GULF SHORES — A local small business owner has announced her bid to run for Gulf Shores City Council in this year's election.

As a Gulf Shores resident, mother of three kids and owner of Glow Yoga, Jennifer Guthrie said she has learned the impact council has on "every nook and cranny of our city."

After helping the city write Vision 2025 in 2015, which had the goal of addressing projects and problems within the city, and serving on the planning commission since 2018, she said she thinks she was able to learn "what was involved in city government."

While she said she thinks it is an accumulation of her involvement in the city, she mostly credits the planning commission to why she decided to run.

Her and her husband, Drew, who she's been married to for 18 years, visited Gulf Shores for her parents 25th wedding anniversary. After they "fell in love" with the city, the couple instantly decided to move to the area. In 2012, she and her husband opened Glow Yoga, which she called her "first dive into service."

"We didn't get into yoga to get rich. We got into our business to serve the community," Guthrie said.

Guthrie said she feels her connections from having a local business, being involved in Gulf Shores City Schools and serving on the planning commission will help her to engage with community members and "bring us all together" to "engage and empower" each other every day.

As a candidate for council, Guthrie said she wants to focus on having a successful school system, manageable growth and city-wide bike and pedestrian access in nature spots and walking districts that support small businesses. She said the "majority of us (candidate) all want the same things" but that what sets her apart from the current councilmembers is a fresh perspective from a small business owner with school-aged children.

In Gulf Shores, candidates run at large, which means those who place bids must chose a place they want to fill. Guthrie said this was a "challenging thing" because she would not be representing a district, but rather a place, on the council.

"For five places (on the council) to have so much responsibility in taking care of our community, each one has to be completely effective," Guthrie said. "… I'm looking at what impact is being made by each place up there and where I can be most impactful."

Guthrie decided to run for Place Two, which is currently held by Councilman Gary Sinak. He was elected in 2016 and is serving his second term.

"I have a ton of respect for anybody that's walked in these footsteps before," Guthrie said. "It definitely puts you out of your comfort zone. … But the City of Gulf Shores is so special that it's worth going out of my comfort zone to stand up for."

She said "regardless of the outcome" that she hopes this year more residents get involved in municipal elections, as she said there was "15% voter turnout last time" in 2020.

Municipal elections across Baldwin County and the state will be held Aug. 26. Lawmakers voted in 2021 to postpone city elections, extending the terms of those elected in 2020 by one year.

Officials said the move was made to be able to hold municipal elections on an off-year from the presidential election, citing poll worker fatigue, voter confusion over voting venues and equipment shortages as reasons for the shift.