By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Shelby County Sheriff’s Department investigator Kevin Brand recently announced he plans to run for the Alabaster mayor’s seat during the city’s upcoming municipal elections.

Brand, who said he has lived in Alabaster most of his life, said he decided to run for the position after “Alabaster gave (him) so much growing up.”

“I just want to give something back,” Brand said. “It’s not that I think the current administration is doing a bad job. I think they’re doing a very good job.

“But I think once you get in office and you have plans and dreams, you kind of lose sight of them after awhile,” he added. “I think Alabaster needs a new perspective and youth.”

Brand said he has been involved with the Sheriff’s Office’s Explorer program for the past decade, and said he has “gotten to be a big part of thousands of kids’ lives.”

If elected, he said he would like to support more youth-oriented offerings in the city, such as school and city recreation programs.

“If we don’t invest in them now, how can we expect them to invest in us later?” Brand said of the city’s youth.

Brand said he would like to see more city support of locally owned businesses.

“They are the backbone of our city, and I think Alabaster needs to do a better job of making sure they can stay in the city,” Brand said.

Brand praised the city’s Board of Education, and said he is in support of Alabaster forming its own school system.

“The city has a board in place now that is one of the best they could have hoped for,” Brand said. “I think it can be the best system in the state.”

Brand said he would like to use his law enforcement experience to support the Alabaster fire and police departments, and said he would like to one day build a joint training facility for the two agencies. He also said, if elected, he would work to advertise city bids in an effort to draw more bidders and drive prices down.