Thames wins Ward 1 council runoff

In the only runoff of the 2012 Homewood City Council election, Britt Thames defeated Danielle Benfield for the Ward 1, Place 2 seat in October. Thames received 206 votes to Benfield’s 148.

“It was a lot of fun, though it was longer than we anticipated,” Thames said. “But one benefit of having the runoff was it gave me the opportunity to go through the ward a couple of times and meet the people more than once. I think it will make my work easier for me going forward.”

Thames said his initial focus while serving with the council will be to increase his ward’s participation in city government.

“One of the great things about Homewood is even though it’s surrounded by a metropolitan area it’s a small city and government can be very responsive,” he said. “What I’ve seen over the last 10 months is that people who take the time to ask for something from their council are usually satisfied by the response.”

Besides encouraging residents to communicate more with the council, Thames said his background in dealing with government from the state to the municipal level prepared him for upcoming projects in the city. Thames, now owner of The Booth in Tucaloosa, said his previous work in construction and property management will afford him valuable input regarding construction decisions.

Thames said the primary projects he hopes to work on during his term are the construction of the new recreation center and the relocation of the Homewood Police Department to a facility that can better support the department’s size. In addition, he said he would like to develop a rolling plan to improve the city’s infrastructure.

“One of the best things about having a landlocked city is we can focus on upgrading and repairing what we have rather than spreading out,” he said.

Britt Thames, 32, received his business degree from Samford University. He is married to Amanda Thames, and the couple has one son, Britton.