Kenny Dale Cost elected mayor of Calera
Published 7:55 pm Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Kenny Dale Cost will serve as the next mayor of the city of Calera. (Reporter photos/Rachel Henderson)
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By DANIEL LOCKE | Staff Writer
CALERA – After none of the five Calera mayoral candidates managed to secure a majority vote, Kenny Dale Cost defeated incumbent Jon Graham in a runoff election and will be serving as the city’s next mayor.
Cost received 1,015votes, or 82.32percent. Graham received 218 votes, or 17.68percent.
“The endorsements were big in this election,” Cost said. “I haven’t counted those who have come forward to me and helped push me through this election. This election wasn’t won by one vote, it was won by the citizens of this town. They proved tonight that they’re ready for a change in this city.”
Cost, who has experience as a local homebuilder, is finishing his first term on the Calera City Council.
Graham was seeking his fifth term as Calera’s mayor. He has over 30 years of experience as the owner and operator of Graham Automotive and is a certified municipal official.
The pair advanced to a runoff after being the two highest vote-getters during the race for the city’s mayoral office in the Calera Municipal Election on Aug. 26.
Cost received 813 votes, or 43.27 percent. Graham, the incumbent, received 362 votes, or 19.27 percent. Heather Edwards received 321 votes, or 17.08 percent. Jennifer Flournoy received 255 votes, or 13.57 percent. Derrick Hidalgo received 128 votes, or 6.81 percent.
Cost’s first term as mayor of the city of Calera will begin in November.
Additionally, the council previously passed a resolution to change the city’s form of government. Following the 2025 Municipal Election, the mayor will no longer be a voting member of the council but will have veto power. A presiding officer, who will be appointed by the council after the term begins on Nov. 1, will set the agenda for council meetings and run them.
“My first priority is to get everyone together to start going over the departing government that we have in place,” Cost said. “We’re over the 12,000 threshold, so now our government has changed. I’ll be the leader of it, getting them in place, getting our council president in place, moving forward with that. My next goal is opening this city up for business.”
Cost is looking to bring a variety of businesses to Calera and help the community reach its fullest economic potential, and improve the city’s infrastructure.
“I’m looking for restaurants, I’m looking for hotels, I’m looking for jobs,” Cost said. “We’re looking to help the citizens here in the city be able to get around on our roads. We’ve got a lot of work to do in this city. We’ve got a lot of jobs that we’ve got to step back in and complete that we started two years ago that haven’t been finished.”
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