It has been an eventful 12 months for the City of Hoover City Council, with leadership challenges and reports of "bullying," the scathing forensic audit report which highlighted leadership failures and an ongoing staffing crisis created by the mayor, and personal attacks from city and council leadership towards those looking for answers and solutions.
The drama has overshadowed the positive work of the council. The positives include big economic development projects, efforts to increase transparency and attempts to restore confidence.
One of the council members who has not shied away from the challenges has been City Councilman Steve McClinton, who announced his intention to seek reelection to the council in the August 26 election this year.
McClinton, who has served on the council for the past four years, worked with Councilman Sam Swiney and Robin Schultz, also a candidate for the commission, to pass a resolution restoring the archiving of city council meeting videos on the City's YouTube channel. He cited his commitment to transparency and accountability.
Further, he led the charge to delay the second and final payment, the only one voted on by the council, to Kroll, the firm responsible for the forensic audit, until residents were guaranteed answers from the firm itself. McClinton and several others on the council wanted to hold a town hall, which was rejected by City leadership.
McClinton told 1819 News, "Those questions were submitted in December 2024, and we hope to get answers before the end of the month."
McClinton says over 50 questions from citizens were submitted. Without his efforts, those questions likely would have gone unanswered as council president John Lyda and the mayor dismissed concerns as "political attacks."
He also led the charge to replace the city council leadership when current leadership blindsided others with a decades-old personal attack on a well-respected and regarded developer who had business before the City.
He said that he did in defense of "the council president is supposed to relay the information to the council in an unedited way, not in a biased way." He expressed his concerns over the way that information was selective."
According to his campaign website, "In 2020 Steve was elected to Hoover City Council, where he was chosen by his colleagues as the council liaison to the Hoover City school board, due in part to his work as President of the Hoover City Schools Foundation."
"Steve also sits on the boards of Hoover Helps, a non-profit providing meals to children vulnerable to food insecurity, the Birmingham Children's Theater, and the Hoover branch of the Birmingham YMCA. For the last several years, Steve has been involved with Destination Hoover International, showcasing the wealth of cultures represented in the city's population," his website reads. "Steve and his bride of more than two decades, Stephanie, raised their three children in Hoover. After 25 years in the financial industry helping his clients grow their investments and retire comfortably, Steve became the Managing Partner of gain$HARE Marketing, LLC, a B2B consulting firm."
It adds, "As a City Councilman, Steve McClinton will continue investing in Hoover through public service in elected office by being a sounding board for the diversity of viewpoints, fighting to ensure the security of the city's financial future, and further strengthening its schools."
In what McClinton describes as a "petty" move, he was removed by Lyda from his leadership role chairing the education committee. Lyda appointee Khristi Driver was given the post.
McClinton is hopeful about the City's future and the council and encourages voters to "realize that elections have consequences and all that it takes to change the direction of the city, for the city to go bad is four good or bad people. People need to be informed and involved."
He pointed out that someone can be a great guy or person, a great coach, and a Sunday school teacher but unable to make tough decisions that make people mad. He said that the City needs people willing to "do what's right by the city. Not city hall but the citizens."
When asked if he considered not running for reelection, he was adamant that it wasn't a consideration as he wants to stay and fight for the City he loves.
"If I were to quit that would only embolden the pettiness," he declared. "People voted for me to fight for them even if that means I get bloodied in the process."
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.fogel@1819news.com or on X and Facebook at @aprylmarie.
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