By Donna Thornton/News Editor
Donald Oliver recently announced his candidacy for mayor of Attalla.
Oliver currently represents District 3 on the Attalla City Council, where he oversees the police and public works departments.
“I would love to see downtown come alive again,” Oliver said in a statement. “We need more jobs, businesses, and revenue. When people visit Attalla, I want them to see the beauty of Attalla and see that it is a place where they would like to live and raise their children. Together, we can make this a reality.”
During his tenure in office, he said, the city’s In-formation and Development Center was launched for that purpose, and he plans to make it an on-going priority as mayor.
Also during his time in office, Oliver said, he made it a priority to get the best equipment possible for the police and street departments, so employees would have what they needed to do their jobs. He said he was able to get many streets paved or repaired, but many more need paving. Oliver said he would continue that effort as mayor.
Oliver said it’s time for Attalla to annex more land. The city limits have not changed since he was a boy, he said, and to bring in larger businesses there must be enough land to accommodate them.
“As mayor, I will work closely with the city council to improve funding for the Alabama School System, so the schools will have everything they need,” Oliver said. “Attalla will obtain every available grant to further our revitalization effort and improve our quality of life.”
Oliver said he’s an Attalla native, Etowah High School graduate.
He signed a football scholarship with Jacksonville State University and went on to serve in the Air National Guard from 1970 to 1977. He went to work at UPS in 1977 and remained there until he retired in 2008.
His parents are Onzelle Oliver and the late Elmus Oliver who worked at the foundry in Attalla. His mother owned and operated a beauty shop at Stowers Hill. Oliver said he grew up in Stowers Hill, with his sister Patricia and brothers Melvin and David, both now deceased.
Oliver and his wife, Teresa Payne, live in Stowers Hill, he said, and are members of New Beginnings FCM Church in Camp Sibert. They have four chi-ldren and six grandchildren.