I was dumbfounded when I saw the results.
The Birmingham Business Journal ran a poll the week of February 29, 2012.
Readers were asked, “Would you be in favor of a unified metro area government for Birmingham?”
The response was more than two to one in favor.
Yes 64%
No 27%
I’m not sure 9%
545 votes cast
The BBJ clearly discloses that this survey is not a scientific sampling.
But it does show broad based support from the BBJ’s business readers.
Who knows how one might define unified government? The devil is in the details.
But this is a much different response than most of us would have expected.
David Sher’s goal is to create a conversation on how to fix our fragmented and dysfunctional local government.
David Sher is a partner in Buzz12 Content Marketing and co-CEO of AmSher Receivables Management. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (ONB), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
David, I often wish there was a magic wand and we instantly have a unified government but we don’t. It is going to take people like you and others who have a voice and the energy to work at this before it will happen. But you know the old expression “a journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a single step.” Keep up your good work! Henry
I was pleasantly surprised to see the results of the voting, too, David. I’d seen the poll in the Journal and had responded in favor of unification, myself. Of course, the majority of responses are from business people, and it’s to be expected they recognize the benefits of unified government. Still, it’s encouraging.
Perhaps the key is to start with working together on some common service; garbage collection, for instance, or recycling. The savings would be evident, and perhaps, just maybe, a spirit of cooperation could be fostered. After all, we do have a unified county library system! Or we do as long as we can keep it funded!
Hi Bob, Thank you so much for your comments. When I was in Leadership Birmingham 20 years ago, I asked one of the corporate leaders about government structure. His response was identical to yours, “Perhaps the key is to start with working together on some common service…” He even made mention of our library system. This is the most common response I get. But in 20 years, things have gotten worse–not better. Unless we deal with government structure, we will always be stuck in a rut. Please stay in touch.