Mayor
James Michael “Mike” Oakley
Centreville, AL
Mike Oakley currently serves as the Mayor of Centreville, Alabama. Elected in 2020, Oakley joins the unique ranks of municipal officials who got a five-year term due to legislative changes in voting years.
Oakley, from Centreville, has lived in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Virginia, as well as three years in overseas military duty.
After graduating from Bibb County High School, Oakley attended Livingston University (University of West Alabama), to play football, Wallace State-Hanceville as a member of their first basketball team and finally the University of Alabama, where he earned a degree in journalism/public relations and a letter and membership in the "A" Club in Track and Field.
During college, Oakley joined the Alabama Army National Guard which started a career that lasted 39 years and 10 months, culminating with his retirement having served as a Command Sergeant Major, the highest enlisted rank in the Armed Forces.
After working in various careers which covered journalism, public relations, economic development, and business as well as athletic administration at the University of Montevallo, Oakley published newspapers before joining Alabama Power as a public relations specialist and ended his career in Governmental Relations as the top liaison between the company, associations, organizations, and elected officials.
In 1998, Oakley was elected to the Bibb County Board of Education where he became involved in state and national issues working to enhance the ability of public education to benefit school-age children across the state and nation. Most of the 23 years he served was as president of the board, as elected by his peers. He was also elected, by his peers, as District Director of the Alabama Association of School Boards for two terms and was the incoming State President-Elect when he was elected mayor and had to resign from the Board of Education. He was a regular attendee in Montgomery and Washington DC., advocating for educational initiatives across the board.
Oakley also was elected State President of the Enlisted Association of the Alabama National Guard, a position he served in for six years. He also advocated in Montgomery and Washington DC, for military benefits for members of the Armed Forces.
After his mayoral election, during the "Covid years," Oakley reassessed his life and career and retired from corporate life. “I really liked my job and time with Alabama Power, annually one of the top places to work in the country, but I love serving as mayor,” he said. “It’s a direct opportunity to serve my community and to give back in positive and meaningful ways, something my family has done for generations.”
Oakley works hard to maintain a network of vital contacts to help move his town in an upwards direction. "Every organization I am involved with, every office I am elected to is to directly help Centreville," Oakley stated. "When I joined the Alabama City-County Managers Association and the Economic Development Association of Alabama, for example, those memberships are positive ways to spread the word about Centreville to important people across not only Alabama but the country as well. but just joining doesn't ensure success. You have to learn to network and have a positive outlook on all you do."
He is active in the Alabama League of Municipalities, the West Alabama Planning Agency, and other facets of organizations to help him help his town. He was elected president of the West Alabama Mayors Association for 2024. Oakley was elected to the League of Municipalities Board of Directors in 2023 and re-elected again in 2025.
