By Associated Press
Mobile AL – After 15 years of trying, an annexation vote Tuesday finally succeeded in bringing a tax-rich commercial district into the city of Mobile. Voters in three nearby neighborhoods rejected the proposal.
"We were certainly hoping more of them would choose to become part of the city of Mobile. But we respect their choice," Mayor Sam Jones said of the results.
In a key commercial area along Schillinger Road and Airport Boulevard, residents voted 153-126 to join the city. The proposal was overwhelmingly rejected in the other three districts.
"I think the people in the west Mobile area are again saying we want to be left alone," said annexation opponent Donna Reed.
Overall turnout from the four separate voting districts was 39.7 percent, the Press-Register reported.
It was the city's first successful annexation drive in 15 years of trying to latch onto revenues from the commercial areas on the fast-growing western fringe near the Mobile Airport.
Mobile has been unable to expand on the east because of waterways and on the north because of other cities. The port city had a 2006 population of about 192,830, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Information from: Press-Register, http://www.al.com/mobileregister