2 Developers, Former Judge on Ballot for Open JeffCo Commission Seat

By Solomon CrenShaw Jr.

Probate Judge James Naftel III used a 1971 Lipton TV commercial — Is it soup yet? — to address the ballot to fill the vacant District 5 position on the Jefferson County Commission.

“It is soup. It is,” Naftel said Thursday. “We have three official candidates and one who didn’t have enough signatures, so her name will not appear on the ballot. The ballots are being printed and delivered to the absentee (voting office) today.”

District 5 voters will choose from recently retired Alabama Supreme Court Justice Mike Bolin, Jeff O. Wise and David Silverstein.

“Evidently, retirement didn’t suit him,” Naftel said, “so he’s running for District 5.”

Silverstein and Wise are developers.

Silverstein is a principal with Bayer Properties and president of The FiveStone Group. He is a developer whose projects have included The Summit and the Pizitz building in downtown Birmingham.

Wise handles commercial and residential developments. One of his more recent projects is Letson Farms in McCalla.

“We had one potential candidate (Antiqua Cleggett) who filed right at the last minute on Tuesday (the qualifying deadline),” Naftel said. “It

See RACE, page 9