ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — Al Bradley, CPA, has announced his candidacy for the Orange Beach City Council, Place 1.

Bradley, 62, graduated from Texas A&M University magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and from The University of Texas with a Juris Doctor.

He began his career with the accounting firm of Ernst & Young. In 1985 he started his own business managing and constructing apartment properties in the Texas, Colorado and Arizona markets.

In 2000 when he sold the business to a group of his employees, the company managed more than 15,000 apartment homes and had more than 250 employees.

Bradley currently serves Orange Beach as Chairman of the Planning Commission, Chairman of the Finance Committee and Chairman of the Communications Committee. Previously he served as a member of the Board of Adjustments and Appeals, a member of the Bear Point Neighborhood Action Plan Steering Committee and Chaired the Joint Mediacom Franchise Committee with Gulf Shores.

During the past four years, the Finance Committee has assisted the Mayor and Council during times of economic hardship to cut the budget without a reduction in services.

Under his leadership, the PUD Ordinance was completely re-written to remove the prior abuses of the PUD and to provide a strong set of guidelines and requirements which a PUD must follow in order to be approved.

Bradley believes that his strong financial and business background will allow him to provide the citizens of Orange Beach with a strong fiscally responsible voice on the council. As a CPA he will make sure that value is received for every dollar spent which will ultimately keep taxes lower and enable the city to operate as efficiently as possible.

Bradley and his wife Linda have three children and three grandchildren. He has owned a home in Orange Beach since 1993.