Tony Kennon has announced his candidacy in running for reelection as mayor of Orange Beach.
As a longtime resident of Orange Beach, Kennon has "seen it all," going back to when "the dirt roads …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
Please log in to continue |
Tony Kennon has announced his candidacy in running for reelection as mayor of Orange Beach.
As a longtime resident of Orange Beach, Kennon has "seen it all," going back to when "the dirt roads were here." While he was first elected as mayor in 2008, Kennon's municipal experience in Orange Beach goes back 28 years to when he first served on the planning commission.
In his time as mayor, Kennon said his top achievement is establishing the Orange Beach City Schools system in 2022.
"We were the only school in the state of Alabama last year that had zero physical altercations in the school," Kennon said. "… Our records speak for themselves."
He attributed success in the schools to a program, also established in the time he was mayor, called "Expect Excellence." This free program focuses on engaging in arts, athletics and academics to provide an "education; not after school care."
"More than anything else, it's important that we help kids find their passion at an early age," he said on Expect Excellence. "You have to expect excellence to achieve excellence."
Other accomplishments he mentioned were the openings of the Orange Beach Event Center, the Art Center, the residents' beach location in front of Coastal Restaurant and the Veterans Memorial, which he considered his second top achievement.
For future goals if he is reelected as mayor, Kennon plans to work on projects "that need to be finished." One project being to "eliminate the bottleneck" at the intersection of Canal Road and State Road 161 with a bypass currently in the works.
He plans to continue working on growth and maintaining a balanced commercial and residential tax base with mixed-use facilities "like Margaritaville." He also is set to evaluate building moratoriums in place later this year if he is reelected.
"Trying to manage everything about growth," he said. "… A lot of people have no idea the battle I face every day protecting this bubble we live in."
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.