Herlihy Family Law
Alison Herlihy is a dedicated family law attorney with roots in Mobile, Alabama.
Herlihy Family Law
EP #9: From Judge to Mayoral Hopeful: Spiro Cheriogotis' Vision for Mobile
Spiro Cheriogotis brings an unexpected combination of legal acumen, business sense, and heartfelt community commitment to his candidacy for mayor of Mobile. His journey from biology major to respected judge reveals a man guided by both practical wisdom and deep faith—someone who recognizes when to pivot toward a more purposeful path.
Visit spiroformayor.com to learn how this unique blend of judicial experience, business acumen, and community vision could shape Mobile's next chapter. The election is August 26th—be part of choosing leadership that balances pragmatism with genuine heart for all citizens.
Subscribe to the Herlihy Family Law Podcast for more expert guidance on navigating family law matters with clarity and care. Have questions or need personalized assistance? Visit herlihyfamilylaw.com to learn how we can help you through your family law challenges.
Visit HerlihyFamilyLaw.com to learn more.
Visit HerlihyFamilyLaw.com to learn more.
Spiro joining me and sharing his story, his vision and his heart for the city of Mobile. It's always inspiring to hear from leaders who are grounded in both experience and integrity, and I know many of you will be paying close attention to his campaign in the month ahead. If you'd like to learn more about Spiro's platform or how to get involved, you can visit spiroformayor. com or follow him on social media at Spiro for Mayor.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Herlihy Family Law Podcast, your trusted source for expert insights on navigating family law matters with clarity and care. Whether you're tackling tough decisions or seeking guidance for your family's future, we're here to help. Let's get started.
Speaker 1:Hi everyone and welcome back to the Herlihy Family Law Podcast. I'm your host, allison Herlihy, and I'm so glad you're joining me today. On this show, we talk about the intersection of family law and community, and today's episode is a really special one. I'm joined by Spiro Cheriogotis, one of our candidates for mayor of Mobile in the upcoming August 2025 election.
Speaker 1:Spiro is a former prosecutor and a district judge who's dedicated his life to public service. He's also a small business owner, a family man and someone with deep passion for improving life for everyone in Mobile. In today's conversation, we'll talk about his journey from growing up in a tight-knit family business in Dothan, alabama, to become a respected leader in Mobile's legal system and now a candidate for mayor. We'll also explore his platform, which includes bold ideas around public safety, smart transportation and using artificial intelligence to make city services more efficient and responsive. Whether you're interested in local politics, community leadership or you just want to get to know one of the key voices shaping Mobile's future, you're going to love this conversation. Let's get started, spiro. Thank you for being here today.
Speaker 3:Oh, my pleasure. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I understand you were originally going to be pre-med at UA and then you ended up switching to law.
Speaker 3:How did?
Speaker 1:that journey happen.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I actually was pre-med. I graduated with a biology and chemistry degree, took the MCAT. I really was at the stage where I was had been invited to interview specifically here at South Alabama to enter that med school class. And I don't know if everybody gets this feeling, but sometimes you just know you're on the wrong path, that whatever journey you're on, you're heading in the wrong direction. And I respect my friends who are doctors and we need doctors in our lives but there was just something inside of me telling me that I was not, it wasn't meant for me and I'd really been working towards it for so long. So it was a hard decision to make.
Speaker 3:But I'll tell you, it was through prayer. Through prayer and guidance that I received from the good Lord, it became clear to me that law school is where I should go. So I got to go home and tell my parents that I wasn't going to med school. I was just about to go into it and that was fun. But you know they supported me and supported my decision and I got into the University of Alabama Law School eventually, after taking that LSAT, which was also fun, and the amount of doors and things that have happened that are good in my life. They boiled back down to that decision where I felt like the Lord truly spoke to me and said law was my calling.
Speaker 1:So I know you worked at the DA's office for a number of years. We used to be on the opposite side of a few cases back in the Strickland Youth Center days and then you went into private practice. How did you make the decision to pivot from practicing law to being a judge?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I enjoyed the practice of law. I enjoyed helping clients. I enjoyed helping clients. I enjoyed getting people back on the right track and out of some problems and getting back on their feet. But when Judge Bob Sherling he was retiring and I had prosecuted in his courtroom was assigned to his courtroom for a time and of course I had practiced in his courtroom as a defense attorney as well and he told me he just really encouraged me to consider it and that he thought it was something I needed to consider and at the time I'd only been in the practice of law for about seven years. At that point judges I thought were supposed to be old, but he encouraged me. And then I got some great encouragement from fellow friends and lawyers and again took that decision to prayer and came out very, with a very clear perception that that was something I should pursue. And thankfully Lucy said yes and word with that decision and I was so blessed to have been able to serve as judge. It's a great role.
Speaker 1:And you also on the side, you run your father's barbecue restaurant in Dosen. Is that right?
Speaker 3:That's right. I became a judge in 2018. But in 2015, lucy was pregnant with her first kids and, sadly, my father passed away that year. He had cancer. He struggled mightily against cancer. My father passed away that year. He had cancer. He struggled mightily against cancer, survived it well beyond the projections, but it finally did take him and dad, that was really his retirement gig.
Speaker 3:He had sold his primary business while I was in college and the restaurant at that point had been open for about a decade. It was, I think, 12 years old at that time and I just recognized that if I didn't step in and make sure the bills get paid, the licenses get renewed, you know that the financial portion of running that business didn't continue forward. It would have to close. And I'll tell you there's no way it would still be open today if it weren't for my employees that had been with our family for 20, in one case, 25 years and another 35 years Wow, truly like family and they were dependent upon that business, just like my grandfather. It was dependent. He was still alive and dependent on that income. So I knew I had to step in and I'm very thankful to say we're still open today. We're still winning best ribs every year.
Speaker 1:That's an accomplishment.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:How did growing up with a family business shape your work ethic and your approach to public service?
Speaker 3:So much I'm not sure that I didn't learn most of the lessons in my life working for my family business. I started working at nine. I started taking out the trash and sweeping and just doing housekeeping things, but being around my father and grandfather as they built that business really from scratch with the help of a lot of employees and our employees were not rich and well off and they had problems that we tried to help them through and so it taught me a lot about people and how you help people be a success and build their lives. But that work of just my dad was an exacting boss and if you told him something was done and that you had done your best, that better be true.
Speaker 1:I sound like my kind of man.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he was tough the job, my sweeping job. I learned early that I better sweep twice before I tell him I'm done. But learning to do your best at everything you do immediately on the first try Don't fool yourself into thinking mediocre is good enough, I learned there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how did your experience as a judge teach you about leadership and compassion?
Speaker 3:You have a lot of opportunities to be compassionate as a judge and the stories you hear, the things that you see families and people go through. It taught me to be more compassionate. I thought I was compassionate before I started, but it certainly taught me to be more compassionate for the things that people are going through. You really don't know all the things people are going through. From a leadership standpoint, I did have the opportunity to serve as the presiding district judge, and that was really on the heels of COVID. Even before COVID happened, I got together with my fellow judges and proposed a process that would help us to continue to fulfill our obligations to people and constitutional obligations, because a lot of courts were just not having court. That was the answer, but for district court that's not an option. If you get arrested today, you have to see a judge within three days.
Speaker 3:I learned how to lead in a room full of leaders and I learned how to tackle difficult problems. Every leader is going to face difficult problems and some of them cannot be foreseen. Nobody foresaw COVID and the problem with that.
Speaker 3:And I really enjoy being a presiding judge. You learn more about the personnel issues when you're the presiding judge and there are some. In the end, I'm just always trying to help people be their best self, put their best foot forward and live the best life that they can, not just for themselves but hopefully for others, and I certainly had some opportunities to do that as judge.
Speaker 1:If you were elected mayor, how would you improve public safety in Mobile If?
Speaker 3:you were elected mayor, how would you improve public safety in Mobile? One thing I think we have to say and recognize is that in many ways, Mobile is doing pretty good on public safety. We have reduced our numbers on auto thefts, home burglaries, breaking and entering. The list goes on and on. We continue to reduce those numbers. The thing that stands out to be a consistent issue in Mobile is gun violence, and so I want people to recognize that, hey, we are doing really well in some areas, especially when you compare if you compare us to our old self, we're doing well. If you compare us to other similarly sized cities, we're doing very well. Similarly sized cities, we're doing very well. But when it comes to gun violence one five-year-old playing outside of their apartment and getting caught by a stray bullet- is way too many.
Speaker 3:One nine-year-old asleep on her couch after school catching a stray bullet is one too many and I've seen those things. We have to attack gun violence from multiple levels. I think maybe the primary level is by intervening in lives early, providing clear path to opportunity, like through workforce development programs, really through after school programming, leadership and mentorship programs. So many of the kids I saw who were accused of these crimes. They had a level of hopelessness that I don't think most people can appreciate. They did not see a path, a pathway forward for themselves that would lead to success outside this life and we have to show that, we have to make that very clear the many pathways to opportunity and success we have here in Mobile.
Speaker 3:On the policing side, I think we have to directly intervene in gang violence. The vast majority of the youth gun violence is tied directly to gangs. We have technology now where we generally know the gang-affiliated individuals in our city. Now where we generally know the gang affiliated individuals in our city, I'd be happy to go and I plan to go directly to them. I want to offer pathways out right now. In Mobile we need 5,000 welders tomorrow. Bishop State is doing a fantastic job. Aidt they're doing fantastic jobs, training people for that kind of workforce and, like I do, welders get paid better than some lawyers.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah. I'll never forget when I first got out of law school, when I had a divorce case where my client was married to a welder and I looked at his paycheck and my paycheck and I was like this isn't right, hold up.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, it's true.
Speaker 1:It's a great career.
Speaker 3:Great career. And you look at electricians and plumbers, it's a great career, great career. And you look at electricians and plumbers, they are. These are some of the wealthier people in our city and I don't think enough people know that. And so I'll go directly to some of these affiliated people and say, hey, if you want to get into Bishop State, I'm here to help. If you want to get to AIDT, I'm here to help.
Speaker 3:And if you want to continue on the pathway that you're on, don't expect to operate in the dark, because we've got my, I've got my eye on you and if, the only if, you're committed to this life, I'm committed to putting you behind bars, because I think it's the only way you're going to live, to see 30. And I'd much rather you get to an age of wisdom that. I've seen it as a prosecutor. People go to prison and they charge with these crimes, convicted of these crimes, they go to prison and when they get out at 30, 31, 32, they don't go back, they don't rejoin this life. They finally reach that age of mental maturity where they can appreciate danger and risk and consequence, and so they make a new life for themselves and look, I want them to be alive to have that opportunity.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it's interesting because I think a lot of people do forget that, like, your frontal lobe of your brain, literally, is not fully developed until you're in your 20s. And it seems like in Mobile like the vast majority of these perpetrators of gun violence are like teenagers, or maybe 20, 21, 22 years old 14, or 14 to 24 is that window?
Speaker 3:yeah, and girls, frontal lobes fully form at 18, 19, boys it's not until you're 25, 26 something. We take longer to mature and I think everybody that's ever grown up knows that's true. Science says it's true and that's the saddest thing is we have young men making these life-ending, life-altering decisions before they've even reached that age and we have to address that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, along those lines. I know part of your platform highlights how we can close the gap between the big employers, such as Airbus, Austal, and underserved citizens. What are some ways that can happen?
Speaker 3:We need employees in Mobile. We need people, especially Mobilians working Mobile's jobs, especially Mobilians working Mobiles jobs. We have so many people coming from across the Bay, other places to work our jobs and if you look at recent chamber studies, 31% of the people who are unemployed in Mobile say it's because they lack reliable transportation. If you're telling me I can, if I can fix somebody's transportation issues and I can reengage a third of our workforce, that's something we have to do. Mobile spends a lot of money on public transportation. Right now we, frankly, we don't get the bang for our buck that we need. I'd love to reorganize that system and reinvigorate that system. I want to do something that fits the character of mobile.
Speaker 3:I like trolleys. Mobile used to be covered in rail lines and electric trolley routes. Those got torn up by car and tire companies many years ago. We don't have the money to invest in that infrastructure just yet, but I think we can do proof of concept with trolleys, with bus-based trolleys that are smaller. They're cheaper to buy than our buses. They're more nimble. I think they fit on our older, more narrow roadways in the older part of town than these large buses do. We need to make it something that is fun to use, safe to use, Easy to use.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's a great point. That's a great idea. Wow, so you've talked about using AI to improve traffic signals and city response. Can you explain how that might work? Because if it's me, I hear AI and I get freaked out.
Speaker 3:I hear you, I hear that. And AI? If AI doesn't scare you, you're not paying enough attention. But cities are using it. We don't have to reinvent the wheel to make things better in.
Speaker 2:Mobile.
Speaker 3:We can look at other cities that have done things successfully and improved their citizens' lives, and I don't think you have to drive around Mobile much to know that our streetlights could use some help. I drive down airport a lot, I drive down Dolphin Street a lot and a lot of times I'm sitting at a red light and there's nobody within two miles of me. Ai has been used in many cities. All you do you hook it to a camera system. So, rather than having a light that is timed or it's triggered by weight, but all that trigger knows is that something's there or maybe two cars are there, when actually there's 40 cars there, ai can take a picture image. Most of our larger intersections already have cameras on them. You just plug that information into an AI system and it can show you that, hey, we've got 46 cars backed up at this light. It's going to take 3.1 minutes to clear that intersection and then there's nobody over here, so we can skip that area completely. It has increased efficiency for lights in so many other cities and if I have to sit at another time light that is going to trigger every other light, whether there's somebody there or not.
Speaker 3:I might just go crazy in this town, but AI is used also. You know a lot of people have just general questions for people at city government. So there are all these customer service options out there. I don't like most of them. I like people talking to people, but through chat bots you're able to direct people to the right human being who can actually help them with their problem much quicker. They're relatively inexpensive. The truth is, ai can be used also to help you do predictive controls with your police vehicles. There are some really exciting things out there for AI. I don't want them to take over. I worry about a surveillance state, but AI is here and we should use it to our advantage.
Speaker 1:Like I said earlier, this is a podcast that's kind of about family law and our community. Family law is all we do here at my office. I think there's a lot of people that have the impression that Mobile is not a great place to raise a family. What would you say to those people?
Speaker 3:I've got four kids that I think would disagree. Mobile is so full of opportunity, certainly for future careers, but but we've invested so much money in our parks. The park that I live near has had a total transformation over the last five years. When you look at Mobile, if you like to be outdoors, there are opportunities to be on the water in minutes, there are opportunities to be out in the woods and nature in minutes, and you can also be downtown at a movie theater getting an ice cream in a matter of minutes. So Mobile, to me it has it all.
Speaker 3:I understand to me when people say that I think they're thinking of two things, and that is our crime the perception of our crime and the perception of our school systems. Yeah, I agree To me with the school system. The truth is like Mobile's magnet school system outperforms most of our private schools. It definitely outperforms Baldwin County's school system. It outperforms Sarah Land School System. We have great schools doing great things.
Speaker 3:We, as in general, even the non-magnet schools, are very much on par with other local areas. That doesn't mean we can't improve. That doesn't mean we don't have room to grow, and that's something that, as mayor, it's a county school system but it's affecting the citizens right here in Mobile. So it's something that I have been looking at, I will continue to look at. I really want the city to come in and assist on the front end with preschools. If you look at some of our schools that are struggling, those students often the students that are two and three grade levels behind often had no preschooling whatsoever, and I think that's an area where the city can step up and fill in a gap and get our students ready to learn the day they enter kindergarten and it will really improve our school scores. So that's something I look at.
Speaker 1:I think a lot of people don't realize that kindergarten isn't even mandatory. In the state of Alabama you might have children that are like seven years old going to school in the first grade for the first time, and if you compare that to children that have K-4 opportunities, they're going to school in the first grade for the first time and if you compare that to children that have K-4 opportunities, they're going to be a world ahead.
Speaker 3:Night and day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so your campaign really emphasizes unity and optimism. Where does that come from for you personally? Why are those such important values to you?
Speaker 3:Unity is just something I grew up with. I talked about our family businesses. Our employees came from all walks of life, all kind of different backgrounds, and we believe in treating people with love and respect and I just want to lift people up. When I look around and I see people struggling and I don't see skin color, religion, political beliefs. I see people that need help and I want to help them and that's just something that was instilled in me from a very young age. My grandfather came back to America. He was born here but re-immigrated to Greece. He came back with nothing and he had to work himself up and he helped a lot of people along the way and a lot of people helped him. So we need unity. We need to start seeing each other as people and stop dividing each other ourselves from each other with labels yeah we're all just people and we suffer from a lot of the same afflictions and issues.
Speaker 3:and being positive, that's something, something that it's been a part of me for many years. I think a lot of people. It's easy to look at the things that are wrong and ignore the things that are right, and I think that keeps you stuck. It's hard to move forward if you're constantly focused on everything that's wrong. If the glass is always half empty, you never feel satisfied. If you focus on the positive, I think you tend to find more solutions to problems instead of focusing in on the problem. Yeah, be solution oriented. And look, we're a big city. We still have problems. No matter how good I do as mayor, if the people choose to elect me, we'll still have problems to face. But that doesn't mean we're doing a bad job. That doesn't mean things are terrible. It just means we got more solutions to find.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, so running a campaign raising four kids? Lucy works in her family business. What's your secret to balance and just keeping it all going?
Speaker 3:You know, I think one of the secrets of life is to be in the present moment, don't bury yourself in the past. I come from a faith system that says, hey, our past is forgiven, don't be so focused on the future. Hey, we got to think about the future, but don't worry about it so much. This mindset of hey, just imagine what it will be like if everything works out for you. It relieves a lot of stress and anxiety. And even if it doesn't work out perfectly, that's just a solution that needs to be found.
Speaker 3:We try to live in the present moment. If we're with our kids, we try to be with our kids. If we're at work, we try to be working just as hard as we possibly can to get as much done. And just remember, you know, in a business, in a city, in government, you're never done. There is no finish line. It's just constant improvement has to be the goal. And don't beat yourself up if you didn't check that last thing off the list for the to-dos that day. Start back on it tomorrow. And when you get home, enjoy your family, love on your children, find fun things to do together. We got to play my daughter's in a play right now at the playhouse, at the park. So we're going to spend three hours together on Sunday with a bunch of our family coming to town, and it's going to be great and we'll both be fully there. We won't be worried about campaigns or work or grocery stores. We'll be there in the moment.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, we're going to do a little rapid fire lightning round of a couple quick questions, so you just tell me whatever is the first thing you think of. Okay, are you an early bird or a night owl?
Speaker 3:My whole life.
Speaker 1:I've been a night owl and lately I am an early bird Because we're getting old.
Speaker 3:What's your favorite local restaurant in Mobile? I do love Noja when I get to go.
Speaker 1:It's special. Yeah, what's a hobby you wish you had more time for.
Speaker 3:All of them. Golf, fishing, hunting, all of them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you weren't in law or politics, what would you be doing?
Speaker 3:God, that's a great question. Maybe in the grocery business at this point, I don't know, I'd probably be opening another barbecue restaurant right here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what's one thing people would be surprised to learn about you.
Speaker 3:Oh man, God, that's hard. My name means to breathe. I like that one. Spiro means to breathe. Spiro spelled with an E means to hope. Not many people know that one.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's very cool.
Speaker 3:All right.
Speaker 1:When's election day?
Speaker 3:August 26th and we need to go at the polls.
Speaker 1:That's right. All right. That brings us to the end of today's episode. A huge thank you to Spiro Charigatas for joining me and sharing his story, his vision and his heart for the city of Mobile. It's always inspiring to hear from leaders who are grounded in both experience and integrity, and I know many of you will be paying close attention to his campaign in the month ahead. If you'd like to learn more about Spiro's platform or how to get involved, you can visit SpiroForMayor. com or follow him on social media at SpiroForMayor. And, as always, thank you for listening to the Hurley Family Law Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, leave us a review or share it with someone who might find it valuable. Until next time, take care, stay informed and keep working toward a stronger, more connected community.
Speaker 3:Love it.
Speaker 2:Thank you for tuning in to the Hurley he Family Law podcast. Remember you don't have to face family law challenges alone. Visit hurleyhefamilylaw. com or call 251-432-7909 to learn more.