When Brandon Moss walked across the stage to claim his high school diploma last month, he immediately began another march around his hometown on a path that he hopes will take him to city hall.
Moss, a newly minted 18-year-old graduate from Ramsay High School in Birmingham, is running for mayor of Fairfield. Current mayor Eddie Penny is not seeking re-election. Fairfield’s elections are slated for August 26.
Moss said he was inspired to do something to help his challenged community.
“I decided to do this right out of high school because I felt like I could be the change that I want to see in my city,” Moss told AL.com as he stood outside a long-shuttered shopping center where weeds peek through broken asphalt and a few bags of garbage sit to the side.
“Fairfield for far too long has not had an innovative thinker, and we need somebody who is able to connect our next generations and our past generations,” Moss said.
While many of his high school peers sport t-shirts and shorts during the summer months, Moss wears a suit and tie as he knocks on doors in neighborhoods around Fairfield.
Other candidates in the crowded field for mayor include: Councilman Herman Carnes, Councilman Cedric Norman, former Midfield councilman and Fairfield native James Reasor and financial consultant Michael Williams.
Moss will officially announce at a rally Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at 6550 Aaron Aronov Drive. That’s the same vacant shopping center that he toured earlier to illustrate the city’s lingering problem of disinvestment and abandonment.
“I’ve seen the buildings fall apart,” he said. “If we look through Fairfield we see nothing but abandoned buildings where there could be something else.”
Beyond memories of what was versus current conditions, Moss envisions what could be for his town.
Fairfield, a city just west of Birmingham, for the last two decades has been plagued with major challenges including business closures, abandoned properties, violence and a declining population.
Fairfield has about 9,500 residents according to 2024 Census estimates, but those numbers continue to decline.
Adding to the city’s woes, a declining revenue base and reliance on the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, which has to supplement a skeletal police force. Recent reports of deadly violence, including at the city’s mall, have made it necessary to contract with county law enforcement for help.
There are some bright spots, however. A new downtown grocery store, Carver Jones Market, opened last summer as the first business to offer fresh meat and produce in the city in nearly a decade.
Still, Moss said more is needed to turn Fairfield around.
Moss plans to attend UAB and major in political science and public administration. Moss said the academic training would prove helpful in the leadership role he seeks.
Moss said he knows his age might make some question his mayoral ambitions.
“Age doesn’t guarantee wisdom or innovation,” Moss said. “This is not a job about glorification. It’s about how I can help the people.”
His campaign manager, Marilyn Yelder, said she was initially skeptical when she heard about his desire to lead the city. She said she later agreed to help him after witnessing the level of commitment he has for the task.
Yelder is the mother of Robert Gaines, Moss’ best friend, who is also active in the campaign.
“We teach our children to be the change that they want to see, and we now have to support them in creating that change,” Yelder said. “I’m really looking forward to what he has to bring to the table and the ideas he has to move Fairfield forward.”
Yelder called for unity and an open mind, saying any progress achieved will directly affect both the younger generation and older citizens of Fairfield.
“I do understand for a lot of people he’s very young, but it is necessary for the current generation and previous generation to work together to move this city forward,” Yelder said.
As mayor, Moss said he would be strategic about recruiting business and replacing blight with something better. It begins with holding property owners accountable for their buildings, surveying residents about their needs, then working with businesses to recruit them back to town, according to the young candidate.
“We could bring stores back, but we have to work with those stores to bring them back into the community,” Moss said. “Our citizens need something that’s going to be with them long-term.”
Moss said thoughts about developing affordable housing opportunities grew into a desire to make an even broader impact. After thinking it over, he decided to seek the top administrative position.
Moss named accessing the current infrastructure of the city, tackling blight and addressing city finances as his early priorities as mayor.
“I want to talk to my citizens,” he said. “I want to know what they need in their city. It’s not about me. It’s about the citizens.”