Phillip King wants to make a difference on city council

Phillip King

Phillip King is a retired law enforcement officer who wants the chance to positively impact a hometown he loves. He is running for Place 5 on city council.

Born and raised in Phil Campbell, King hired on to the PC police department in 1984. He began working for the police department in Hamilton in 1993 and was promoted from patrolman to sergeant in two years. In 1998 he became a lieutenant and then served as city investigator. In 2010 he was promoted to assistant chief, a position he retired from in 2013, at which time he returned to Phil Campbell.

King said this extensive law enforcement career is an asset he would bring to the table as a city councilman.

“I’ve seen how government operates, and I know a lot of what can be done to help,” King said. “I want to be able to help everyone – not just the citizens of PC, but everyone in this community. I want to make a difference.

“It’s my hometown. My mother lives here, my brother, other family, and it was just where I was raised,” he said. “I love Phil Campbell. It’s just a country town. There’s no place like home.”

King has a number of ideas he’d like to pursue if elected, like having a job fair at city hall, particularly for state jobs – “We want to bring all the jobs we can to this area, but if we can’t bring them in, we should be obligated to show people how to get a job,” he said. “We don’t have a career center in Phil Campbell … These young people who graduate, they can’t afford to go to college, and they’ll just apply at the nearest local job. They’re not aware of how to apply for jobs (at the state level).”

Young people would be a focus for King, who sees a need for expanded recreation in Phil Campbell.

Children have football, baseball, basketball and splash pad – “that’s all they have,” King said. “You don’t have anything to do around here. I want to work with the mayor and other council members to find something for these youngsters to do.” As a police officer, King has seen how young people without recreation are prone to get into trouble. He’s a proponent for a swimming pool in Phil Campbell, which would attract people from Spruce Pine and other nearby areas and keep Phil Campbell youth from having to drive to Red Bay or Russellville

“We owe it to our youngsters to provide them with somewhere to go and something to do.”

King would also like to pursue establishing a farmers market in Phil Campbell – “It would save our citizens a drive and give our farmers the opportunity to sell their produce here” – and put an emphasis on industry – “Of course, everyone is trying to do that, so it’s hard, and it’s even tougher in a small town like Phil Campbell.”

King aims to put his grant writing skills to work. “I think there is federal money out there to be obtained, and I want to do all I can to get our share of it,” he said. “I’m not one to quit. If there’s some money out there to get to help this town, I’m going after it.”

King has two children: Whitney Dawson, owner of Skin Envy Studio and Spa in Muscle Shoals, who is married to Cedric, and 8-year-old son Bryant, who is in third grade this year.

King, a 1979 PCHS grad and 1982 NW-SCC gran, is a licensed emergency medical technician since 1982. He graduated from the University of Alabama Law Enforcement Academy in 1985.

He is a volunteer coach with Upward Christian-based Football Program and Dixie Youth baseball.