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Highlands Today

Southside Residents Bank On New Councilman

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By Douglas  Carman | Highlands Today

Published: November 20, 2007

AVON PARK — With upcoming council member Al Joe Hinson's arrival, the council will have two Southside representatives and two black council members for the first time in the city's recent history. And several Southside residents were hoping this would boost the influence of the economically under-served part of the city.

Shirley Johnson, the Southside Community Redevelopment Agency chairwoman, said she thought Hinson –– who she and most of his friends call "Al Joe" –– would be a major boost for the Southside's representation in the council.

"He won, and I'm glad he won, and I know people on the Southside are," Johnson said. "People were ready for another person to join in with Miss (Brenda) Gray... I think the people are ready to see some positive things happen with Gray and Hinson."

Latoya Brown, a Southside resident and also a Hinson supporter, hoped a second Southside councilman like Hinson could get the police department to cut back on its patrols in her neighborhood, saying there were too many of them concentrated in the Southside.

"There's more happening everywhere, but here they are looking for something," Brown said. "You can rob a bank downtown and get away with it because they're are all down here."

Hinson And The City

Hinson, a math teacher at Avon Park Middle School who also owns a bar in the Southside, said he wanted to focus on getting Avon Park a new police chief, some beautification projects and the city's economy, in that order.

He listed those as his top priorities for the city as he prepares to join the city council in January.

"The city has to be safe first, and it needs to be beautiful," Hinson said late Sunday. "We lost a lot of jobs in Avon Park... but first, (we need) a safe city."

Hinson, who will take outgoing Councilman Doug Eason's seat, said he already "rode around" the city to look for areas he thought needed improving. He specifically mentioned the downtown mall, saying it needed work.

When asked about representing the Southside, where Hinson lives and where he drew much of his support for the election, he emphasized that he wanted to serve the entire city and not just the Southside. Going back to the beautification projects, he said he saw some in the north side he wanted to bring up.

Yet at the same time, he repeated an idea he pitched before the election and suggested each council member should focus on one of four quadrants of the city.

Hinson, before being elected, served on the city's recreation board and made two previous campaign bids, including one last year that ended in his withdrawal before that election. He focused his campaign on addressing the city's quality of life, code enforcement and economic development. He was also concerned with accountability issues with the city government.

"Monies have been spent for no return," Hinson told Highlands Today back in October. "In this city there (needs) to be a checker to check on the checker."

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