By Melanie Patterson

The North Jefferson News



On Aug. 26, Morris voters will be choosing between two men for mayor: Jay Strickland and incumbent Craig Drummonds.

All five candidates for city council are running unopposed. The city council voted on July 22 to install incumbents Clovis Laney, Joe Pylant and Charles Ray Densmore, and new council members Lynn Posey Aguirre and Phillip Dillard.



Craig Drummonds

Drummonds’ first stint in politics came in 2004 when voters elected him to become mayor for the city of Morris.

Drum-monds and the five-member council ran for office as a team, and all of them won. Drummonds said the council agreed to run as a team again this year.

“I think we’ve created a very professional atmosphere and we want to continue with that,” he said. “As an administration, we have promised the citizens of Morris that we would work together to serve them and I believe we have done that. I look to do that in the future as well.”

Drummonds said he is running for re-election because he saw many things accomplished in the past four years.

“We laid the foundation for things to come and I want to continue working in that direction,” he said. “I want to see it through.”

Drummonds said his focus is always on the city’s police and fire departments. He said he wants both departments to continue to grow and improve to keep Morris’ citizens safe.

In the last four years, Drummonds said, the city has received more than $300,000 in grants for the police and fire departments.

The grants have been used to purchase a new fire truck, a new Dodge Charger for the police department and other equipment and upgrades. Drummonds said the grants also helped put additional police personnel on the streets.

Before becoming mayor, Drummonds volunteered for the Morris Fire Department for eight years, serving as chief for six years.

Drummonds, age 38, is a sales supervisor for Coca-Cola. He is originally from Minor and has lived in Morris 13 years.

He and his wife Jennifer have two sons.

Drummonds is a member of Gardendale First Baptist Church, where he teaches a singles class.



Jay Strickland

Strickland said he is running for mayor because he wants to see change.

“I see a need to restructure the police and fire departments to make them more efficient and provide more public safety for the city of Morris,” said Strickland.

Specifically, Strickland thinks the Morris Fire Department needs a full-time fire chief who is also a paramedic.

“If we could hire one or two folks to run it during the day, it would ensure we have adequate medical coverage to the school and community when most volunteers are at work,” he said.

Another goal of Strickland’s is to develop stronger relationships between the city and the community.

“I just want to build liaisons between the schools, churches and businesses so we can work together to improve everything in Morris,” he said.

A third item on Strickland’s agenda is to “get a handle on the city budget. … I think we need tighter control on spending.

“We need to come up with a workable budget and each department stick to it to be more fiscally responsible with funds in town,” he said.

Strickland, age 44, has served a four-year term on the Kimberly City Council and has also served on various committees and boards in Morris, including the variance board and the planning and zoning board.

He is a certified registered nurse anesthetist at St. Vincent’s Blount in Oneonta.

Strickland has served for 26 years as a paramedic and volunteer on the fire departments in Kimberly, Morris and Warrior.

He has lived in Morris most of his life, except for eight years in Kimberly.

He and his wife Leigh Anne have a son, Aaron Nette, and a daughter, Hanna Nette.