Former Mobile police chief weighs political run in 2026: ‘I’ll be upsetting the balance’

Paul Prine built a passionate grassroots campaign that punched well above its weight. But, he says, money is what played the decisive role in Mobile’s mayoral race where he finished third.

The retired police chief, who has an ongoing federal lawsuit against Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s administration and the Mobile City Council over his 2024 dismissal, is looking ahead and is embracing the potential of running another campaign.

Prine said a big decision looms in the next four to eight weeks.

Will “Prine Time” return in 2026?

The 54-year-old former Mobile police chief, whose falling out with Stimpson’s administration last year drew public attention, says he is weighing his next move — and it could shake up the political landscape.

The most obvious path would be a run for Mobile County sheriff, setting up a potential high-profile contest against incumbent Sheriff Paul Burch. But Prine says other opportunities are also on the table, including a bid for Alabama’s 1st Congressional District or a run for the Alabama State Senate in District 34.

Whatever he decides, Prine says he is aware of the impact.

“I’ll be upsetting the balance in any capacity,” he said.

Despite falling short in August’s mayoral race, Prine believes politics still holds a place for him. Well-spoken and confident during the debates, he said he is prepared to compete for any office he chooses in 2026.

The numbers support his confidence. Prine finished with 8,186 votes after spending just $117,901, the lowest total among the four candidates. His vote count trailed Mayor-elect Spiro Cheriogotis by about 3,200 votes, but Cheriogotis spent more than $1 million in the lead-up to the August 27 election.

In practical terms, Prine earned six times more votes per dollar than Cheriogotis, whose campaign was bolstered by Stimpson’s endorsement.

“I think we were able to convince people there was more depth to this person than just being the Chief of Police,” Prine said in a recent interview with AL.com. “I would agree that I outworked all of the opponents. I certainly, in my opinion, outdebated them. I certainly outperformed in giving direct answers to questions and not being political about it. At the end of the day, money does matter.”

In this Q&A, Prine reflects on his mayoral campaign, discusses the challenges facing Mobile, and opens up about what might come next.

Mayoral campaign

Former Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine, a candidate for mayor, speaks during the Historic Districts Mayoral Forum on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at Dauphin Way United Methodist Church in Mobile, Ala.John Sharp

Q: Reflecting back on the mayor’s race – What were some of the positives and negatives as you reflect upon your run for mayor?

I think one of the great things that came from that, and I don’t mind going on the record and saying this, is that after a 30-year stellar (law enforcement) career and ending it in such a public and negative way with the current administration, it was important for me to get out in front of the community and show the community that I was not this person I was portrayed as. We came out of this election certainly with good brand name recognition and for people to see the real Paul Prine, and not the Paul Prine who someone said is that person. I think we did very well in demonstrating that publicly.

I’m really proud of all the candidates. The (campaign) was very clean. On March 11, I made a declaration asking the candidates to run a clean campaign. I think that is important for the voters, because the voters need to vote on people based on their vision, plans, merits and qualifications and not be distracted.

Unfortunately, there are those and probably even in my camp, but certainly those in other camps, who were saying negative things on social media. You won’t ever be able to get away from that. I think that is unfortunate.

As far as the cons are concerned, I do believe that it’s disingenuous to the voters that you have such a distraction of moving at least 13 of the 37 polling locations and that is roughly 35 percent … one out of every three polling places that were moved. I have scores of messages, phone calls and the like from people who said they showed up to a polling location only for it to be closed and they had no information on where to go. People were going to one location to vote for the past three-to-four (election) cycles, were told to go (to another) location. My sister went to three locations and she finally took a stance she was going to vote so they let her vote provisionally at the third location.

I think it’s unfortunate that happened. Annexation is supposed to be the cause on why we moved these voting precincts. That was two years ago. My argument is this … it was either by design, and no one wants to think that including me, or it was just incompetence. Neither of those are good reasons nor excuses, especially when we are in 2025.

Nonetheless, it is what it is. As a man of faith, I believe in destiny will come in the good way the Lord wants it to come.

I think irrespective of this, that Mayor-elect is a smart and capable man. My hope is that not only the citizens of the City of Mobile and the county support him but, in supporting him, they also hold his administration accountable for the people’s money, and also the department heads for particularly in lowering crime.

Q: Did you consider endorsing ahead of the runoff election (on September 23)? You had an interesting diverse group of supporters. Were you asked by either candidate to do an endorsement?

Both camps of those in the runoff, both Barbara Drummond and Spiro Cheriogotis, reached out to me. I met with Spiro and had a great conversation with him. I never heard anything back from Ms. Drummond. She called, and I told her we’d meet the following week, but I didn’t meet back with her.

I told (Cheriogotis) it was hard for me to publicly endorse him considering that he had committed (to maintaining employment for) some of the current administrators who were involved in the current litigation I have (against the city). For me to publicly endorse him, knowing he was keeping some of those people on, it was problematic to me. So, I didn’t endorse anyone.

My voter base was split. I know some went for Spiro. I know some of them went to Barbara. I think this is important to say that municipal and city elections in the State of Alabama, specifically in Mobile, are non-partisan. My goal and objective was to unify people. If I was to publicly endorse anyone, I would have potentially split up a lot of my voter base and that was going to be problematic to me considering the current dynamic of the Mayor-elect and some of the people on his team.

Q: Your supporters were very passionate and diverse mix, which is rare in a Mobile city election. Did you ever reflect on how you were able to get a racially diverse mix coalition. Reflect on your base?

Supporters of former Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine chant and cheer on their favorite candidate for Mobile mayor during a rally on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at Government Plaza in Mobile, Ala. Prine announced his candidacy for mayor during the gathering outside the same auditorium where, less than a year ago, the Mobile City Council fired him from his job as police chief.John Sharp

A: I think it’s the life of public servitude that I’ve lived. I always believed in treating everyone with dignity, class and respect. You cannot fake influence. Those who know me, you’ve seen that across the spectrum in the City of Mobile – white, black and otherwise. The things that were said about me, they know by knowing me that this isn’t that guy. I think that is seen what is resonated by most Mobilians. The truth is the people I grew up with live in Prichard, Chickasaw, Mobile and Semmes … you’ve seen the people who knew me were willing to stand publicly to fight for me and say this is the guy who I chose to fight for in this campaign.

Q:Wiley Blankenship, who helped run Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson’s campaign, noticed that the loyalty of your voters were almost unlike anything seen in Mobile before – and that it was highly unlikely a large percentage of them would return for the runoff. He said some were very angry. Was there frustrations among your supporters, and was part of that a general frustration expressed at local government or did that stem from nationalized politics?

It could be a combination of all of it. The main reason why Trump is so popular with the mainstream, everyday citizenry of the country, is he’s perceived — whether he is or not – fighting for the average, everyday guy. It could be a little bit of that. But I would reflect that maybe Blankenship said my supporters were like that, but I also ran across supporters across the field with everyone one of the candidates who were just as vile and ugly to me and my team members. I just think it’s the current climate of today’s politics.

I understand people are emotional and passionate, but I will tell you this, I’ve seen the ugly side of politics. I don’t understand it. I’m from the old school where I can disagree with you and at least part ways in a cordial manner and leave the dialogue and communication open for a different day.

Q: As the former police chief, you made public safety among your biggest priorities. The Mobile Police Department is excited to get the number of police officers up to 500 (for the first time in years) and toward 520. You mentioned hiring an extra 100 officers if you had been elected. What should the public keep an eye on with Mobile police and crime in this city?

I am proud to tell you when I started my campaign on March 11, no one was talking about specifics on the issues that we ended up talking about through the runoff on the Election Day. That meant talking about the economy, workforce development, transportation and certainly public safety. Those were the talking points I started off with on March 11. I think the other candidates realized, ‘Hey he has his finger on the pulse’ and on the issues that mattered most.

Those are the big issues in Mobile, especially workforce development if we are going to change the outcome of some of these kids who are growing up in atrocious families. I’ll be frank to you, they don’t have opportunity.

But while on one hand you say we will do this, you cannot forsake the vast majority of law abiding citizens and fail to protect the citizens for a few activists and a few criminals. You cannot do that. We need to find out who these problem (youths are) and get to the root of the problem and offer a way out of their circumstances. Not a handout, but a hand up. We have to find a way, and it has to be within the school system, to steer and direct these children to a path of prosperity and wealth which ultimately changes everyone’s lives if they do the right thing and sacrifice for themselves and their families.

We talk about holding the administration accountable. It all rest, rises and falls with what the crime rate looks like and the perception of crime.

Political future

Q: Now with the mayoral election is over with, your supporters are still out there. How do you keep that base of support going forward?

That’s why I didn’t, per se, come out and endorse a candidate in the runoff. It’s because any other election other than a local election in Alabama, you have to declare a party. If I decide to get involved and take another shot at an upcoming election next year or the years to come, I may even split up some of my own base because of party politics. That wasn’t my goal in trying to unify people in the mayor’s race.

But in a county, state or federal race I would declare certainly a party and that, in of itself, would divide some of my supporters. Because of the current climate and temperature of politics today, I think that is unfortunate. There would be people who are supportive of me, but if they declared one party or the other, they would say ‘I can’t go that way’ … if my base was going to be split it, will be split by whatever decision I make in the future and not split by endorsing one of the candidates in the runoff for mayor.

Q: You have said before that you voted for President Trump. Would you run as a Republican?

I am conservative. I would run on a Republican ticket.

I believe that when I started voting in the early 90s, I was from the mindset of politics was either center-left or center-right on policy issues. Today, I believe people are center-left or center-right. But unfortunately, I believe the spin in media and certainly from politicians have done a great job in dividing all of us and making everyone think they are way far to the left on these policy issues or way far to the right. We have to find a way to bring decorum, professionalism and respect back to politics. I don’t know, just because I said that, it will ever happen.

I would run as a Republican largely because of my moral beliefs. Everyone has a cause, regardless of what politics they follow. For some people, it may be the pocketbook or the economy. For some people, it may be local social issues. For me it’s about morality issues. That, in of itself, is a hot topic for a lot of people. I refuse to back down to water down my message to get someone’s vote. Remember this, if I water down my message to get your vote, I would have to continue to water down my message to continue getting your vote to stay in office. That end part, in my opinion, is what’s wrong with politics.

Q: Are you looking at the 2026 elections?

Certainly, at the biggest levels (of government), you got the Alabama Senate job. You have the 1st congressional district position, and you got the State Senate (District 34) job, and some county races coming up.

Something in my wheelhouse is that having 30 years of law enforcement experience is the Mobile County Sheriff’s job. There are a lot of people who are inquiring and pushing me to run for the Mobile County Sheriff’s position. I simply have not made up my mind.

I would think unlike the mayor’s race, where I got in five months before the election that if I get involved in any race, it would be (decided) in the four to eight weeks.

Q: Do you have a good relationship with incumbent Republican Sheriff Paul Burch?

Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine (left) and Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch (right) answer questions from the media during a news conference on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at the Sheriff’s Office in downtown Mobile, Ala. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

I’m glad you bring this up because I’ve been in law enforcement for 30-plus years and because of my position as the Chief of Police with the city, I know every single one of these politicians. To the point where I have good relationship working with Sheriff Burch? I absolutely do.

For me, politics isn’t personal. I get why it’s personal. I’ve seen it up close and firsthand.

I’m effectively retired. But I got a lot of life in me, and I feel like there is a lot more I can contribute to society. The only thing I’ve done as an adult is government service and government work. It’s what I know best.

Q: If not Sheriff, would you be interested in going to Montgomery?

I want to dabble a little bit in politics. I believe at any level of politics, the elected leaders have a moral responsibility to the greater good of the people in our society. That’s where you affect change. You don’t affect the change at the Chief of Police level you affect change at the mayor’s level in city politics. If you are going to affect change, you don’t necessarily do it as a deputy at the Sheriff’s department. You do it as the Sheriff, the elected officials.

The biggest problem or me in jumping into another campaign is I know all of them, and I like all of them. You have an open seat in (Alabama State) Senate District 34. Rusty Glover and Doug Harwell are the top names that come to mind. I know those guys. They are great guys. I’m going to upset the balance in any capacity. I know Jerry Carl. I have a lot of respect for him. He’s giving a run in District 1. If I get in there, I’ll upset him and the people who support him.

I will say this and I’m enjoying the campaign, it’s a little bit different coming from not being a politician to being one. If you’ve been a politician, you have a voting record like Ms. Drummond and Ms. Hudson, you have a record of some sort. That would be with anyone in office. It makes me the newcomer and something they can latch onto and discuss and debate and whatever. In that regard, I can see it being a little bit challenging.

I did enjoy (the mayoral campaign). I learned a lot about people I thought I knew as the Chief. I do like Connie Hudson, and she looked at me one time and said, ‘you seem to be enjoying this?’ I said, yes, I did enjoy it.

Q: Issues were raised about your residency during the early part of the campaign. Are you living in Saraland?

I’m living in Saraland. It will not matter if I run countywide. I made it vocal and clear when I ran for mayor, we lived on East Drive. I made it transparent to people. I don’t’ think many people took issue with that. The truth is I moved back to Saraland and safety does matter. That was one of the reasons. Schools matter and safety matters. It’s one of the reasons I moved up there 20-plus years ago. I wanted to make sure my children got to go to a really good public school, and Saraland is one of the best and they did. And to make sure we lived in an area where my family could be safe.

Now that I’m no longer involved in public safety in Mobile, I still must ensure the safety of my family. Even if you live in a gated community, at some point, we all have to come out and mingle among society. Those stray bullets don’t have names on it. We saw it at Sage Park (in April). Cailee Knight is one of them, where a young lady was shot and killed (in 2023) for doing nothing but being a 9 year old child sleeping on her couch. Those things are important, certainly, for me. I think I was transparent about it. I don’t think I did anything nefarious in that regard.

Q: We are few weeks away from Mayor Sandy Stimpson retiring. You had the most high-profile butting of heads with the mayor during his 12 years in office. What’s your assessment of Stimpson and his time in office?

A: I’ll be very direct about this, and you heard me say this on the campaign trail, but in many regards that Sandy has bene one of the best mayors we’ve had in 35 years. Saying that, I came in under Mike Dow as mayor and he had a lot of good things he did, too. The first eight years of Sandy’s administration was marked with huge success. I think a lot of that had to do with Paul Wesch, his then-Chief of Staff. When the current Chief of Staff (Jim Barber, also a former police chief) since the later part of 2020 is when the mayor had a lot of problems with the upper staff and executive level staff. Why he allowed the Chief of Staff to have these issues with department heads and executive leaders is unbeknown to me.

But I’ll say this, he’s done a very good job at a time when we needed him the most. I will say that he just didn’t handle my situation appropriately. But as you know, that will work its way through (the federal court system). I’d be humble to say that I really do wish him the best if he plans to retire, if he is going into full retirement. I wish him and his family all the best.

Q: Have you had a chance to talk privately with the mayor, one on one?

We tried mediation. But since litigation started, we haven’t had that conversation. I’m sure at some point we will down the road. Sandy just didn’t handle my situation (well). I have to tell you this that the issues between with Sandy and I were not directly between Sandy and I, they were all with the Chief of Staff, Mr. Barber, and that has created this fiasco.

I wish Sandy all the best. He’s done a remarkable job. I think he’s left a lasting legacy on the mark on this city that no other mayor, I think will be able to carry.

Q: What is the status of the lawsuit? (the lawsuit, filed last December, accuses city leaders of disparaging Prine and that a report about police misconduct while he was the chief was designed to ruin his reputation).

I will tell you that since you brought it up, the week after the General Election, we asked the Kenyen Brown report to be unsealed. There was no privileged information in there. The judge seemed fit to unseal it. The public had the right to see it. It cost the city $300,000. I put it on my social media page. The good things about me, as Chief of Police, were redacted. There is conflicting information in that report on whether I said ‘f-the public.’ I made it available.

It goes to show you that the information was redacted and there was no reason to redact the information other than the current administration wanted to paint a narrative about me that were not so. My argument is we should have never made some of those allegations public if we couldn’t substantiate it.

Q: Anything about that process you regretted at all leading to your dismissal as Chief of Police? It certainly surprised a lot of people to see what was happening at the time when it was occurring.

No. I don’t know if I would have handled it differently. Once it was leaked to the media that I was put on administrative leave, that is ugly in and of itself. If you don’t get in front of that narrative, and we’re talking about a 30-year reputation that was attacked. You put that information out that a person or a political figure at that level is put on suspension or leave, you have to find a way to get in front of that narrative. You cannot do what I did and take it public if my hands were dirty. My hands were clean.

I did exactly what I was asked to do. I reduced attrition in the department, and we did it by 48 percent and to reduce crime, and we did it by double digit in every category of crime in particularly 65 percent in 2-1/2 years regarding homicide cases. We had a reduction in attrition.

I do believe some of it had to do with just maybe some of the minority (city) councilors would say is being too tough on crime. We had some unfortunate use of force incidents with the city. While they are unfortunate, we now know there was a lot of talks and dealings behind the curtain, so to speak, that it was time for Prine to go. I was willing to go. But the way my situation was handled was unfortunately. It was not handled with dignity and character. It was a lesson learned for everyone that there is a better way to handle things.

Q: Your faith was on display during the campaign. Tell me about where you go to church and how faith plays a role in your public life?

I go to Calvary Temple Assembly of God in Saraland. My family goes there. We’ve been there seven to eight years and I felt spiritually that is where me and my family are fed.

I don’t really track organized religion. I think in many regards, religion is part of the problem in of itself in our society. For me, it’s about being spiritually fed.

I know that faith became a thing on the campaign trail. I think a lot of the candidates, truthfuly, we want to appeal to people that we are morally good people. I think most people recognize that once we give a statement, we have to qualify that when it comes to being a good person, the only thing you can qualify that is the life you live and are living is up to a moral code that is certainly more than your own.

For me, it’s very personal. Twenty-four years ago this month, in 2001, I was shot in the line of duty and gave my heart to Christ laying on my back. I had a revelation of death and a revelation of my savior. Those things are not talking points to me. It’s how I try to live my life. I say that to say it doesn’t make me a perfect person at all no more than it does a preacher, Billy Graham or anyone else. It just simply means that I understand that my spiritual responsibility to the whole belongs to my savior and that I’m held accountable to a higher authority than myself.