(PRICHARD, Ala.) - Prichard residents thought the battle was over. “The voters spoke,” United Concerned Citizens of Prichard President Severia Campbell-Morris said. “We have spoken and this board continues to ignore us.”
The Prichard Water Board is suing to overturn a state-wide amendment to dissolve the city’s water works and allow the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System to take over, calling it “unconstitutional”.
While Amendment 5 received overwhelming support from voters in Mobile and Prichard as well as across the state during the general election, one precinct served by MAWSS did not vote in favor. The lawsuit, filed Thursday, claims the amendment did not receive a required majority.
“We are asking them through the grace of God to give this up,” Campbell-Morris said. “They have no respect for the will of the people.”
Campbell-Morris said the fight to dissolve the Prichard Water Board started in 2008, when residents became fed up with high water bills. After years of lobbying in Montgomery, State Senator Vivian Figures sponsored a bill to let voters decide. “I believe in the system,” Campbell-Morris said. “We will not lose focus. We will not give up the fight. I believe in America.”
A MAWSS spokesperson told Local 15 they could not comment on pending litigation. A lawyer who filed the lawsuit was not available for comment Thursday.
