For more than fifty years, municipal elections in Margaret have been more than just routine – they’ve revealed a deeply embedded pattern: the same names, limited competition, and few opportunities for change. But in 2025, we can finally break that cycle.
🗳️ What the Records Reveal
From 1968 to today, Margaret’s political landscape remained in the hands of a small circle. Familiar surnames like Barrett, Chapman, Venable, Wilson, Hardrick, Mize, Hicks, and McIntyre dominate the history books – and our government.
Even as Margaret’s population has nearly quintupled since 2000, the names steering the city haven’t kept pace with its growth. Infrastructure has fallen behind. Planning is absent. And public trust? In steep decline.
❗The Year That’s Missing: 2000
One of the most telling facts in our election history: there are no public records of the 2000 municipal election.
Was it poor recordkeeping? A deeper failure of process? Either way, it’s a problem. Because if an entire election can disappear from city records, what else might have been lost – or never counted?
This isn’t just a gap in paperwork. It’s a red flag.
🔁 A Pattern of Power, Not Progress
| Year | Estimated Population | Votes Cast (Mayor) | Voter Participation |
| 1988 | ~1,000 | ~110 | ~11% |
| 1992 | ~1,000 | ~115 | ~11% |
| 1996 | ~1,000 | ~125 | ~13% |
| 2000 | 1,111 | No records | – |
| 2004 | ~3,000 | No records | – |
| 2010 | 4,428 | ~300 | ~6% |
| 2020 | 5,181 | 471 | ~9% |
| 2025 | 6,900+ (est.) | TBD | TBD |
Despite Margaret’s explosive growth – especially in newly developed neighborhoods – voter participation has actually declined. In some elections, seats went uncontested. In others, only a few hundred voters chose the city’s leadership.
Many residents have simply stopped believing that elections in Margaret lead to meaningful change.
🔄 But 2025 Is Different
This year, Margaret has over 4,600 registered voters – the most in city history. And for the first time in decades, we have a slate of new candidates: residents, professionals, and municipally experienced leaders stepping forward to serve their city – not just recycling titles.
This isn’t just another election. This is a turning point.
Let’s build a city government based on structure, transparency, and planning – not silence, tradition, and convenience. Let’s change our reputation – from being left out of the conversation to leading it across St. Clair County.
🕰️ Margaret’s Mayoral Timeline (1968–2023)
| Years | Mayor |
| 1968–1972 | Thomas B. Mitchell |
| 1978–1984 | J.G. Morse |
| 1988–1996 | Billy Butler |
| 1996–2008 | Jeffrey Wilson |
| 2012–2020 | Isaac Howard |
| 2020–2021 | Jeffrey Wilson (reelected) |
| 2022–2024 | Isaac Howard (appointed) |
| 2024–Present | Daryl McIntyre (appointed) |
Multiple terms. Repeat mayors. Appointed successors instead of elected ones. Margaret deserves better. And Yes, 3 Mayors in this most recent term.
📈 Representation vs. Reality: The Redistricting Crisis
Since their inception in 2008, Margaret’s voting districts remained unchanged – even as the city’s population surged from just over 1,000 to nearly 7,000.
The city failed to initiate redistricting until 2025, following years of delay and legal pressure. According to the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, Margaret had not meaningfully updated its district lines since they were first adopted based on 2000 Census data.
That means thousands of residents have gone underrepresented for nearly two decades. By 2010, over 3,300 people were disenfranchised. Yet the same names from 2000 are still on the ballot in 2025.
They couldn’t stop the will of the people anymore and we got fair representation finally. Let’s make this election prove they still can’t stop the will of the majority.
🧾 Historical City Leadership Table (Select Election Years)
| Year | Mayor | Place 1 | Place 2 | Place 3 | Place 4 | Place 5 |
| 1968 | Thomas Mitchell | Johnny Wilson | Malcolm Wright | Charles Homesly | Donald Kujan | Louie Peoples |
| 1972 | Thomas Mitchell | Wilson | Hardrick | McIntyre | Wharton | Maxine Mitchell |
| 1980 | J.G. Morse | Annie Wharton | Hicks | Unknown | Mize | Unknown |
| 1988 | Billy Butler | Eugene Hardrick | Charles Hicks | Ruth Miller | Robert Mize | Johnny Wilson |
| 1992 | Billy Butler | Layfield | Hardrick | Martin | Mize | Unknown |
| 1996 | Jeffrey Wilson | Hardrick | Hicks | Miller | Mize | Wilson |
| 2004 | Jeffrey Wilson | Chapman | Hicks | McIntyre | Perry | Voss |
| 2008 | Jeff Wilson | Chapman | Hicks | McIntyre | Perry | Voss |
| 2012 | Isaac Howard | Chapman | Hicks | McIntyre | Perry | Voss |
| 2020 | Jeffrey Wilson | Chapman | Carter | McIntyre | Tortorice | Ray |
| 2022 | Isaac Howard | Chapman | Crump | McIntyre | Tortorice | Ray |
| 2025 | Daryl McIntyre | Chapman | Crump | Cook | Tortorice | Ray |
Note: Gaps in council data reflect incomplete or missing election records.
🗓️ The Choice Ahead
This election is about more than a mayor. It’s about turning a page in Margaret’s history – from one of recycled leadership to one of restored accountability.
✅ A government that works for the people
✅ A process the public can trust
✅ A city built on planning, not politics
🗳️ Vote Matt Tortorice for Mayor of Margaret
🗓️ Election Day: Tuesday, August 26, 2025
🔧 The Candidate with a Plan, Not Just a Name
Receipts are below, don’t take my word for it.
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