Bill Meador’s first foray into politics was a rousing success, as he won the Demopolis City Council seat for District 4 last week.

“For a long time, I’ve really been interested in all of the communities that I’ve lived in,” Meador said, “and I’ve been active in them. This was like the next step for me. I’ve been on the Park and Rec board as chairman, been through Leadership Marengo, I’ve done Chamber of Commerce, I’ve done Country Club board. I’ve just really enjoyed being involved with the community. I just want to be a part of what Demopolis has going for it. That’s the thing that I really enjoy the most, sort of being inside what’s going on, and would love to have a opportunity to be a part of bringing something to the city in terms of a business or industry.

“I guess what prompted me to run was that Woody Collins was not going to run, and he’s done such a good job with District 4 and the city overall, keeping us on the path, going back to when Austin Caldwell was mayor, and even before him, when Hugh Allen was mayor. I grew up in Uniontown, and I didn’t come over here a lot, but I just grew to love it.”

Meador has lived in Demopolis since 1989, having married the former Catherine Melton of Demopolis in 1983, and starting Omni Sports in 1998. They have two children, Mary Catherine, 23, and William, 21. Meador said he has seen what Demopolis has to offer, and areas where it could prosper even more.

“We’ve got so many things to draw on, so many assets,” he said. “I’d love to see the hospital expand to do more than it does. The city school system is just absolutely terrific. The River Walk project — which the Park and Rec board had talked about five or six years ago about doing something down at the river in terms of the floating docks, a better boat ramp, more activities; we already maintained the pavilion — that is such a great draw for people.”

Meador has a few city projects in mind when his term begins on Nov. 3.

“There are some things that we have to deal with,” he said. “The Arch Street project is under scrutiny right now. That will probably be cleared up and finalized by the time I take office. We’ve got to look at hiring a police chief; that will be a rigorous process. We need to get the best possible person that we can. Demopolis is, obviously, the hub of the Black Belt, and we need to keep it safe for our kids. I’d love to see us do some sort of a drug task force where we coordinate with other state agencies to really delve into the problem of drugs.

“I said in my initial press release that I’m not looking just at District 4. We need to look at all of Demopolis. I know that the sewer project in Thomas Moore’s district (District 1) is much needed, for example. Those kinds of things, taking care of Demopolis, but doing it within the framework of the budget, because we have to be aware of the economic times.”

For his first journey into politics, Bill Meador seems ready to go to work.

“I am appreciative of the support within the district and outside the district,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting started.”