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Former Mobile Councilman and County Commissioner Stephen Nodine is trying to run for mayor of Mobile — maybe.
Nodine has a uniquely controversial past, making national headlines in 2010, when he was put on trial for the alleged murder of his girlfriend, Angel Downs, who was found dead from a gunshot wound in the driveway of her Gulf Shores home.
The initial murder trial ended in a hung jury, and when potentially exculpatory evidence was discovered, prosecutors agreed to drop the murder charges in exchange for Nodine pleading guilty to related perjury, misdemeanor harassment, and ethics violation charges. Although the guilty plea prevented Nodine from facing a second trial, he went on to serve two years in prison and can no longer run for certain offices like County Commissioner or school board under state law.
Nodine contends that Downs’s death was a suicide and that his trial was a case of political persecution aimed at preventing him from running for mayor back in 2010. Nodine went on to serve additional jail-time following probation violations including a failed drug test in 2016.
Now, Nodine is apparently looking to make a political comeback by reviving his ambitions for the Mobile mayorship. On Saturday, Nodine posted an image to his FaceBook page that read, “Stephen Nodine, Mayor, Make Mobile Great Again, 2025”.
However, that post is no longer visible on Nodine’s page, calling into question whether he will actually end up running. “I posted a meme ( I guess that’s what you call them lol) but will have an official platform and course of action regarding my pardon application,” Nodine subsequently posted, but that post appears to have since been deleted, as well.
Before deleting the posts, the former County Commissioner tied his potential candidacy to President-elect Donald Trump by making a play on the “Make America Great Again” motto and by arguing that he and Trump have both faced political persecution under the criminal justice system.
“I thank many of you who are posting and respect those who may oppose a potential comeback after the LAWFARE that started My downfall, which much is to be attributed to my own actions and reckless actions,” Nodine wrote in the same post. He also referred to his and Trump’s legal woes as being a part of the same “justice circus.”
Even if Nodine does launch an official campaign, he currently lacks the qualifications to be a legitimate candidate for mayor. Under the law, qualified candidates must be registered to vote, which is currently impossible for Nodine as a convicted felon whose voting rights have not been restored.
While Nodine is the first individual to officially “announce” his intention to run for mayor once Sandy Stimpson vacates the seat in 2025, other names have also been circulating as potential mayoral candidates. Republican Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson, U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl, R-AL, former Mobile police chief Paul Prine, and Mobile City Council members William Carroll, Josh Woods, and Gina Gregory have all been discussed as potential candidates. Two Democratic state legislators, Rep. Barbara Drummond and Sen. Vivian Figures, are also publicly “considering” running for the position.
