John Squires announces bid for Anniston Ward 1 Council seat
The 53-year-old Squires, a military veteran and hiring manager at On Time Staffing, will face incumbent Lewis Downing and Ben New.
Originally from Illinois, Squires said his career has taken him across the globe.
'When I lived in Illinois, I went into the military,' he said. 'Eventually moved down to Texas, where I spent 20 years before I went around the world while I was in the military.'
After his service, he moved to Dallas and later relocated to Anniston in 2019 through a job transfer with Honeywell.
His educational background includes a paralegal degree from El Centro College in Dallas and a political science degree from Jacksonville State University.
Though he has never held elected office, Squires said his work and life experiences have prepared him to serve.
He said Anniston's leadership has had time to deliver results in the last five years, adding: 'Some things have gotten done and some things have not.'
He said he wants to help ensure Anniston residents can find empl;oyument.
'Our town actually has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state,' he said. 'I want to change that.'
He said he's committed to working with local K-12 schools to boost educational attainment and said he would be a 'champion' for students.
Squires called the city's trash problem 'a multi fold problem.' He said some residents struggle to pay their garbage bill, especially those on fixed incomes.
'We're not hearing solutions,' he said.
He floated the idea of using community service programs and drawing on an Oxford-style model where residents receive free trash pickup.
Jobs, Squires said, are at the heart of his platform.
'What the city needs first is jobs,' he said.
He expressed strong support for small businesses and said he hopes to connect them with veterans, disabled individuals and those seeking second chances. 'Some of the best workers I've met are people who have had a problem,' he said. 'They're trying to do it better. Why don't we encourage them?'
Squires said city leadership should be transparent and accessible.
'I totally believe in it,' he said. 'If you see me walking my dog, I want you to be able to come up and say, 'Hey, Councilman Squires — call me John.''
He also spoke about supporting veterans more effectively.
'We need to help our veterans. We need to help them get their benefits,' Squires said, proposing better staffing of veteran service offices, including the use of volunteers.
Squires said he believes in second chances for residents who have faced hardships.
'People make mistakes,' he said. 'There are federal grant programs that help hire people with second chances.'
He noted that many companies he's working to bring into the area are supportive of that mission.
Outside of his professional and civic ambitions, Squires has also engaged with local students. For the past two years, he has organized a reading contest for area elementary school children and said he plans to launch a writing contest next year for older students.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Buzz Feed
a day ago
- Buzz Feed
Sydney Sweeney Is A Registered Republican
Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican. A viral post on X by the user @time222smoke first claimed that the actor was a registered member of the party. According to publicly available voter registration records that BuzzFeed viewed, Sydney has been registered to the Republican Party of Florida since June 2024. The news comes after Sydney faced backlash for her "great jeans" American Eagle ad, in which she said, "Genes are passed down from parent to offspring, often determining traits like eye color, personality, and even hair color. My jeans are blue." White House communications manager Steven Cheung subsequently called criticism that the ad acted as a right-wing signal for whiteness "dense liberal thinking" and 'cancel culture run amok.' Sydney previously faced criticism in 2022 for posting a series of photos from a "surprise hoedown" she'd thrown for her mother's birthday, in which guests wore MAGA-style hats and one was spotted seemingly wearing a "Blue Lives Matter" shirt. In response, Sydney said at the time, "An innocent celebration for my moms milestone 60th birthday has turned into an absurd political statement, which was not the intention. Please stop making assumptions." BuzzFeed has reached out to representatives for Sydney for comment.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Fact check: Photograph shows Boris Johnson and ex-wife at university
A photo that has been widely shared on social media claimed to show former prime minister Boris Johnson with disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. A caption hardcoded onto the photo reads: 'Mossad agent Robert Maxwell's daughter Ghislaine and one of her lovers. Boris something or other.' Evaluation The image shows Mr Johnson with his ex-wife Allegra Mostyn-Owen in 1986, a year before the couple married. The facts The image was taken in 1986 by photographer Dafydd Jones. According to the caption on the photographer's website it shows Mr Johnson at the Sultan's Ball at Oxford Town Hall on March 10 of that year. The caption says that the woman with Mr Johnson is Allegra Mostyn-Owen. Mr Johnson and Ms Mostyn-Owen married a little over a year later. A photograph Mr Jones took 18 months earlier of Maxwell shows she is not the woman pictured with Mr Johnson. Links Post on X (archived) Second post on X (archived) Photograph with caption (archived) FreeBMD – Marriages 1987 (archived) Ghislaine Maxwell photograph (archived)
Fox News
2 days ago
- Fox News
This is how Trump can break defiant sanctuary cities
America's immigration crisis is something even more dangerous—the deliberate erosion of the rule of law. Over 560 jurisdictions now operate as sanctuary cities, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Sanctuary city policies don't just ignore federal authority—they embolden criminals, handcuff law enforcement, and leave innocent Americans to pay the price. These cities believe they're untouchable, but there is a solution hiding in plain sight. President Trump already showed the nation how to deal with institutions that defy federal law. When Columbia University refused to address antisemitism, the Trump administration froze its federal funding and won. That same strategy can dismantle sanctuary policies city by city. We need a Trump-style course correction—one that applies financial pressure and legal accountability to restore the rule of law. And make no mistake, sanctuary cities don't just resist immigration enforcement, they force taxpayers to subsidize, feed, and house an invasion force that is causing riots and flooding our streets with crime. Socialism flows from the top down—through blue cities, blue states, and leftist institutions. These cities normalize defiance, celebrate lawlessness, and place politics above public safety. I speak not only as an attorney but as a legal immigrant who deeply believes in the American Dream and in the laws that protect it. Between June 2023 and July 2024, the New York City Department of Correction only enforced 4% of ICE detention requests. This means they allowed thousands of violent criminals to walk free after being flagged for criminal deportation. Two of them later murdered an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer. California's Democrats promote and protect the same lawlessness. Since 2022, California declined over 13,000 ICE detainer requests including 72 involving homicide charges. When violent protests erupted in Los Angeles in 2025, requiring the National Guard's intervention, it became painfully clear this was coordinated, intentional chaos. Local leaders' refusal to enforce immigration laws tells Americans their safety is not a priority. They mask that message in moral rhetoric—pretending it's about protecting the vulnerable. But who is protecting the law-abiding citizens, victims, and business owners? We must start asking who is protected in these so-called sanctuary cities? America is a nation of laws, not loopholes. However, the growing sanctuary city movement to elevate ideology over enforcement threatens that foundation. If these cities ignore immigration laws today, what stops them from ignoring federal civil rights protections, environmental rules, or national security directives tomorrow? Nothing. Fortunately, President Trump already demonstrated a playbook that works. In 2025, his administration held Columbia University accountable after it accepted millions in taxpayer dollars but failed to address antisemitism, violating Title VI. When Columbia refused to act, the administration froze $400 million in federal funding. The school quickly agreed to pay $221 million, reform its policies and settle. That's how you deal with elite institutions that believe they're above the law. We should apply that same strategy to sanctuary cities. First, defund sanctuary cities. In January 2017, President Trump signed an executive order allowing the federal government to withhold DOJ and DHS grants from sanctuary jurisdictions. In 2018, California lost $200 million in federal funds and quickly began cooperating. President Trump should double down on this strategy: withhold DOJ funding, cut FEMA grants, pull HUD money, slash Community Development Block Grants—anything sanctuary cities rely on. Even if courts block defunding broadly, federal agencies can still condition grants on compliance and reallocate funds to law-abiding cities. Next, sue sanctuary cities under the Supremacy Clause. Trump's DOJ sued California in 2018 over Senate Bill 54, forcing the state to scale back its sanctuary protections. In July 2025, the administration filed a new Supremacy Clause suit against New York City. Similar lawsuits are underway in Los Angeles, Chicago, and cities across New Jersey and Illinois. These legal actions should go further—seeking injunctions and even criminal referrals for officials who knowingly obstruct federal enforcement. We deserve leaders who put citizens first, protect the innocent and hold the guilty accountable. And we deserve a country that honors its laws because without them, there is no America. America First cities are rising. Trump should teach sanctuary cities a lesson by defunding and suing them into compliance. It's the fastest way to protect our citizens and teach a lasting lesson.
