be a problem,” he joked, pulling out a hard copy of the Alabama election handbook in a Monday interview with The Times.

Parker stormed onto the local political scene in 2010, winning the Republican nomination in a runoff election for a seat on the Cullman County commission before immediately stepping down due to a filing error with his election paperwork. He made a run at the commission chairman’s seat in 2011, but failed to reach the runoff.

With his last local election just a year behind him, Parker said he’s learned a lot along the way — and believes that experience would translate well if elected Cullman mayor.

“I’m a hard worker, and when I set my head to do something it’s going to happen,” he said. “There is no limit to what, physically or emotionally, I’m willing to do to get something done. I won’t have a problem working with the council, and whatever they want to implement, we’ll get it done.”

As for his recent run at the chairman’s seat? Despite the loss, Parker said he accomplished exactly what he set out to do — unseat incumbent James Graves, thought it turned out to be fellow-challenger Kenneth Walker who eventually won the Republican spot on the ticket.

“This has nothing to do with the chairman’s race, that was about [incumbent] James Graves, and getting him out of office, and we did it.  We didn’t lose that, we won it,” he said. “I was asked to run for mayor by a whole bunch of people, from city employees, to citizens and business owners. At first I didn’t take them seriously, but as more and more people asked I started thinking harder about it.”

Parker said he views the position of mayor as it is laid out in the Alabama state code — an extension of the council, responsible for implementing their decisions.

“In a city of 12,000 or more people like we have, the state has it set up where you have a strong council with a weak mayoral system,” he said. “Whatever the council approves is up to the council, then up to the mayor to implement. That’s the job, to implement their wishes. I know all the council members and believe I could work really well with all of them.”

When asked what he might do differently than incumbent Max Townson, Parker said he would push to foster more communication between the mayor’s office and city employees.

“I think the council has done a really good job of setting the city in the right direction, and I want to help them implement that and work with the city employees,” he said. “That’s the biggest problem I’ve heard, that the employees are disgruntled. I’ve found that listening to people really works well, and actually playing attention to what they’re saying. Imagine you have a splinter, and you get gangrene and have to go to the doctor to get your whole hand cut off, all because you didn’t fix things early on with tweezers and Neosporin.”

As for ongoing city projects like the Duck River dam water source, and the development of the recently purchased Burrow property on County Road 222, Parker said he supports the city’s current direction for both.

“I’m pro-Duck River and in favor of the Burrow property, and I understand the city needs to be in control of the Burrow property, to work with potential businesses coming in,” he said.

Parker commended city departments — including fire, police and parks — adding he would do everything within his power to further support the Cullman Economic Development Agency, as well.

“You can’t argue with their work ethic and the success they’ve had, and I‘ll do whatever is asked of me to improve that,” he said. “As long as its moral, ethical and legal, we’ll get it done. Both my kids had to leave Cullman to get good jobs, and that’s my one pet peeve — getting good jobs in to Cullman.”

If elected, Parker said he would look to make small improvements to city processes, to save money and help local government work more efficiently.

“Nothing has been done I’d consider horrible or wrong, but there is some decision-making I’d change a little bit in. I’d use more local people if possible, such as outside firms, or engineering. All those would be local if we could do it,” he said. “I believe the important part of government comes from small municipalities, and doesn’t start in Montgomery or Washington, D.C.  It starts here, and if you spend your time looking for ways to improve things, instead of looking to get elected, you can make some changes.”

Parker is a Navy veteran and has a degree in machine technology. He has spent the last 25 years running his own woodworking business.

He will face incumbent Max Townson, and challenger Marshall Rowe in the August 28 election.



* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 220.