BY BRIANA HARRIS / Staff Writer

PELHAM – Lenny Glynn, the man hoping to become Pelham’s next mayor, said it’s been a dream of his for more than 20 years to serve the city as mayor.

Glynn said he started telling his children – Justin, Matthew and Hailey – years ago that when he retired he wanted to run for mayor. As soon as he retired from AT&T in April 2015, his family reminded him of his words.

“My daughter said, ‘Hey Dad, you always said that you would run for mayor when you retired,’ so I decided to turn that dream into action,” Glynn said.

If elected, Glynn, 55, said he would focus his efforts on economic development, community engagement and supporting Pelham City Schools.

Glynn will face incumbent Mayor Gary Waters in the Aug. 23 election.

The New Orleans native, who moved to Pelham with his wife, Robin, in 1994, started volunteering when his children became involved in sports. It was then that he became interested in becoming mayor.

Glynn became involved with coaching, booster clubs, fundraising and organizing softball tournaments. He served on the Pelham Parks and Recreation Baseball/Softball Board and the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustments. He was chairman of the Zoning Board of Adjustments from 1997 to 2008. In 2014, he was appointed to serve on the Commercial Development Authority board and was elected chairman.

He said volunteering gave him the opportunity to see the city as a community and it also opened his eyes to the city’s challenges. But Glynn said the 37 years he worked at AT&T, 25 of which were spent in management, gave him the skills necessary to be mayor.

“My leadership style is focused on success and developing the people around me,” he said. “I don’t know everything and I don’t do everything by myself. I believe the role of a leader is to bring the best out of everyone. It’s important to give people the opportunity to grow and strengthen their skills.”

Glynn said the challenges facing Pelham are threefold. He said top-notch school systems bring residential growth and residential growth is needed to attract commercial development.

“I see opportunities for us to address retail gaps and to redevelop old areas,” he said. “I can lead us down the path of growth that we need. I want people to know that my agenda for the city is for the city, not for personal gain or to be in the limelight. I’m doing it because I love this city.”