2023 Jefferson County, Alabama Commission District 5 special election

2023 Jefferson County, Alabama Commission District 5 special election

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Candidate Mike Bolin David Silverstein Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Popular vote 5,736 3,927 Percentage 59.3% 40.6%

Commissioner before election Steve Ammons Republican Elected Commissioner Mike Bolin Republican

The 2023 Jefferson County, Alabama Commission District 5 special election was held on July 23, 2018, to elect one member to the Jefferson County, Alabama Commission. Candidates could affiliate with a political party, but appeared on the ballot as nonpartisan candidates.

Background

Incumbent commissioner Steve Ammons resigned from the commission on May 31, 2023, to become the CEO for the Birmingham Business Alliance. ^[1]

Candidates

Declared

• Mike Bolin, former Supreme Court of Alabama associate justice (2005–2023) ^[2]
• David Silverstein, former lawyer and career developer ^[3]

Withdrawn

• Brian Christine, urologist ^{[4] [5]}
• Jeff Wise, business owner ^[6] (remained on ballot) ^[7]

Campaign

The election would decide partisan control of the commission, with Bolin running as a Republican, and Silverstein labelling himself as a nonpartisan candidate, but was endorsed by Democrats in the county. ^[8] Prior to his withdrawal, Wise campaigned as a Republican. ^[9]

General election

Results

2023 Jefferson County Commission District 5 special election ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Michael Bolin	5,736	59.28
	Nonpartisan	David Silverstein	3,927	40.58
	Nonpartisan	Jeff Wise (withdrew)	13	0.13
Total votes			9,676	100.00

Aftermath

With Bolin's win, Republicans retained control of the commission. ^[11]

References

1. Crenshaw Jr., Solomon. "Ammons Resigns from Jeffco Commission, Will Head Birmingham Business Alliance". BirminghamWatch. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
2. Blakely, Will. "'I am what I am': Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Bolin required to run for Jefferson County Commission without a party by his name, but he's still a Republican". 1819 News. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
3. Crenshaw Jr., Solomon. "Silverstein Touts His Business Experience in Race for JeffCo Commission". BirminghamWatch. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
4. Blakely, Will. "Birmingham urologist Brian Christine declares run for Jefferson County Commission". 1819 News. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
5. Blakely, Will. "Brian Christine withdraws from Jefferson County Commission race, endorses Mike Bolin for District 5 seat". 1819 News. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
6. Crenshaw Jr., Solomon. "Three candidates qualify for Jefferson County Commission District 5 election". Hoover Sun. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
7. Taylor, Daniel. "Jeff Wise withdraws from Jefferson County Commission race, endorses Mike Bolin for District 5 seat". 1819 News. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
8. Blakely, Will. "Jefferson County Commission 'nonpartisan' candidate David Silverstein endorsed by prominent Birmingham-area Democrats". 1819 News. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
9. Stettheimer, Samuel. "Jefferson County Commission race kicks off". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
10. "Municipal elections in Jefferson County, Alabama (2023)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
11. Gann, Heather. "Retired Alabama Supreme Court Justice Mike Bolin wins Jefferson County Commissioner seat for District 5". AL.com. Retrieved 17 June 2025.