Suburban divide

As part of a five part series examining issues facing Birmingham, public radio station WBHM recently aired a segment called “Suburbanly Divided.” Produced by Steve Chiotakis, the piece examined the conflicts between Birmingham and the surrounding metro areas. The friction between the ‘burbs and Birmingham city government is nothing new, of course. Everyone from Alabama Power CEO Charles McCrary to Governor Riley have commented on the lack of leadership and cooperation of regional governments. The radio series and associated call-in show provide a spectrum of opinions from key players on what can be done to improve the stagnant situation. When I asked about the take home message of the segment, Chiotakis said,

I think the people I talked to in the piece about regional cooperation speak for themselves. They don’t see a historical pattern to it and therefore aren’t very optimistic about it. But there is hope. There are meetings taking place between state lawmakers (members of the Jefferson County delegation) and local officials (mayors, city councilors, civic leaders). These meetings have taken place before with little result, but who knows… There is also continued progress when it comes to things that everyone knows is beneficial to the entire community. Those things that are not so subjective but rather, as we say here in the South, “slapping us in the face.” UAB is one of those things. Jobs are another. When research dollars are on the line and economic development could bring dozens/hundreds/thousands of jobs to the community, people tend to think collectively and speak with one voice.

Chiotakis holds little hope for state help to improve the situation. That is, until the obstacles provided by the state constitution are overcome. He also sees the governor as unable to do anything in the face of local inaction. Progress will depend on local delegations to the state legislature becoming more effective, as Huntsville and Mobile have been able to demonstrate.