Fairhope City Council President Jack Burrell has officially announced his candidacy to run for re-election to the Fairhope City Council.
Burrell works full-time for Leidos Dynetics as a senior principal aerospace engineer designing, analyzing and testing various aerospace hardware for the Department of Defense and the U.S. Armed Forces. He also owns a successful vacation rental property business.
Elected to his first term as a city councilman in 2012, and voted Fairhope City Council president at his first council meeting, Burrell has subsequently served as council president for 10 of the past 13 years. He is recognized by the Alabama League of Municipalities as an Advanced Certified Municipal Official.
Burrell states he has accomplished many of the goals he established before being elected, primarily citing the city’s elimination of the General Fund debt, authoring the legislation requiring the live streaming video and archiving of Council meetings and Planning Commission meetings which he says have led to a more open government, and working to enhance Fairhope’s quality of life through actions such as the purchase of the Fairhope K-1 Center, which will soon be the entrepreneurial center of the city.
As a Fairhope representative and chairman of the ESMPO, he says he took a stand against tolls on local citizens and then worked with local and state policy makers to create a solution for the new Mobile Bay bridge that offers toll-free options.
If re-elected, Burrell promises to continue the conservative fiscal policies he has championed, which he says have freed up needed funds for capital improvement and critical infrastructure projects, while continuing to strive to maintain the unique ambiance of Fairhope by preserving and enhancing the beauty, tranquility and quality of life that make Fairhope one of the most special places on earth, he shared.
Burrell also serves on the Fairhope Airport Authority, the Fairhope Industrial Board, and is chairman of the Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization. Burrell can frequently be seen attending various City Council-appointed committee meetings to stay on top of the citizens’ desires and needs, he says. Burrell is a member of the Fairhope Pirate Booster Club and volunteers his time as part of the Pirate Nation Live Broadcast team providing commentary on Fairhope High School football and basketball games.
Burrell was named by the city of Fairhope as its “Volunteer of the Year” in 2009. He has twice been elected president of the Fairhope Educational Enrichment Foundation’s Board of Directors and is a member of the Eastern Shore Sertoma Club, Fairhope Lions Club, Coastal Conservation Association, Baldwin Trailblazers, and is a past board member of the Baldwin County United Way, past Senior Bowl Committee member, as well as past Area and District chairman for Ducks Unlimited. Burrell is an active member of Fairhope United Methodist Church and for many years, coached in the Fairhope Youth Baseball Leagues. Burrell was recently named a Distinguished Alumni Fellow by the MSU Bagley College of Engineering.
Jack and his wife of 30 years, Patti, have two adult children, Lauren, and Jack Jr., who are both Fairhope High School graduates.
