Last week, 1819 News released a video that caught the Hoover City Council president John Lyda aggressively "verbally attacking" fellow Councilman Casey Middlebrooks following a council meeting.
A detailed and heartfelt apology was offered at this week's meeting, not by Lyda, who held the gavel and ran the meeting. Instead, Middlebrooks initiated and gave an apology.
In his remarks, Middlebrooks sought to clarify the intention of his comments on Robert's Rules of Order, which set off Lyda's post-meeting temper tantrum.
"Mr. Lyda I want to apologize to you. I tried to explain Robert's Rules of Order at the last meeting, and if it came across as my intention was any wrongdoing on your behalf, that was not my intent, and for that, I apologize," Middlebrooks stated. "Now, that does not excuse the unprofessional behavior after the meeting, but I wanted to offer that apology to you."
Middlebrooks said he was equally disheartened that "a private email" was shared with the media. 1819 News reported on the email Middlebrooks sent and was referencing in his public comments. The email was sent to the official email addresses of the council and city employees, which would make it subject to Alabama's broad open records laws.
In that email, Middlebrooks described the events that unfolded after the previous meeting and called on Lyda to "rectify his behavior." The subject of the email was "We can do better..."
Lyda responded to Middlebrooks' remarks by mumbling, "Thank you, Councilman Middlebrooks; I'll extend the same to you, as well. Certain things could have been different there, so my apologies."
Following Middlebrooks' apology and Lyda's response, the two shook hands, and those in attendance applauded. However, immediately following in public comments, former Hoover City Councilwoman Donna Mazur came to the podium and called Lyda a "bully" and noted that he behaves like someone "in junior high school."
She gave several specific examples of him bullying other councilmembers, including Khristi Driver.
Middlebrooks' original comments related to Robert's Rules of Order were in response to months of passionate public comments questioning the eroding levels of accountability and transparency under current city leadership. Specifically, comments that have been common that object to how members of the public are treated and their questions seemingly ignored at meetings run by Lyda.
Prior city council members have noted that in the past, residents would ask questions of the council or key city staff and have their concerns or questions answered. Under Lyda, questions are only addressed if a specific counselor makes a point of order themselves and asks the chair to allow them to speak to a particular comment after the comments have concluded.
Apryl Marie Fogel is a Birmingham resident who frequently appears on and guest hosts radio programs around the state. She can be reached at aprylmarie@altoday.com or on X and Facebook at @aprylmarie.
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