We agree with Flomaton Councilman Buster Crapps that the majority rules and the wishes of the Flomaton Town Council should be granted.
Flomaton has voted twice to approve the sale of alcohol on Sundays in an effort to keep tax dollars from heading to Century. The problem is the vote has been 5-1 both times with Councilman Roger Adkinson voting no. The real problem is members of our legislative delegation – State Sen. Greg Albritton, State Rep. Alan Baker and State Rep. Mike Jones have said they need unanimous support from the council to push this bill through the Legislature.
Brett Kavanaugh was elected to the United States Supreme Court on a 50-48 vote; town councils and county commissions often split votes on issues, but the majority vote always wins.
Why the Alabama Legislature had to be involved in whether or not the town of Flomaton wants to sell alcohol on Sundays is another issue, but we do feel the legislative delegation should honor the majority vote of the council.
We've been told they don't want to get involved in local politics. That's fine. Work to pass a constitutional amendment that allows counties and cities to pass such ordinances on their own without having to spend the time, effort and money running it through the Legislature.
The residents of Flomaton elected five council members and a mayor to represent them and make decisions on their behalf. If the majority of the council votes to increase water rates, water rates go up. It doesn't matter if its 6-0, 5-1, 4-2.
Like Crapps, we don't hold any ill will toward Adkinson. Adkinson was elected by people in his district to represent them the way he feels best.
But whether it's Adkinson or any other council member, we have a hard time understanding why the Legislature would hold the town hostage over a split vote when it passes budgets and other bills on split votes.
