Florence Candidate #5: River Zurinsky

 

If you keep up with Florence politics, the name River Zurinsky is familiar to you. Mr. Zurinsky has forwarded a copy of his application to the council:

I am seeking the position of the district 2 councilperson vacated by former President Dick Jordan on June 20, 2024. As a lifelong citizen of Florence, I feel that I bring a lot of knowledge and insight about the city to the table which can help me carry out my duties as a member of the Florence City Council.

I was born at Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital (ECM) in 1999 and have spent my entire life as a citizen of District 2, where I’ve lived in the McFarland Heights neighborhood for 25 years. I attended W.C. Handy HeadStart, Kilby Laboratory School, Shoals Christian School, and graduated from Faith Academy. I’ve been interested in local politics since I was in fourth grade, and I’m attaching an essay that I wrote after a field trip to our state capital, Montgomery. This trip kindled a desire in me to be involved in Alabama politics when I was old enough to run for office.

After graduating from high school, I completed formal training to become a SKYWARN Storm Spotter for the National Weather Service. This was spurred by a personal experience that greatly impacted me. On a sixth-grade class field trip to Atlanta on April 28, 2011, I witnessed firsthand the devastation that violent weather inflicted upon Cullman and Moulton. This later inspired me to start livestreaming during tornado warnings for Lauderdale, Colbert, and surrounding counties. My familiarity with reporting severe weather to the NWS and assisting with local emergency management agencies will be a valuable asset to my role on the Florence City Council.

In addition to serving as a SKYWARN Storm Spotter, I am actively engaged with the Shoals community, and I’ve built a social media presence on Facebook and Instagram while concurrently pursuing my interest in local and state government. In 2020, I ran for the District 2 Florence City Council seat during the first election I was eligible to run in at 21 years of age. While I did not expect to win this election during my first attempt, I gained invaluable experience from my political campaign and developed a greater understanding of the needs of my constituents and how local government works. In 2023, I was one of only four private citizens in the entire State of Alabama to submit a Congressional Map proposal to our State Legislature (*see attachment). Making a congressional map of the state taught me a great deal about the electoral process and the demographics of various regions within our state. After submitting my map, I contacted multiple state legislators including Representative Kerry Underwood and Speaker of the House, Nathaniel Ledbetter, who read my email correspondence with him aloud during the Reapportionment Committee hearings held after the Allen v. Milligan Supreme Court ruling. This helped me gain invaluable information about the complex process of getting legislation passed in Montgomery. If you select me as the next District 2 Council member, I hope that I can be an example to our younger citizens and encourage them to participate in the political process.

My selection as the District 2 Council representative could also inspire persons with disabilities to become involved in local government. At the last City Council Meeting on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, I spoke about being diagnosed with autism and losing my ability to communicate as a young child. Losing my speech became a tremendous motivation for me to speak out publicly on behalf of others now, because I believe that my ability to do so is both a privilege and a gift from God. As a person with autism, I would bring a valuable new perspective to issues brought before the Florence City Council. While living with autism in a neurotypical world is challenging, it also comes with a specific set of strengths and abilities that include honesty, logical thinking, special attention to detail, and a strong sense of justice. I believe that I have a strong sense of what’s right and what’s wrong and I believe that this, coupled with my strong faith in God, could help champion integrity and the equitable representation of all voters within our city government.

I am very active in our local community, and you can regularly find me attending events such as First Fridays in Downtown Florence and grand openings of new businesses. I also regularly patronize Shoals area businesses and music venues and use my Facebook and Instagram pages to promote dining, shopping, and engaging in recreational activities locally. I am also one of only a handful of citizens who regularly attend Florence City Council meetings. While I am deeply committed to local government that fairly represents the population of Florence, I am not a typical “politician” as defined in the minds of many people. I don’t have wealth, own a business, or possess political connections. This is exactly why I am uniquely qualified to ethically serve the citizens of Florence. Mistrust in government at all levels is at an all-time high. There are reasons for this, and some of these reasons are legitimate. Integrity must be restored to the governmental process and elected officials should fairly represent the needs of the voters who elected them, not seeking financial gain or favors by representing the interests of a select few.

While I believe that a Special Election must occur in order to ethically fill the District 2 council seat vacancy with a representative chosen by the voters, as one of two remaining eligible candidates who ran in the 2020 election, I am willing to serve the citizens of my district under the current circumstances until a lawful election can be held in 2025. My reason for this is to prevent the appointment of a person who never ran in a District 2 city council election being appointed to the position simply because he was hand-selected by the former City Council President. If the remaining Council members choose to rubber-stamp his appointment, this will solidify and perpetuate public perception of corruption and favor given to special interest groups by disenfranchising the 2,811 voters in District 2. Alternatively, if the City Council chooses to appoint either Reverend Billy Ray Simpson or me (who are known to voters from the previous election) to this position until a lawful election can be held, it might help restore some degree of public trust in our current city government. For this reason, I stand ready to temporarily serve as the City Council member representing District 2.

We've admired River for some time, both because of his intellect and his dedication to the City. If he's selected, we know he will perform his job well and not be influenced by graft or use his power to promote friends and family.