According to an advisory opinion released by the Alabama Office of Attorney General today, the election to create a council-manager form of government scheduled Tuesday in Fairhope will in effect require the City Council to adopt three single-member districts, eliminating the at-large system currently in place and likely forcing one or more current city councilors out of office in 2020.
The opinion (posted below), which is expected to be submitted as evidence into a pending lawsuit seeking an injunction against the election, mirrors one issued by Mayor Karin Wilson over the summer. It differs from one provided by the Fresh Start Fairhope group, which garnered more than 800 signatures on a petition for the election certified in late July.
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