Former city councilman Herman Watts wants Selma to know he’s back in action.

The retired schoolteacher served on the council in the late 1980’s and now, he’s thrown his hat into the ring again and will run for the Ward 5 seat currently occupied by Sam Randolph.

“I decided to run (because) there’s some things that need to be done,” he said. “With my experience, maybe I can help.”

With one daughter in college and the other already graduated, Watts decided the time was right to get involved in city politics again.

“I decided to get back in action,” he said. “I’ve been observing what’s going on and I hope I can be a vessel to bring people together.”

Watts spoke strongly about what he sees as the current status of bickering among the council and the mayor.

“So goes the council, so goes the city,” he said. “They’re supposed to set the example for us.

If we continue this bickering, Selma’s going to lose. It seems to me there’s no trust there, which you’ve got to have. We’re all working for the same goal.”

That goal, Watts says, is a safer, cleaner environment for Ward 5 and Selma.

“People are afraid,” he said. “I don’t have an answer but we’ve got to start somewhere.” Watts added that he would support the curfew measure the council has been discussing since it was suggested by the crime task force. He also added that we would begin working with the parents to educate them on their responsibilities.

Watts stressed that it was time for the city council to help start moving Selma forward.

“We’ve got to move to the future,” he said. “We’re moving backwards.

I see little cities like Prattville progressing, we need to progress.”

One of the ways Watts say the city can move forward is by putting some of the haggling in has held the city back.

“All this haggling over money, that’s not going to help the city,” he said. “People can forget, they’re not there for their personal aggrandizement.

Every town has its problems, we should be able to overcome this problem.”

Watts says he has the key to unlock city council’s problem.

“There’s a word I remember, it’s called compromise,” he said. “Nobody gets everything they want. Somewhere we ought to be able to reach an agreement.”

After 34 years as a teacher, Watts holds some simple, but firm beliefs.

“I believe in being firm and fair,” he said. “I believe in telling the truth.

The truth hurts but you have to tell the truth.”

One of the things Watts won’t promise is to bring jobs to Selma.

That, he says, is not a councilman’s job,

“I’m for industry, but that’s not the job of a councilman.

We’re concerned about what’s going to make Selma better.

I’m going to work for the people. I care about the people of my ward.”

Watts, who has lived in Ward 5 all his life, said in the end the council and the mayor have to have better teamwork to save Selma.

“Selma’s not going anywhere with the bickering.

We should be working for the people and the greater good of Selma,” he said.

“I don’t see why we can’t move forward.”