Tony Petelos is the first County Manager for Jefferson County, Alabama

Jefferson County, Alabama

Jefferson County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Alabama, with its county seat being located in Birmingham.As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Jefferson County was 658,466...

, USA having been selected by the County Commission in September 2011.

Petelos grew up in Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

's Ensley neighborhood.

Before being appointed county manager, Petelos was mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Hoover, Alabama

Hoover, Alabama

Hoover is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties in north central Alabama, in the United States. The largest suburb of Birmingham, the population of the city was 62,742 as of the 2000 census and 81,619 in the 2010 census. Hoover is part of the Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA and is also included in the...

. He was elected to the office in September 2004. A Republican, he previously served as the state's Commissioner of the Department of Human Resources, appointed by Governor Fob James

Fob James

Forrest Hood James, Jr., known as Fob James , is an American politician, a civil engineer, and an all-American half-back...

 in 1997. He also sits on the DHR state board, having been appointed by Governor Bob Riley

Bob Riley

Bob Riley may refer to:* Bob Riley, 52nd Governor of Alabama* Bob C. Riley, acting Governor of Arkansas for 11 days in 1975* Bob Riley , sports car designer and founder of Riley Technologies...

.

Petelos previously served in the Alabama House of Representatives

Alabama House of Representatives

The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal amount of districts, with each constituency containing at least 42,380 citizens. There are no term...

 from 1986 to 1997.

He is married to the former Teresa Bearden, a circuit judge in neighboring Bessemer

Bessemer, Alabama

Bessemer is a city outside of Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States eight miles west of Hoover. The population was 29,672 at the 2000 Census, but by the 2009 U.S...

. They met while both were students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham

University of Alabama at Birmingham

The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...

.