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Schmitz announces candidacy for Dothan mayor

Mike Schmitz wants your vote.

By Greg Phillips
Published: February 27, 2009

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The Dothan businessman became the first official candidate for this summer’s Dothan mayoral race Thursday night at an announcement ceremony.

Schmitz, who owns Mike Schmitz Automotive Group, said it was the right time for him to pursue a position he’s always wanted.

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do,” Schmitz said. “I just think these are really serious times, and I think my experience in business can really help our city.”

That business experience includes more than 30 years in the automobile industry, and Schmitz was Alabama’s recipient of the 2008 TIME Magazine Quality Dealer Award.

Schmitz said the city must respond cautiously to the nation’s economic crisis, and his business experience should help him in that regard.

“Obviously, with the sales tax revenues down and the budget, we've got to really be careful financially. We can be positive and still have growth in the city,” he said.

However, according to him, the biggest problem facing Dothan is its high dropout rate.

“For high school students, we have between a 30 percent and 40 percent dropout rate, and that’s not acceptable for the city of Dothan,” Schmitz said. “If you want something that’s going to address crime, address quality of life, address economic development, we can’t wait 10 years to fix this. We must address this in the next four years.”

While Schmitz is the only candidate thus far, he said he expects plenty of opposition by election time.

“I'm sure we'll have a number of people run,” he said. “Folks want to have options, and I’m sure several people will come out.”

Schmitz serves as a member of the boards of several nonprofit organizations, including the Wiregrass Children’s Home, United Way and the Southeast Alabama Medical Center Foundation.