Hoover, Ala. (WIAT) - Jefferson County may finally have a county manager in place. But filling that position will leave Hoover without a mayor.

Jefferson County Commissioners have struggled to satisfy a state mandate to reorganize. Two finalists for the position pulled their names out of consideration earlier this summer.

But Commissioners feel strongly that they may finally found the right fit in Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos.

Petelos has served as the Mayor of Hoover for seven years. But Petelos says he thinks he can help Jefferson County recover from years of financial turmoil.

"Well, i'm a little bit crazy,” says Petelos, “I was crazy enough to go to Mount Everest in April and I'm crazy enough to take this job."

Crazy maybe, but Mayor Petelos says this is not the first time that a political decision on his part has raised questions from those close to him. Petelos points to a decision in 1999 to leave a very comfortable job at the statehouse in order to run the Alabama Department of Human Resouces.

"Someone made the comment to me... I can't believe you are leaving the Legislature. You have a safe seat in the Legislature and you're jumping into the frying pan... and the other legislator standing next to him said ‘no he's jumping into a volcano.’ and they didn't understand it."

Petelos says he learned much from that experience. Still, the mayor admits that his political future will be tied to whatever success Jefferson County has moving forward. And that mean overcoming massive sewer debt as-well-as continuing to downsize county government without an occupational tax.

"Some people will say you are killing your political career. You're going to make so many people mad over there. Any chance for running for office in the future is over with for you. I don't know if it's true... But I really don't care."

But others like Representative Paul Demarco say that Petelos is the right man at the right time to lead Jefferson County.

"I know tony, I've worked with him he's done a great job as mayor. I think he'd be a strong candidate for the position of county manager because he would have the experience to work with both the county commission and the legislature."

Petelos will formally interview with Commissioners at 10AM Wednesday at the County Courthouse. The interview will be open to the public.

Commissioners hope to have a county manager on the job October 1st.