Prattville resident and local business owner Dennis Mullins has thrown his hat into the ring to challenge incumbent Prattville Mayor Bill Gillespie, Jr., citing concerns with City spending as motivation for seeking the seat.
Mullins was born in Anchorage, Alaska, and has lived in Prattville since his Air Force parents moved to the area in 1965 when he was four years old. He has called Prattville home ever since. He holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Troy State University.
In addition to an 11-year career with the Prattville Fire Department, Mullins founded Hidden Hills Builder, LLC, specializing in residential home construction and inspections. Mullins married Kem Rhodes Mullins in 1999, becoming a proud stepfather of two. He and his wife have five grandchildren. Describing himself as a "conservative Christian," Mullins attends Trinity United Methodist Church.
"What I like most about Prattville is it's still got the small-town feel about it,' Mullins said. "I love building homes for the people here that they can enjoy."
Mullins told 1819 News that he felt compelled to run for office out of a sense of duty to the City, after watching what he believes to be fiscal mismanagement by the City, fueled by an incautious attitude towards growth.
"Simple answer is, God told me to," Mullins said. "He told me to quit being a Jonah and let go. But the bigger reason is, I consider Bill [Gillespie] to be a friend of mine. We grew up together. We played baseball and stuff together. We umpired around some things. I traded at his tire store. But the direction that I feel like he's taking our city right now is a detriment to all of us that've lived here for so long. The main thing is the spending, borrowing mentality he has to get us where we are at this point right now."
He continued, "Also, it's the uncontrolled and unfettered growth that's taking place right now. What they have going on is, we have many active subdivisions that are taking place right now. They just recently, within the past four months, they put in place a moratorium on any new vape shops, gas stations, liquor stores, convenience stores and also, just in the past month, they put in a moratorium on storage units and mini storage warehouses. So they know that we're feeling the effects of the expensive growth right now that they have allowed to happen."
According to Mullins, since Gillespie took office in 2011, Prattville's long-term debt has increased to $109 million as of June 30, up from $79.9 million in 2010.
Mullins said he's running on a plan to curb reckless borrowing, restore fiscal discipline, and revive Prattville through sustainable growth and support for local businesses.
"Responsible growth to me is controlled growth," Mullins continued. "That you have a plan in place. That, in these plans, you've got certain areas that are zoned for certain things, and that you allow those certain things to happen at certain times; not everything all at one time. If you do it all at one time, and everybody wants to come in, I think you have the ability to control the growth. I mean, I'm not trying to keep people out of the city, but I guess just to slow it, for lack of a better term, to try to encourage people to come in a fashionable way."
Prattville Municipal election day is Tuesday, August 26.
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